The Greenbrier

For years, The Greenbrier was on my bucket list. I arrived with high expectations, imagining a timeless American icon. In one word: disappointing. What should have been a luxurious escape felt like a faded postcard of its former glory. The Highlights 1. Bunker & Property Tours – Outstanding. The Cold War bunker tour is fascinating, and the hotel history walk is engaging and well-guided. These alone are worth a day visit. 2. Housekeeping (6th Floor) – Impeccable. Prompt, polite, and thorough. Turndown service was a rare bright spot. 3. Bell Staff – Professional, courteous, and efficient. Met every expectation. 4. The Property’s Potential – The bones are breathtaking. Grand architecture, sprawling grounds, and a storied past. With proper investment, this could still be world-class. The Shortcomings 1. Worn & Neglected Infrastructure – Furniture is threadbare, chipped, or broken. Hallways show scuffs, stains, and peeling paint. Gardens are patchy—bare dirt in places, weeds in others. Maintenance feels deferred for years. 2. Inconsistent Staff Performance – While ~15% of employees were excellent, at least 65% appeared untrained or indifferent. Front desk, drivers, restaurant servers, and concierge often seemed overwhelmed or uninformed. 3. Dining Capacity & Access – Restaurants are perpetually packed. Walk-in waits were too long. Reservations are mandatory yet still unreliable. 4. Spa – All appointments were booked for our entire stay by the time we arrived. 5. Late Check outs – I was told the hotel has an inflexible policy against late checkouts. The Unacceptable 1. Concierge Incompetence – Directed us to an on-ground attraction that was closed. Couldn’t answer basic questions about shuttle schedules, dining options, or on-property activities. A sign reading “We Don’t Know” would have saved time. 2. Main Dining Room Disaster – Reservation mix-ups, rude hostesses, glacial pacing (2.5+ hours for three courses), and comically small portions. Staff seemed to be winging it. 3. Hidden Fees = Price Shock – Quoted rates are deceptive. After stacking resort fee, service charge, gratuity, occupancy tax, historical preservation fee, and sales tax, the final bill was 40% higher. I’ve stayed at Ritz-Carlton, and Four Seasons — this fee structure is the worst I’ve encountered. Be transparent upfront. 4. Transportation Nightmare – No Uber, no taxis, no local options. Airport transfer fee felt like highway robbery. Cottage guests face long walks or endless waits for sluggish internal shuttles. Mobility-challenged visitors will struggle. Verdict The Greenbrier trades on nostalgia and name recognition, but it’s coasting on reputation while cutting corners. The tours and a few standout staff can’t compensate for systemic neglect, poor training, and predatory pricing. Recommendation: Visit for the bunker tour and a meal—as a day guest. Skip the overnight unless you secure a deep discount and temper expectations. This resort needs a multi-year, multi-million-dollar overhaul to justify five-star claims again. Until then, it’s a beautiful relic—not a luxury destination.

Drapers: 2 glasses of wine, one reuben sandwich. $85. Know before you go. ..,..........................................................

The grounds of this place are amazing. We enjoyed the fall outdoors very much. However, this place is way overpriced for the service and food if you are staying in the resort. They clearly put all their effort towards members and honestly dont seem to care much about just hotel guests. The whole experience is way overpriced for what it is. It prices itself as a high end resort but the rooms and service is not anywhere near that. The food is mediocre at best and I got sick one night from it. Everything is overpiced as is but then they add all these extra fees and even a liquor tax (despite the fact that restaurants outside dont hvae the tax). They also charge you crazy fees to cancel anything and EVERYTHING. When we arrived we heard a guest at registration trying to leave early (I now understand why) and they refused to allow her to not pay for the remaining night ($800). OK, that MAY be understandable at hotels but this is high end place. It was cold so we tried to cancel our outdoor jeep adventure and they refused since were within 24 hours (and they were not nice about it), and we tried to cancel a dinner reservation because their food MADE ME SICK the night before and they charges us $50 per person to cancel! I asked to speak to the manager and the crappy concierge guy said "there's no point, they will charge you to cancel too." again, this is an expensive plance, treat us better. We stayed at other high end resorts and as soon as you book a room, they call and ask to help schedule things. This place never called after we booked and seemed like we were bothering them when we called and tried to confirm a king bed and inquired about reservations. So disappointing.

Based on earlier reviews, we booked a "deluxe" room and it was well-appointed, if overly expensive, thanks to the usurious daily "resort" fee and mysterious daily "historic preservation" fee. The grounds are gorgeous but, overall, the staff needs better training. For example, why do wait staff insist on refilling my partner's water glass across my face or over my head? Please, just take two steps and do it right! Did the doormen offer to take our bags? No. For what the hotel charges - and every "amenity" [except the evening movie and the swimming pool] is well overpriced - we expected better.

Last weekend I planned and executed a four day trip to my home state of West Virginia. Hitting the high spots; our gorgeous golf domed capital, the New River Gorge/ Bridge, the quaint “coolest” small town Lewisburg and the top of the heap, The Greenbrier. It was raining that afternoon, a bit gloomy and sad. However, I knew when I walked through the doors, this special one of a kind world would dazzle and delight. It did not. Where are all the decorations? I did not see one pumpkin, ground, colorful leaf, etc. I brought three women with me to show off this wonderful asset, but it underwhelmed. I grew up going to The Greenbrier and have continued visiting my whole life. I’m sad that it wasn’t at its best. PLEASE bring it back to its former glory. Please celebrate our wonderful state and all its beauty. The Greenbrier will always be a very special place!