mgc

My husband and I are planning a belated honeymoon and are wondering which place is better. It's hard to discern any significant difference from the websites. Any opinions?

gabriele

The Greenbrier.

emd

Depends on what you are looking for. I have been to the Homestead, and my husband has been to the Greenbriar. We compared notes, and it seems the Homestead has an older, cozier ("old money") resort feel to it. Greenbriar seems more updated.
It is very slow on this forum this weekend, it must be the fact that it is spring break time. You might send this question to the top tomorrow when alot of people are back on.

Patrick

My biggest concern with the Greenbrier would be if there is a major convention going on. Many times nearly the entire hotel is taken over with them, which in my opinion would diminish the atmosphere for a pair of honeymooners. Expect to see a lot of older folks at either, oddly enough I would have said that the crowd at the Greenbrier is likely to be older than the one at The Homestead, but I suppose it just depends on who happens to be there at the time.

claire

They tend to see-saw over the years. The convention issue is a valid one, however, as the wealthy don't any longer decamp for months at a time "in season." To survive, conventions are a fact of life. You will find an upscale clientele at both resorts of individuals, often families, during holidays when conventioneers are not likely to be in evidence. Especially Thanksgiving, Christmas/New Years, Presidents' Day, Easter, Mother's Day and the 4th of July. Even in the "slow" winter period. The Homestead has always had more of a reputation as a less formal place. Some truth to that. But, don't let the term "formal" keep you from the Greenbrier. Long gone are the days where people had to "dress" for dinner - ladies in long gowns. Although, in truth, people by and large do wear what passes today for "nice" when they go to public areas to dine. Though you can arrange for a terrific meal in your rooms if you don't feel like mingling. Gone also is the policy of no TVs in guest rooms in order to force people to meet and mingle. Now, the requisite TV pipes the news of the world into your getaway room or suite if you simply MUST turn it on. LONG long gone is the policy of only hiring French maids. Now, you will have locals working throughout the Greenbrier. Stuffy? No. Beautiful place. Buildings, grounds, spa, activities (indoors and out). Superb golf facilities, if that's your interest. Fascinating history. From the days of the "taking the waters" to easier access by trains to war days and the government taking it over...first as a prisoner of war camp and later as a military hospital. When the government turned the old place back over to the railroad, the event was broadcast over the radio nationally. Then, Dorothy Draper came from New York (with Carleton Varney in tow) to redecorate the place & turn it back into a top flight resort. No two rooms are alike. Her style is still much in evidence. Of course, everyone now knows this place was to have housed the US government top brass in the event of a nuclear or other disaster, and the bunkers can now be seen.

The tour conducted by the Greenbrier's resident historian is well worth a couple of hours of your time. Overall, you can arrange for as much or as little privacy as you want during your stay.

Recently, the Greenbrier closed its gates to anyone not staying at its hotel & cabins or attending one of its meetings/events. No more day-trippers. Ostensibly in response to recent security issues. In reality, engineered by the group of wealthy people who have created a community by buying homes on the periphery and who want more of a gated-community control.

I've stayed in both resorts & like both. Grew up within several hours drive of both, so I guess I have a long term view of them. But, I return more often to the Greenbrier. Yes, there have been changes over the years reflecting our changing society; some great & some of them not so good. But, it is amazing that these old places have been able to survive at all. Neither is exactly on the beaten path to anywhere! And, we just don't "live that way" any more. So, I cut them some slack! Both are prime places to relax & smell the rhododendron.....slightly different ambience at each, and a bit more to do at the Greenbrier.

mgc

Thanks for the input! We'll be sure to check the convention schedule before booking. Sounds like it would be hard to go wrong with either place.

claire

One more thought. The Greenbrier is quite expensive these days. Well, it never was cheap, although locals used to be able to rent a room for the day to change clothes in, and basically play golf and then have dinner. No more. Anyway, for those prices, if you happen to get a room that does not appeal, DO ask for a change. Like most large facilities, they have a refurbishment schedule. And, no point in making do with a vibrant red-flowered wallpaper when you'd rather have calm blue! Food is excellent, so, similarly, if you get something you feel isn't quite right or isn't what you expected, then call it to their attention. They used to pride themselves on being able to privide for just about any food request. I haven't put them to the test lately.

Pay attention to where your rooms will be. If you want to be close to the hub, ie the lobbies and dining rooms and shops, then you won't want to be put in some of the "wings" which are lovely, but quite a walking distance from certain areas. My personal preference was always for a room (where you can also have a connecting sitting room if you'd like one) in the North Wing.

Truthfully, The Homestead and The Grenbrier are always in competition. Who outshines the other in a given year shifts back and forth.

emd

Claire, what you have given is the real inside poop on both places. Even though I've been to one and husband has been to other tone, I am printing this out for when we decide to go back to one or the other and can't decide!

mgc

Thanks! I think we're going for the Greenbrier. We'll be sure to ask for a recently refurbished room too. The expense isn't too bad considering our situation. We married at the magistrate's office before my husband deployed, so all the big wedding plans (and expenses) were eliminated. Now we can use the wedding budget to fund the honeymoon. Splurging on a honeymoon/reunion vacation will be well worth the additional expense! I'm sure we'll love the Greenbrier. Thank you so much for helping us decide!

sallymed

mgc, if it's not too late, please reconsider the Greenbrier! (you can do a search for Greenbrier and see my previous posts about this place).

the Homestead is MUCH BETTER in so many ways!! in fact, i have been trying to get back there for the past 5 weeks just so I can get the taste of the Greenbrier out of my mouth!!

eliztrav

sallymed, sounds like you had some bad luck with the Greenbrier. Aside from not having you down as an anniversary package, as they certainly should have done, and aside from being quite expensive, just what were you expecting that you did not get?

When I was last at the Homestead, the room was very shabby, although the public areas were fine. And, the food was quite good. There was a convention there, too. So, aside from style differences, which is a personal thing (and, especially for outside activities perhaps seasonal, too), seems to me like there isn't a lot of difference between the two.

emd

As I said before, I've been to Homestead and husband went to Greenbriar. As we were discussing your post, both of us wondered why you were going to have a belated honeymoon at either of those places. You could have lots of business people and families w/you there, and they both are not the most updated places. Just my opinion, but I can think of alot better places to choose from for honeymooning. What made you pick those?

mgc

We considered several places but wanted to go somewhere neither of us had been. That knocked out a lot of prime vacation spots. I'm very pale and dislike the sun/beach, so we're avoiding those places. He'll be returning from a very hot, dry climate so we eliminated 'hot/dry' locations. Overseas travels would be a hassle since we both need updated passports. We considered Napa, but the airfare/rental costs were a chunk of the budget ($5000 for everything). We really want to stay at a very nice place and had rather spend the money on room/food/shopping and not air/car. We live in NC so we also eliminated nearby attractions that could be done in a long weekend. We want to save those destinations for shorter vacations. Other ideas are welcome! Can you think of somewhere that fits our criteria?

mgc

To clarify - the total vacation budget is $5K for 5 days/4 nights.

emd

Ok, that's all good info to have for people trying to help you think of places. I think you'll get some good suggestions w/those criteria, but now that you are open to looking for other places, I think this is a time you might want to repost w/a different title instead of "Homestead or Greenbriar." Explain your limits and what you are looking for like you did above, and I think you'll get some good options from a wider audience.

claire

Sorry to hear that Sallymed had a bad experience with the Greenbrier. I hope she told them about the problem, and wrote to the manager when she got home.

Still, with the criteria you've given for your honeymoon, both The Homestead and The Greenbrier sound like good options. Rural settings, of course. More shopping available at the Greenbrier and the nearby White Sulphur Springs town than at The Homestead. I prefer the Homestead in winter, but The Greenbrier the rest of the time.

If you go to either, do tell them it is your honeymoon, of course!

Have you thought of Keswick near Charlottesville and Monticello?

mgc

Hi Claire! I've never heard of Keswick, although I've been through Charlottesville and it was beautiful. I've reposted a thread entitled "rethinking honeymoon destination - opinions?" I'm interested to see if anyone else knows of hidden gems we never considered. I'll do some research on Keswick. Thanks!

mscarls

I used to go to meetings at both resorts, but it has been a while.
I think of them as geared for middle to upper income couples in at least their 40s and probably older. Maybe other posters can let you know if they now target younger guests, which it sounds like you are.
You mentioned shopping, but both resorts are pretty remote, with little or no shopping around them.
Unless you play golf or tennis and don't mind exhorbitant fees, you may find both resorts boring for more than a few nights.
If you are driving, you could try both.