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Celebrate
the Holidays like Royalty at the
Biltmore Estate
by
Jessica Howell
Thousands
of flickering flames tickle their
crinkled encasements lined precisely
along the grand entrance to North
Carolina’s legendary Biltmore
Estate. It stands today as it did
for the first time on Christmas
Even in 1985, a looming presence
intricately maintained and pristinely
showcased for the holidays.
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The
Biltmore Estate |
Among
miles of garland and piles of cranberry
red pointsettas, guests are ushered
through the mansion known as America’s
largest private residence.
Guests
slip through the front doors that
once welcomed the high-society family
and friends of George Vanderbilt
III, and admire the limestone arches
and marble floor of the Entrance
Hall before catching a glimpse of
the lush Winter Garden. During the
holiday season, the glass-roofed
room features a performing choir
that masterfully harmonizes carols
as pamphlet-toting visitors stop
to stare, listening to the angelic
music.
It
is here, in the sprawling, 250-room
Biltmore Estate that patrons flock
for a taste of life beyond luxury.
In a palace built to outshine Europe’s
finest manors, dreams are realized
and ambitions are put firmly in
place.
In
1889, ground was broken on Biltmore
Estate. The six-year construction
project would include the creation
of a four-story, stone mansion and
its gardens, farms and woodlands
on what was existing farmland. Eventually,
the estate became a nearly self-sustaining
property, containing a nursery,
mill, dairy building and eventually
spawning its own small town —
Biltmore Village.
You
see, Biltmore Estate had been dreamt
of, planned and built under the
guidance of George Vanderbilt III,
a twenty-something bachelor. It
wasn’t until 1898 when Vanderbilt
married Edith Stuyvesant Dresser
that the estate became a family
home and the birth place of the
couple’s child, Cornelia Vanderbilt.
Roaming
the four acres of floor space that
makes up the Biltmore, I attempted
to imagine life here as a child.
If ever there was a daydream come
true, this is it. Besides the elegance
of art-filled sitting rooms and
playfulness of vast, open spaces,
the home offered up a bowling alley,
swimming pool and enough staff to
oblige every youth-inspired whim
and desire.
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The
Biltmore's Banquet Room |
From
the magnificent Banquet Room —
which boasts a 35-foot Christmas
Tree in December — to the mystery
of the lovely Library (with its
ceiling painting transferred from
its original home in Venice, Italy),
the Biltmore palace exceeds every
wild expectation.
Self-guided
tours of the home are included with
daytime admission to the estate,
which also grants visitors access
to the estate's gardens, winery
and River Bend Farm. We were privy,
however, to a behind-the-scenes
tour, which allows guests to explore
typically roped-off areas including
the servants' quarters and dressing
areas. The optional Rooftop Tour
garners splendid views of the castle’s
majestic, Appalachian backdrop.
In
addition to tours of the home, the
Biltmore Estate offers activities
to easily occupy a weekend getaway.
Available for booking are carriage
rides, horseback riding, biking,
hiking, Fly-Fishing School and the
Land Rover Experience,
a driving school that I opted to
partake in.
Ideal
for a romantic escape or mother-daughter
vacation, the estate also boasts
the Inn on Biltmore Estate, an elegant
hotel that features comfortably
luxe guest rooms, beautiful mountain
views and of course, afternoon tea.
It
was in my own Victorian-inspired
room that I pulled open the curtains
to reveal the rolling Appalachian
hills while I dined upon fresh fruit
and a hot breakfast. And for a moment
in time, I felt like royalty.
If
You Go…
Biltmore
Estate
1 Approach Rd.
Asheville, NC 28803
Inn
on Biltmore Estate Reservations
1.800.411.3812
Read another review on the Biltmore Estate by Denise Mccluggage.
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