Biltmore Estates in Asheville NC

[Marti Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Marti]

Planning - Spring 2007 - Visit


Has anyone been to the Biltmore Estates


Anyone ever purchased a book, calendar, dvd, label pin, puzzle or
"Commondore" the cute little stuffed lion from the online gift shop?


http://www.biltmore.com/



Has anyone been to the Biltmore Estates during the Christmas Holidays

Recapture the magic of the season with family and friends with our
larger-than-life Yuletide celebration. During Christmas at Biltmore,
the halls and rooms of America’s largest home are accented with elegant décor.

The extravagant ensemble includes dozens of Christmas trees,
more than 400 wreaths and bows, 700 poinsettias; miles of evergreen garland;
thousands of ornaments, tinsel, and beading; and a 35-foot Fraser fir.

Holiday music from ensembles and the Banquet Hall organ
complete the experience, filling the halls with Yuletide cheer.


Any Timeshares Nearby?

[Spence Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Spence]

Planning - Spring 2007 - Visit

OK

Has anyone been to the Biltmore Estates

Yes

Anyone ever purchased a book, calendar, dvd, label pin, puzzle or
"Commondore" the cute little stuffed lion from the online gift shop?

No

Has anyone been to the Biltmore Estates during the Christmas Holidays

Yes

Any Timeshares Nearby?

Yes

[pcgirl54 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close pcgirl54]

Just got back from Biltmore today

Marti
I also belong to Tug and just posted a review about it. I have wanted to visit here for 5-6 years and never thought of visiting now but am so glad we did. Everything is decorated for the holidays and the weather was 54-64. We did other things you may want to try. Asheville airport is so easy to deal with. We stayed at Marriott Fairfield across the street using reward points and it is about 20-25 minutes from downtown Asheville plus free breakfast and a pool. The only timeshares I know of are in Lake Lure which is not close or Gatlinburg which is 90 miles away. I bought a book there for $12.95. There are shops with mementos next to the house and other areas. It is worth seeing the gardens down the hill from the house. Just go there early as you can.


Day 1-We walked around downtown Asheville for an afternoon,browsed through all the little stores and art places and ate at the 1896 Cafe which had wonderful food.
Stayed at Marriott Fairfield in Fletcher/S Asheville right across from the airport. DO NOT eat at J & S Cafeteria across from the hotel,food is bland but really inexpensive and the place is packed all meals. Right down the road next to Target and Marshalls is a new Carrabbas and they are building a Cracker Barrell and Lone Star this year. First time to Carrabbas and we enjoyed it a lot.

Day 2-Had a great time,Biltmore was just wonderful and we arrived 8AM before the holiday crowds. Do spend the extra 7.00pp and rent the headsets. It took us 2.5hrs to see 60 rooms open to the public,6 hours in all. Holiday decorations just make it even more beautiful .I cannot imagine touring without them.
DO eat at The Stable next to the main house and get there early,there are no reservations and they are open 11AM -4PM. The atmosphere and food are wonderful and the prices are reasonable. It is the old 5 story horse barn redone and if you get there early you can ask to be seated in the stall with booths. There are also sandwich places,coffee and a bakery in the courtyard. We did not think it was worth touring the Farm Building to see old tractors ,4 sheep and 1 horse. Lines for the Winery were at least 1.5 hours long so we skipped it. You can taste wine and buy bottles in the gift shop next to The Stable and main house. I am glad we did that first since we skipped the Winery.
Day 3-Drove through the Blue Ridge to get to Gatlinburg and had to turn around after an aggravating 12-18 miles at Cold Mountain 6000 ft because the road was closed and you could not see 1 inch in front of you beginning at 3500 ft. There was no snow or ice so 22 more crooked miles to Waynesville to get to US 40 to go to Gatlinburg which unknown to us had the Xtreme Baptist teen conference with 6000 people that weekend. Parked for an hour for 10.00 and got great ice cream at Kelwins then on our way to Pigeon Forge while passing 5 miles of traffic headed to Gatlinburg. Bus after bus of 13-16yr olds everywhere.
Pigeon Forge reminded us of Myrtle Beach and we thought both areas were very clean and there were so many families together. That was so nice to see,clean cut ,polite teens celebrating their faith and having fun. Friendly people no matter where we went. It was a real pleasure.
Needless to say we stood out like a sore thumb when we spoke coming from New England so many people asked us where we were from and we enjoyed meeting them. Ate at The Apple Barn on Apple Valley Road and I must say it was the most delicious buttery fried chicken I have ever had in my entire life plus the complimentary delicious apple fritters with apple butter and apple julep with every meal. We then bought fried apple turnovers in the bakery. Went to the shops at The Mill and visited that gigantic Christmas Village on the main drag. All of this was great and I wish we had more time to see things but we had a 2 hour drive back to Asheville. Rt 40 is the best way to skip the traffic.

Day 4-spent with SIL/BIL who relocated to the area. Ate breakfast in Blue Ridge Dining room at Grove Park Inn and I must say the place is incredible. Views are awesome,rockers everywhere and the massive fireplace in the lobby is incredible. Do not bother with a la carte because the buffet is 16.95 including tea,coffee or juice so it is less costly in the long run. We walked the halls to see all the Gingerbread House entries for all age groups,walked around the Spa 8 levels below the lobby.Went to see Lake Lure and the shops at Chimney Rock. It was very rainy and foggy so we could not see Chimney Rock at all.


TUG -JME/Marty, sadly we did not have time to see the Five Oaks Outlet or eat at Chop House because we lost over 4-6 hours with the mountain road closure, the traffic in Gatlinburg and the long wait to eat due to the Baptist convention crowds so we ate lunch at 4pm. I really can see why people like Pigeon Forge,so much to do for families,from dinner shows,rides,shopping and eatries. I would go back there and skip Gatlinburg altogether. Thanks for the advice you were right on target as usual and I am so glad you told us about The Stable at Biltmore,Blue Ridge dining room at Grove Park and The Christmas Place in Pigeon Forge.

I was told that Gatlinburg has one of the largest fireworks displays at New Years that rival Las Vegas and that Knoxville has something similar around Memorial Day. I cannot confirm if this is true.

http://www.groveparkinn.com/
http://www.christmasplace.com/
http://www.applebarncidermill.com/


Happy New Year from The Pelletiers from Bawstan
__________________
pcgirl54

[Marti Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Marti]

Thanks pcGirl54 for posting here on TSForums

The Historical - Grove Park Inn Resort - NC
Opened in 1913 - Nine Decades of History

From the website photos
The building and pool looks so beautiful

Built from granite boulders hewn from Sunset Mountain

http://www.groveparkinn.com/Leisure/

[Tom52 Member Find all posts View Profile Close Tom52]

Yes we toured Biltmore Christmas Eve one year ago. Biltmore is great to visit but not really anything special about Christmas time. If you have time take the "behind the scenes" tour as you get to see unrestored areas and get much more interesting Biltmore history.

[EAM Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close EAM]

Planning - Spring 2007 - Visit


Has anyone been to the Biltmore Estates


Anyone ever purchased a book, calendar, dvd, label pin, puzzle or
"Commondore" the cute little stuffed lion from the online gift shop?


http://www.biltmore.com/



Has anyone been to the Biltmore Estates during the Christmas Holidays



Any Timeshares Nearby?

We have visited there a couple of times, both times in the summer. We have purchased items from the onsite gift shop but not from the web site.

Except for a Peppertree, I don't think there are any other timeshares in Asheville itself, but there are many other nice resorts in the mountains of western NC.

[pcgirl54 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close pcgirl54]

The entire house is decorated from top to bottom at Christmas and there are multiple trees and boughs in every room with hundreds of decorations. One can choose the Candlelight Tours during the Holidays. Behind the Scenes tour is also available. There is a rooftop tour.

In the spring and summer everything would be green and full of flowers. The foliage must be spectacular in the fall.

[Thirsty Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Thirsty]

My wife and I were there 2 years ago, summer of 2003, and enjoyed it. The place is huge, like a castle, and had many inventive thing for its time. It is remarkable what was built when it was built. We purchased the book of Biltmore, rented the headset for the tour, and did the rooftop tour which was a guided tour. The grounds are also wonderful. It cost about $60.00 to $70.00 a piece for the tours and headset. If I remember correct we spent about 5 hours there and it felt like we were there a couple of hours. Well worth the money.

My wife read a book about the Vanderbilts before we went which provided some nice background information.

Another thing you might want to see is Chimney Rock. It is near Lake Lure. It is a lot of hiking and steps but it is one of those things you won't forget. Parts of the movie The Last of the Mohicans was filmed there.

I am getting my computer fixed and when I get it back I can post some pictures of both if you would like.

[1950bing Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close 1950bing]

When I was there I just had to have " Commondore ", he reminded me of my big Main Coon cat that was not doing good at all healthwise, he passed a few weeks later, it hurt so much! It gives me warm feelings every time I see Commondore, I am reminded of all the years of love that my big cat gave me.

[robin Banned Find all posts View Profile Close robin]

I've been once and it's totally awesome ... Biltmore was a man before his time. I've never been during Christmas but I plan on going next year. Everyone should see Biltmore once in their lifetime.

However, I wasn't impressed with the much touted and reknowned Grove Park Inn. The most impressive thing to me about GPI was the fireplace with a roaring fire going and the rocking chairs to sit in front of it. A 6 foot tall man can walk into that fireplace .... awesome.

[JudyS Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close JudyS]

I just saw this thread for the first time.

When I was there I just had to have " Commondore ", he reminded me of my big Main Coon cat that was not doing good at all healthwise, he passed a few weeks later, it hurt so much! It gives me warm feelings every time I see Commondore, I am reminded of all the years of love that my big cat gave me.

Your Maine Coon cat sounds a lot like my late, lamented Graycat -- big and loving and gone too soon! (Graycat looked a lot like the cat in my icon, except he was big. My icon is just one I selected from the standard icon list here.)

I'd like to stay in one of my timeshares in the Lake Lure/ Asheville area and visit Biltmore. My husband keeps warning me, though, that if we tour Biltmore, he'll want to build himself a house like that! (Not like we could afford a bigger house right now!)

Thanks for all the comments; now I really want to go there!

[robin Banned Find all posts View Profile Close robin]

I would describe Builtmore as more like a castle than a house. It has hundreds of rooms. I wouldn't want to clean that many rooms ).

[Marti Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Marti]

Biltmore Estate - 1895 - Asheville North Carolina


Biltmore

Went to Biltmore Estate for the first time ever this past weekend.
On Friday, we did a Self-Guided tour of the house (All five floors).

Early Saturday we strolled through the breathtaking gardens.
Mid afternoon we visited the award-winning Biltmore winery.
Visited the Inn on Biltmore Estate, had a late lunch/early dinner
Around 6 PM we went to the Biltmore house to tour the first, second,
and third floors again (using an audio device) stayed until 8 PM.

We were very impressed with the Biltmore house, gardens, winery
and the natural beauty of the property and surrounding mountains.

Wished we had more time to spend in the Asheville NC area.
Enjoyed Biltmore so much we purchased annual passes & plan
to return to see Biltmore Decorated for the Christmas Holiday.

[Marti Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Marti]

Biltmore Estate - Guide for Disabled Guests


Biltmore House

Access for disabled guests is provided throughout the Estate,
except for some sections of Biltmore House and Gardens. As a
National Historic Landmark, Biltmore Estate follows preservation policies
that prevent alterations to the originial structure, Biltmore House.

Parking

Handicapped parking is available throughout the estate.
Passengers who have difficulty walking may be dropped off
in front of the Biltmore House. Shuttle service is provided
from the handicapped parking and regular parking to the
Biltmore House. Special handicap parking is also available.
Be sure to request a special blue parking hangtag for your
vehicle


Wheelchairs

A few complimentary wheelchairs are available on a first come,
first-served basis at Biltmore House and at the Winery.


Elevators

Located near the front entrance to Biltmore House
is the oldest working elevator in the Southeast!


Restrooms

At Biltmore house, wheelchair accessible restrooms are
located between the Carriage House gift shop and the
Stable Cafe. Additional restrooms are located throughout
the Biltmore property.

[shorts Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close shorts]

Thanks for the disabled quide

We are going to Lake Lure in October and plan to visit Biltmore Estates. I cannot walk or stand for long periods of time and was wondering how much of Biltmore I would miss if using a wheelchair. I can bring my own chair but may opt for using one of theirs.

Is there a day of week that is not as busy as others? Any suggestions?

How much of the tours or even the self-guided headphone tour would I miss by using a wheelchair?

We are hoping for some great autumn foilage while there.

Vicki