SAnParis

My wife & her sister are trying to find a place to meet their Mom for her 60th B-day. Proximity to I-77 would be helpful. Any quaint towns, cool places or otherwise interesting locales they need to visit ? If so, they are open for suggestions.

SAnParis

I'm ruling out the Greenbriar & Berkley Springs due to location, that is just too far from Charlotte (my end) & SE Ohio (the other end).

jodeenyc

Tamarack? Then from there you could go to the New River Gorge bridge...?

Thomas6

Tamarack in Beckley, WV, is very interesting, and there is a small b&b there called the Merritt House , two rooms with private baths - very pretty with lovely owners who know quite a bit about local history. Also a great local restaurant there called the Char.

SAnParis

I've heard the Char is pretty good. Any other places to stay ? I am familiar w/Tamarack as we cruise through there on the way to Ohio but we've not spent any time in that area to speak of...

Thomas6

There are about a bazillion chain hotels in the Beckley area right at Tamarack. During a recent conference some of my colleagues stayed at the County Inn & Suites and the Courtyard Marriott and said they were fine, the usual chains. We stayed at the Merritt House; we prefer B&Bs and it was lovely.

stevesmoker

Grand View State Park has overlooks of the New River, a visitor center (open seasonally), trails, picnic areas with playgrounds, and outstanding outdoor dramas featured in their amplitheatre June through August (reservations recommended: 1-800-666-9142). The overlook is a short, flat walk across the lawn from a generous parking lot lined with hundreds & hundreds of beautiful rhodedendruns.

The New River Gorge Bridge is spectacular and there is an information center/park/overlook at the Bridge.

Tamarack is very nice and also has an excellent food court with great cuisine (it's not the typical touristy burger and fries food court). Tamarack is not a good place if you have children in tow.

Babcock State Park is adjacent to the New River Gorge in Clifftop, WV <www.babcocksp.com> with a fast flowing stream running through a boulder-strewn canyon, overlooks, and best of all, a working Grist Mill which I believe remains the most photographed scenic site in the state. Easy level walk to the Grist Mill.

There are several B&B's in the area as well as a motel and restaurant row with all the typical chains. The Char is a very good restaurant, perhaps not the landmark restaurant of years past, but still very good. My personal opinion, unless you want a steak at an intimate table, eat at Tamarack...

SAnParis

Thx Steve & others. Their preference would lie towards a cabin, B & B or resort, not any type of hotel (chain or otherwise). Anyone else ? Cabin rentals perhaps ?

ellen_griswold

Both dh and i have attended conferences here. Might be too far from charlotte but is very nice.


http://www.oglebay-resort.com/

Thomas6

For B&Bs in West Virginia that have been inspected and approved, check the website www.wvbnbs.com. I have only stayed at the Merritt House in Beckley but there are others in the region that might fit the bill.

SAnParis

Ellen - thx, we are familiar w/this property & do like it, but they are seeking something more 'in between'. The Beckley/Bluefield area is about the center although I'm sure they won't rule out something in the 3-4 hour range either way.

LvSun

In your other post, you mentioned Glade Springs. I think you will be very happy with it. Are they all staying overnight?

SAnParis

Yes - since Mom & sister are coming from Ohio & we live in CLT, this area is close to the middle. Although we drive through there all the time, we have only stayed in that area once or twice. Isn't there also an old hotel that used to be a womens' prison or some such thing in that area ?

syd

A few years ago when hiking around the New River, we had a great breakfast in Fayetteville and at quick glance, thought it looked like a quaint, little town (very little). I recall a couple of B&B's there. Maybe someone else can comment.

www.visitfayettevillewv.com/index.htm

BTW, Stevesmoker, when do those rhodedendruns usually bloom?

LvSun

Syd,
Hmm good question about the rhodedendruns. They are blooming now in the Charleston WV area. The seasons in Canaan are about 3 weeks behind Charleston. Not sure about Beckley area, figure they are somewhere in-between.

LvSun

SAn,
I am not familiar with a place that used to be a prison or some such thing. Do you have any other info on it which may give more hint of what it may be?

SAnParis

LvSun - I don't I just remember driving out past the ski reosrts & stumbling across it. It IS way out there...

LvSun

Sounds like you are talking about the Alderson area.

Alderson Federal Prison for Women is in Alderson, WV,roughly between Beckley and Lewisburg/The Greenbrier area.

This is where Martha Stewart did her time.

Squeaky Fromme, a former member of Charles Manson's "Family", convicted of attempting to assassinate U.S. President Gerald Ford also was housed at Alderson for many years.

LvSun

SAnP,
Just got an email from a friend in Beckley about the B&B/prison question you had:

The Pence Springs Hotel used to be a prison. It was in Summers County. It has closed down and was to reopen as the Greenbrier Academy, a private school (don't know if it has).

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the 25-room inn sits
on about 400 acres. From 1947 to 1985, Pence Springs was the State Prison for Women.

Interesting, glad you asked the question. Wish I had known before it shut down.

SAnParis

The rooms were very 'prison like' as I recall. The restaurant was (however) very good although there was a class reunion going on when we stumbled across the place. Thanks for coming up w/that for me.