Biltmore Estate and Winery, Ashville, NC - Asheville - TravBuddy

I loved the Biltmore, the first and second time. But I'd be hard pressed to return again for a third time. Here is my combined review:

Cost varies by the time of year. It is cheapest in winter, and all tickets purchased on line are discounted, verses at the gate.

http://www.biltmore.com/buy_tickets/admission.asp


The First Time:
Paid 51.00USD for access to the Winery, Gardens and the House. My tour was not guided as that costs extra. Nor did I purchase the audio unit, as it cost extra too. (Everywhere America's richest family can make another dime, they do) My friend and I used the hand held pamphlet to read and discuss as we walked through each room like herded cattle. The house is amazing! What grandeur! My favorite rooms were:
*the Winter Garden on the Main floor. The glass ceiling, wood work and flora were beautiful. There is a secret hatch in the floor so the gardeners could service the room without tromping through the house with pot/dirt/clipping etc.
*the Grand Staircase that is an amazing cantilevered design. And in the center hangs a chandelier weighting 1,700lbs suspended from one point.
*the Oak Sitting room has amazing wood work, and artifacts from the families world wide tours. A table from Napoleon sits in the room, and it is rumored that his heart was held on this table before it was joined with his body days later.
Other favorite rooms were, the Observatory, the Halloween Room, the Bowling Alley, the Dressing Rooms, the Swimming Pool (impressive!) - that even has a buzzer system to get house service while swimming - Maybe the first pool side bar??, and the Brown Laundry. Interesting!

The gardens were breath taking. There are trees from all over the world, and more lilies than one could ever count outside the Conservatory. The Italian garden was the only garden I visited the first time. (and the second time it was under reconstruction) It was spattered with statues and a central water garden that is viewable from the terraces. There were beautiful coy swimming. I unfortunately was in the area for a funeral so I didn't bring my camera. :(

The other mentionable is the Stable cafe. It's based inside the old carriage house where the horses were actually stabled. I wouldn't complain being a maid or a horse in the Vanderbilt household!
Menu link attached:
http://www.biltmore.com/visit/dining/stable/menu.asp
I had: -Turkey Club, Bacon, Swiss Cheese, Chive Mayonnaise; man it was mouth wateringly good!!

As for the Winery, we were exhausted after almost two hours in the house, touring the stables, the one garden and then our 8 hour drive home...we didn't spend too much time in the winery. Seen one, Seen them all. Right?

On Trip two I invested in the audio tour. Learned more than from the pamphlet, but either would suffice. If you're going to go and pay the high admission price just go with a guided tour - learn it, enjoy it, it's worth it, I'd guess. There are all types of guided tours: rooftop, behind-the-scenes, guided house, legacy of land, etc...all for an additional fee. :)

On this trip we walked the gardens as we had an 11 year old boy who needed to run and burn energy. The gardens are without a doubt breathtaking, well cared for and a treat for the eyes. Garden lovers could skip the house and just take in the 100's of acres of manicured land for ideas and daydreams (and you could pinch a few succulents if you felt ever so inclined). At the end of the lowest level of gardens (be prepared for the hike back up - my girlfriend needed a break after we summited the top - and I didn't complain) there is a pretty cool water fall. It's worth the hike. It was unpopulated, likely because covering the house, etc and the gardens in one day is too much on your body.

We blew through the wine tour just to get to the taste; didn't even stop - just walked right through, didn't stop for the video like everyone else- had 5 samples, and headed home after dinner.

The short of it: It's worth it, twice. That way you can get in a lot of one thing, and a sample of the other. But after two times, forget it.

You can get a pass for 40.00 extra dollars (basically it means you get a 11.00USD discount that you could use on one of the scrumptious lunches) for a return visit within the year. I would have done that had I know that twice would have been the magic number to enjoy, then get sick of all of the amazing Biltmore Estate,

This French Renaissance chateáu remains America's largest privately owned home and one of the only castles in the country. George and Edith Vanderbilt's 250-room family home and country retreat in Asheville, NC is relaxing and just huge! During the Christmas season they had at least 3 3-story tall Christmas trees inside. Masterful artworks and 16th-century tapestries, Napoleon's chess set, a library with 10,000 volumes, a Banquet Hall with a 70-foot ceiling, 65 fireplaces, an indoor pool, bowling alley, and priceless antiques fill all the rooms in this gigantic house. We also visited the vineyards on the 8,000-acre estate and took in a wine tasting at the Biltmore Winery. Good stuff and a fun time! We were even treated to a few snow flakes on Christmas Eve. Price ranges from $25 to $50 per person depending on the season, but they also give an on-line discount.