The Greenbrier

Booked an Easter reservation… Drove 3.5 hours from DC, arrived early for a wonderful off road Jeep adventure to return our room for 4 pole. Booked Traditional room— wasn’t this as pictured…. Nope… put 4 pple in one of the smallest rooms at the resort, size of a modern closet. Stephanie, FD manager who was meant to triage, only insulted us with what room we booked, how there are no guarantees, no suites available but could try and find a 2nd room at add’l cost. Needless to say- we left… the entire manner in which we were handled was unbelievable. Oh.. final thing… I’m on the resort website & can confirm a larger room. So insulted and lied to the day before Easter- wow just wow! Trip Advisor also has bookings… do I thought to right this review. Least impressive 5 ⭐️ resort we’ve stayed in the World. Book elsewhere.

Experience was totally underwhelming. The place is old and not in a historic way. From the people to the stores, this did not feel like a luxury stay. We paid for one of the bigger rooms/suites and none of our amenities were there for us when we arrived. To the service team's credit, they did resolve this for us quickly. Everything is an upcharge. It feels like you are getting nickel-and-dimed for everything. This includes the historic preservation fee on meals. As my son said, why do they need to preserve my fettuccine alfredo? Speaking of meals, our meal at The Forum was truly awful. Service was terrible, despite the restaurant being half empty. My wife's meal was inedible - pasta was too salty and eggplant parm was burnt. My kids asked about the amount of pasta they got and the person who brought us the food said it looks small. Then the waiter said it didn't and took the food away. Totally terrible birthday dinner for my wife. For the $$ there are much better places to go for a luxury experience.

Our stay at Greenbrier was awful. Do not stay here or you will be extremely disappointed. Nothing was special and definitely NOT 5 star. 1. I valeted my car and they could not find it! I described my car/plate and my keys were listed under someone else's name. 2. We had to wait every time we went to the main dining room even if tables were available. I had to ask for coffee 6 times at the breakfast buffet and found the wait staff talking behind the screened wait station for at least 15 minutes. 3. Most restaurants/activities listed on their website were cancelled or not running. 4. We had to service ourselves the entire trip. Every encounter with employees seemed like an inconvenience. They looked like they hated their jobs and the guests. 5. The hotel was ratty. We could not wait to leave, left more stressed, and felt like the stay was shockingly horrible compared to alternative 5 star hotels.

We went for a 3 night stay with plans for touring the bunker, the resort and dining in the finer restaurants which has been on our list of must do things. After a 9 hour drive, we ate a light dinner that Monday evening. Tues a.m. my husband and I ate at the buffet in the main DR and while most items were to our satisfaction, the grits were on the spicy side so I only took a little while my husband ate more than I of that. Our friends ate elsewhere. During the day we toured the bunker and were shown a film regarding famous visitors from superstars to Presidents and the idea behind the creation of the bunker which was very interesting. That evening we dined in the Forum where all seemed well. But, that evening at midnight my husband became very ill and suffered with both vomiting and diarrhea where the morning grits came to the surface. He was experiencing both issues all night into Wed. the next day and spent most of that day suffering with both problems and/or sleeping. I spoke with concierge but was informed there was no doctor or nurse on the premises but they had a medical building where, with an appointment, he could be seen by someone. Since he was still sleeping I did not want him to be disturbed. So after that breakfast buffet he had nothing to eat at all. By Wed. evening he thought he might be able to eat something although at the Prime 44 where we dined, the best they could do for a broth was to strain the onion soup but he could only eat a few spoons of that and left the remainder in the bowl. Our friends and myself did eat dinner. I had the short ribs with grits which, unfortunately for me, acted on me the next day, Thursday, when we were leaving. Thankfully my husband was able to drive because an hour into the trip back home, I GOT SICK with both the vomiting and diarrhea - where my dinner from the night before came up. It was a very difficult trip home for me and I went right to bed on arrival at home some 7 plus hours later. In my personal opinion, I think we both experienced some sort of food poisoning and believe it was related to the grits because that seemed to be what was coming up on both of us. We did advise the Greenbrier of all this when they inquired about our stay. This was a place we had been wanting to visit for some time but getting sick for the limited amount of time we were there most certainly spoiled the trip. It is quite the place to visit with a great deal of history. The people who work there are certainly pleasant but I would advise those who choose to stay to make careful note of what they eat.

From the welcome at the door by Dale Mann & Company, to the wonderful stay—marvelous! Great people, incredible hotel and grounds in Almost Heaven! This is one of the great hotels in America and is a must for anyone interested in history. Don't miss the once upon a time secret bunker beneath the hotel that was designed to house the United States Congress during the Eisenhower administration. When answering the call to "Take Me Home, Country Roads," be certain to stay at The Greenbrier!