WEST VIRGINIA'S BEST RESORT HAS HOSTED 28 PRESIDENTS

More than 200 years later, The Greenbrier is as iconic as ever.

Anybody who has had the chance to set foot inside The Greenbrier will tell you that it’s unlike any other resort in America. 

Tucked away in West Virginia’s beautiful Allegheny Mountains, The Greenbrier has a long and fascinating history that includes a very unique relationship with Washington, D.C. This sprawling luxury retreat beloved by generations of U.S. presidents sits just outside White Sulphur Springs, where nature has beckoned high-society families and dignitaries alike since 1778. 

More than 200 years later, The Greenbrier is as iconic as ever. In fact, it’s the only West Virginia resort to appear on our 2025 South's Best Resorts list. This luxury resort is so much more than golf, and dress codes, and Dorothy Draper’s vivid colors and bold patterns—and those are a lot. The Greenbrier also offers a rare look at a largely unseen part of America’s history.

A total of 28 U.S. presidents have visited The Greenbrier over the years, beginning with Martin Van Buren, John Tyler, and Millard Fillmore, who stayed there so regularly that it was known as the summer White House. Since then, it has played host to more than a dozen other presidents including Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, Dwight Eisenhower, and George W. Bush.

The Greenbrier has done more for the country than house its heads of state. During WWII, the U.S. Army transformed it into a 2,000-bed hospital named Ashford General Hospital, which treated more than 24,000 soldiers between 1942 and 1946 before it was converted back into a hotel. And perhaps most notably, during the Cold War era of the 1950s, the U.S. government constructed a secret fallout shelter and relocation facility for Congress beneath The Greenbrier. The bunker maintained a "constant state of readiness" until 1992, when it was decommissioned and de-classified. It is now open to the public for tours. 

Today The Greenbrier, which is now officially designated as a National Historic Landmark, boasts 710 rooms as well as six Estate Homes and 64 Greenbrier Cottages. It also has multiple restaurants and shops, a 40,000-square-foot spa, award-winning golf courses, fishing, swimming, and more. Be sure to stop by the Presidents’ Cottage Museum to learn more about this legendary place’s presidential history. 

Read the original article on Southern Living

2025-03-15T13:10:05Z