Like
two vast cruise ships moored in the Allegheny foothills, The Homestead and The
Greenbrier embody the jarring but wonderful concept of elegance amid wilderness.
Resembling one another more than they resemble any other American resorts, these
two institutions evoke a rivalry akin to Athens-Sparta, Oxford-Cambridge or even
Coke-Pepsi.
I’ve
had the good fortune to stay at both pleasure palaces multiple times over the
past decade, almost always following up a Homestead stay with an immediate trip across
the Virginia-West Virginia border to The Greenbrier. Not officially, not even
consciously, I’ve been at work on a which-takes-the-cake comparison article this
whole time. Even fledgling resort-ologists naturally study the two landmarks
side by side and begin looking for slight edges in one department or the other.
That curiosity is what sends us out for an extra nine holes in the late
afternoon, or scanning back through the wine list a third or fourth time
Certainly, back up to the dessert buffet.
Moments of rare enjoyment pile up
in my mind from these visits. I’ve had a golden eagle fly 15 feet from my head
while on the Cascades Hike at The Homestead. I’ve taken a mind-boggling tour of
the government’s Cold War evacuation facility at The Greenbrier. I’ve played a
combined dozen-plus rounds of golf at the two properties. I have seen—at
near-completion stage—the nationally celebrated Greenbrier Sporting Club, a
separate entity from The Greenbrier that extends its famous brand name into the
heady world of high-end real estate. I’ve checked out the cool little ski hill
behind The Homestead and bowled my personal-best string in The Greenbrier’s posh
little bowling center—without even using the gutter tubes.
All this grueling
field work along with unswerving journalistic objectivity qualifies me to
analyze the two icons in detail, add up all the style points and offer an honest
summation. The battle for bragging rights in the Allegheny
Mountains now commences.
