Biltmore Estate — America's grandest home

By Stephanie Edwards

There is nothing quite as remarkable as walking down a trail, and in the distance, seeing Biltmore Estate in all of its glory.

This grand castle was the vision of George W. Vanderbilt. He wanted to build a self-sustaining estate that would benefit the growth of Asheville, as well as provide a luxurious place for his family and friends to play.

In 1895 he opened the house, which was designed by architect Richard Morris Hunt, to family and friends for the Christmas holiday.

Vanderbilt married Edith Stuyvesant Dresser in 1898, and brought her to the estate to live. Their only child, Cornelia, was born on the estate in 1900. Cornelia married John Francis Amherst Cecil in 1924, and the estate remains in their descendants’ possession. Portions of the home were opened to the public in the 1930s, and the Cecil family continued to live in the home until the 1970s.

Guests today, just like Mr. Vanderbilt’s special company, are greeted by the stone house’s massive exterior, with immaculate details including a copper roof and trim work, which has changed to a gorgeous patina, and carvings of gargoyles and regal-looking figures that were carved directly into the stone.

As guests approach the front door, they are welcomed by a host and immediately taken by the Winter Garden, a sunken room filled with plants and antique bamboo wicker furniture. This indoor garden is enclosed with a glass roof.

The tour of the house’s main floor takes guests through the Billiard Room, where Vanderbilt and his distinguished male guests would have enjoyed an after-dinner game of billiards and possibly a round of brandy and cigars.

Perhaps the most amazing room in the entire house is the Banquet Hall, which features a 70-foot vaulted ceiling and an amazing collection of tapestries.

Next on the tour is the Music Room. Biltmore Estate plans show that Vanderbilt planned to use the space for a music room, but it was not finished until 1976.

Vanderbilt’s Library features 23,000 books and numerous unique antiques, but the room’s real treasure is the ceiling, where “The Chariot of Aurora,” a painting that once hung in the Pisani Palace in Venice, is displayed.

The second floor takes guests through the Louis XVI Room, one of the house’s 32 guest rooms where the Vanderbilts’ many guests would have stayed.

Like most wealthier couples of their time, the Vanderbilts had their own bedrooms. Mr. Vanderbilt’s room overlooked the picturesque views of the mountains. The room has gold-encrusted walls, walnut furniture and regal red and gold upholstery and bedding. Attached to his bedroom is a bathroom, which contains a round bathtub.

Mrs. Vanderbilt’s room had to be regal as well. Her room is the feminine equivalent to her husband’s room. The room is decorated in deep purples and gold. The ceiling looks like a cross between a Faberge egg and an elegant frosted pastry.

The third floor features eight additional guest bedrooms — North Tower Room, Earlom Room, Raphael Room, South Tower Room, Watson Room, Van Dyck Room, Morland Room and the Madonna Room. Each of the rooms is uniquely decorated with rich fabrics and decadent antiques.

The basement was the Vanderbilt’s recreational haven. Guests could spend the day swimming in the house’s enormous indoor pool or bowling at one of the first bowling alleys in a private home.

Also in the basement are the house’s main kitchen and laundry facilities, both of which contain amenities that were highly unusual for the time period.

Some rooms that were recently added to the tour include the following:

•Louis XV Suite: This was considered to be one of the most opulent rooms in the house. It will feature beautiful garden views and silk decorations. The room served as the birthplace of George and Edith Vanderbilt's only daughter, Cornelia Stuyvesant Vanderbilt. Cornelia’s two sons were also born in the room.

•Damask Room: A reproduction of the room's original wallpaper has been produced.
Small fragments of the original paper were found underneath door moldings.
Curators matched the paper to full-sized samples of the wallpaper that had been placed in storage over a century ago. This allowed them to have an accurate reproduction made.

•Claude Room: Antique lovers will enjoy seeing items from George Vanderbilt’s furniture collection like an English chest of drawers with an inlaid sunburst motif and a fall front that conceals a writing surface and inner compartments.

•Tyrolean Chimney Room: The focal point of this room is the over-mantel, constructed from a tile-stove that George Vanderbilt purchased in his travels through Europe. These stoves were used to heat castles in Europe during the Middle Ages.

The estate's expansive gardens, as well as the wooded areas that line the roadway throughout the estate show original landscape architect, Frederick Law Olmsted’s, well-designed plans.

Landscaping experts continue to maintain the gardens and trees, with specific garden plans for each season. Some of the estate’s original plants and trees have not been disturbed.

True Biltmore enthusiasts will want to take one of the estate's many specialty tours. One example is the Rooftop Tour, which, like the name suggests, takes guests to various points of the house's roof. During the tour, a guide provides guests with facts about the Vanderbilt family that would otherwise be hard to obtain. Likewise, the views of the mountains, including those of Mount Pisgah, are incomparable. Specialty tours are not included in the cost of estate admission.
For more information, call (800) 624-1575 or visit www.biltmore.com.