Distance: 226 miles | Approx. driving time: 4 hours and 10 minutes

In the middle of the mountains of West Virginia, you’ll find a The Greenbrier — a massive 11,000-acre luxury resort with a 235-year history.

Fun fact: 27 of our country’s 45 Presidents have visited The Greenbrier.

Consistently ranked as one of the top hotels in the country, The Greenbrier has a TripAdvisor rating of 4.5 out of 5 stars.

My wife and I booked a trip to The Greenbrier, dropped off the kiddos and stayed for a power-packed 36 hours. Here’s some quick intelligence for you if you’re thinking about making the trip.

The Rooms

The Greenbrier has 710 rooms, including 33 suites and 96 guest and estate homes.

On a weekend in the winter, hotel rooms start at $268 (plus tax) and cottages start at $408 (plus tax).

The resort also has 10 lobbies, which make for cool hangouts where you can pretend you’re a founding father.

Lobby just outside the casino

My wife and I stayed in a Spring Row Cottage. The cottage has a fun front porch with views of the lawn as well as a fireplace, parlor with sofa bed, wet bar, dressing area, king bed and two full bathrooms. It could have easily fit four people or we could have brought the kiddos.

If you’re traveling as a couple, I recommend a hotel room as it’s cheaper and you’ll be in the massive main building. But if you’re going with your family or a group or another couple, do the cottage.

Families or larger groups should consider the rental homes. They’ve got some cool rental home setups.

Things to do

As you’d imagine in a resort the size of The Greenbrier, the activities options are insane.

Activities include golf, hiking, horseback riding, bunker tours, shooting, ice skating, whitewater rafting, indoor and outdoor pools, indoor and outdoor tennis, spa, and a new(ish) casino with table games.

First tee on the The Old White TPC

Outdoor pool with a ton of seating and a view that overlooks one of their golf course.

Indoor tennis courts

Depending on the weather, I recommend hitting up the pools, spa, golf and casino. The Greenbrier has four golf courses and a nine hole course as well. Their newly remodeled Old White TPC hosts a PGA Tour event, so it’s legit.

And the casino is awesome. My wife got on a craps heater and we couldn’t leave the table.

Food & Drink

With nine restaurants and five bars/lounges, The Greenbrier offers a solid mix of dining options.

Unless you’re looking for a formal dinner, I recommend skipping the main dining room and instead eating a steak at their Prime 44 West steakhouse or crushing some Asian food at their In-Fusion restaurant, which is conveniently located so that you’ll need to walk through the casino.

Other dining recommendations include grabbing a milkshake from Draper’s and doing the breakfast buffet in the Main Dining room.

Cinnamon rolls on the buffet in the main dining room

Table side caesar salad at Prime 44 West

Poolside club sandwich at Tree Tops Cafe, attached to the outdoor pool

Ready to hit the road?

Check out the rest of our Driving Distance destinations.