Well, it has been a while since I’ve been able to blog about traveling! But after successive surgeries for the last three years, I am pleased to say I am now Bionic on the right side and feel great! So Bill and I decided to do a short vacation get-away at one of our "happy places" --- The Biltmore Estate House in Asheville, NC.
I first saw the house when I was about 9 years old on a day trip from Camp Greystone right outside of Hendersonville, NC. For a young girl raised in Wichita, Kansas, it was an eye opening experience! The Biltmore Estate is still the largest privately owned private home in the United States and is still owned by decendents of George and Edith Vanderbilt. Originally, the house was built in six years by George Vanderbilt. He moved in on Christmas Eve, 1995. He originally owned 125,000 acres (the Estate currently sits on 8000 acres). He bought all the land he could see from his house.
The house was an engineering marvel. It included one of the first indoor swimming pools in the basement as well as an early bowing alley! George and Editih were gracious entertainers. The carriage ride up to the house was magnificently landscaped by George Olmstead (the creator of Central Park). Olmstead used lots of different kinds of plants and trees and created an amazing atmosphere of peace and tranquility as the horses pulled the carriages up the tree lined path to the magnificent Estate grounds. Servants would greet the guests and unpack their luggage and have items carefully put away before guests could even make it to their room. When you tour the estate house, you marvel at how the laundry system worked and the kitchen which had to feed multitudes of people -- both staff and guests. In the early days, there was a working dairy farm and large chicken coop that provided fresh eggs and milk. Tenant farmers were hired by George and given a home and some dairy cows. In exchange for living free, they provided the estate with a quota of milk. Anything over that quota they were allowed to sell in town. The system worked very well for many years. The Vanderbilt’s were not only known as gracious society hosts, but as wonderful employers.
The Vanderbilts’ are credited with starting the first Forest Servvice in the US. He wanted the land to be sustainable and he replanted trees that were cut down. In later years, George sold most of his acreage to the government to form what is today known as Pisgah National Forest. He sold the land, in part, due to income tax concerns. The house is currently run by the Cecil family. George and Edith’s daughter, Cornelia, married John Francis Cecil and their children are the decedents operating the Estate today. After the death of George, the Estate was opened to the public for visits during the depression years in the hopes of reviving the Asheville economy, which it did quite successfully. Today the Estate has a staff of over 2000 employees and 1.3 million visitors a year. The city of Asheville boasts a population of 88,000. The Vanderbilt and later the Cecil families, contributed greatly to the economy of the area. They even opened a school for the employees of the Estate. It is well known that all who have worked for the family think very highly of them. The current owner and his family live on property. The Estate does raise its own beef which is consumed in several of the wonderful restaurants available on property. We are staying at the beautiful Bilmore Inn, a mere 15 minute complimentary shuttle ride away from the House or the Anter Hill shopping village. There is so much to do here: Segway Rides, FlyFishing, Falconrey, River floats, Kayyaking, multiple tours of the Estate house, and let me not forget to mention their Winery. When they sold the dairy, they opened a winery on property. The vineyards can be seen on an Advanced Segway tour. But all can enjoy the wine tastings held daily at the Winery. Gift shops abound (yea!!!) and have a wide range of items for sale. They actually sell about 125,000 bottles of wine a year. The views from the Inn of the Blue Ridge Mountains are always breathtaking. The grounds are meticulously kept by a massive group of horticulturists. Everywhere you look there are beautiful flowers, trees and shrubs, many of which are changed seasonally! It is a peaceful and tranquil place where the mountain air just smells so good it makes you happy!The Biltmore Estate House has formal gardens and a Green House that is spectacular. No matter what time of year you visit, the Gardens are always a pleasure to stroll through. The house and its tapestries and furnishings are all authentic and have been meticulously cared for and restored. The great dining hall and the library are two of my favorite rooms. The Banquet hall dining room during the Christmas holidays boasts a 35’ live tree drawn to the estate by a team of Belgian horses. It is then set up and decorated. It takes over 40 people to get the tree in and up! (It weighs over 3500 lbs. and there are actually two trees cut down so that for the months of November and December the tree will always be fresh). During the holidays, the grounds are beautifully decorated everywhere you go with poinsettias and holly and mistletoe! It is truly magical. The Estate house has over 65 trees all decorated differently in Victorian style.
But, after having visited this lovely estate multiple times over the years, we have returned once again for a very special exhibit by Chihuly. The exhibit has been 2 1/2 years in the making and made its debut this summer. It will close Oct. 7. We came to do the tour at night and WOW, it was magnificent! It looks TOTALLY different during the day time! While it’s still lovely during day light, the magnificence is only seen at night with the lights! I am posting photos of our night tour and a few of the activities we have done so far.
I will mention that we have always had high tea one afternoon while visiting. We did the same this year but were disappointed that it was not the "traditional high tea" of old with the tiered plate, the tiny sandwiches and the scones with clotted cream and strawberry jam! They are nw doing what I would call a "gourmet"? High tea. It is several different plates with goat cheese and almond dust and other items I cana’t even remember! We have turned in our suggestion to the Concierge that they offer TWO different kinds of teas -- the "Gourmet Asheville " one and the TRADITIONAL high tea! Hopefully the next time we come they will be back to offering the traditional high tea!
Enjoy the photos below! We have certainly enjoyed our few days here!
The Biltmore Estate House at night.
I first saw the house when I was about 9 years old on a day trip from Camp Greystone right outside of Hendersonville, NC. For a young girl raised in Wichita, Kansas, it was an eye opening experience! The Biltmore Estate is still the largest privately owned private home in the United States and is still owned by decendents of George and Edith Vanderbilt. Originally, the house was built in six years by George Vanderbilt. He moved in on Christmas Eve, 1995. He originally owned 125,000 acres (the Estate currently sits on 8000 acres). He bought all the land he could see from his house.
The house was an engineering marvel. It included one of the first indoor swimming pools in the basement as well as an early bowing alley! George and Editih were gracious entertainers. The carriage ride up to the house was magnificently landscaped by George Olmstead (the creator of Central Park). Olmstead used lots of different kinds of plants and trees and created an amazing atmosphere of peace and tranquility as the horses pulled the carriages up the tree lined path to the magnificent Estate grounds. Servants would greet the guests and unpack their luggage and have items carefully put away before guests could even make it to their room. When you tour the estate house, you marvel at how the laundry system worked and the kitchen which had to feed multitudes of people -- both staff and guests. In the early days, there was a working dairy farm and large chicken coop that provided fresh eggs and milk. Tenant farmers were hired by George and given a home and some dairy cows. In exchange for living free, they provided the estate with a quota of milk. Anything over that quota they were allowed to sell in town. The system worked very well for many years. The Vanderbilt’s were not only known as gracious society hosts, but as wonderful employers.
The Vanderbilts’ are credited with starting the first Forest Servvice in the US. He wanted the land to be sustainable and he replanted trees that were cut down. In later years, George sold most of his acreage to the government to form what is today known as Pisgah National Forest. He sold the land, in part, due to income tax concerns. The house is currently run by the Cecil family. George and Edith’s daughter, Cornelia, married John Francis Cecil and their children are the decedents operating the Estate today. After the death of George, the Estate was opened to the public for visits during the depression years in the hopes of reviving the Asheville economy, which it did quite successfully. Today the Estate has a staff of over 2000 employees and 1.3 million visitors a year. The city of Asheville boasts a population of 88,000. The Vanderbilt and later the Cecil families, contributed greatly to the economy of the area. They even opened a school for the employees of the Estate. It is well known that all who have worked for the family think very highly of them. The current owner and his family live on property. The Estate does raise its own beef which is consumed in several of the wonderful restaurants available on property. We are staying at the beautiful Bilmore Inn, a mere 15 minute complimentary shuttle ride away from the House or the Anter Hill shopping village. There is so much to do here: Segway Rides, FlyFishing, Falconrey, River floats, Kayyaking, multiple tours of the Estate house, and let me not forget to mention their Winery. When they sold the dairy, they opened a winery on property. The vineyards can be seen on an Advanced Segway tour. But all can enjoy the wine tastings held daily at the Winery. Gift shops abound (yea!!!) and have a wide range of items for sale. They actually sell about 125,000 bottles of wine a year. The views from the Inn of the Blue Ridge Mountains are always breathtaking. The grounds are meticulously kept by a massive group of horticulturists. Everywhere you look there are beautiful flowers, trees and shrubs, many of which are changed seasonally! It is a peaceful and tranquil place where the mountain air just smells so good it makes you happy!The Biltmore Estate House has formal gardens and a Green House that is spectacular. No matter what time of year you visit, the Gardens are always a pleasure to stroll through. The house and its tapestries and furnishings are all authentic and have been meticulously cared for and restored. The great dining hall and the library are two of my favorite rooms. The Banquet hall dining room during the Christmas holidays boasts a 35’ live tree drawn to the estate by a team of Belgian horses. It is then set up and decorated. It takes over 40 people to get the tree in and up! (It weighs over 3500 lbs. and there are actually two trees cut down so that for the months of November and December the tree will always be fresh). During the holidays, the grounds are beautifully decorated everywhere you go with poinsettias and holly and mistletoe! It is truly magical. The Estate house has over 65 trees all decorated differently in Victorian style.
But, after having visited this lovely estate multiple times over the years, we have returned once again for a very special exhibit by Chihuly. The exhibit has been 2 1/2 years in the making and made its debut this summer. It will close Oct. 7. We came to do the tour at night and WOW, it was magnificent! It looks TOTALLY different during the day time! While it’s still lovely during day light, the magnificence is only seen at night with the lights! I am posting photos of our night tour and a few of the activities we have done so far.
I will mention that we have always had high tea one afternoon while visiting. We did the same this year but were disappointed that it was not the "traditional high tea" of old with the tiered plate, the tiny sandwiches and the scones with clotted cream and strawberry jam! They are nw doing what I would call a "gourmet"? High tea. It is several different plates with goat cheese and almond dust and other items I cana’t even remember! We have turned in our suggestion to the Concierge that they offer TWO different kinds of teas -- the "Gourmet Asheville " one and the TRADITIONAL high tea! Hopefully the next time we come they will be back to offering the traditional high tea!
Enjoy the photos below! We have certainly enjoyed our few days here!
The Biltmore Estate House at night.
