A New Owner for Troubled Greenbrier

In January I posted about the struggles facing the historic Greenbrier Resort in West Virginia. Last Thursday, March 19th, the 231 year-old Greenbrier succumbed to the current recessionary pressures and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. According to court records the resort has lost more than $90 million in the last five years including $35 million last year alone, though it's unclear if any of this loss is attributable to the extensive renovations done in 2006 and 2007.

The landmark property, which has hosted 26 Presidents and some noteworthy royals including Monaco's Prince Rainier and Princess Grace and the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, has been owned by the railroad CSX since 1910. According to a statement released simultaneously with the bankruptcy filing the Greenbrier Hotel Corporation said it has struck an agreement to sell the resort to Marriott, pending the bankruptcy court’s approval and contingent on its renegotiating labor contracts before the sale. Labor costs associated with union contracts have been but one major hurdle in recent years.

If the deal goes through Marriott would receive $50 million over two years from CSX Corp. to operate the resort. Marriott in turn would pay CSX between $60 million and $130 million within seven years, depending on timing and the hotel's financial performance. CSX would be cutting loose a n0n-core asset blamed for a 32 percent drop in CSX's fourth-quarter 2008 earnings.

Greenbrier Resort Struggling Despite Renovation

The historic Greenbrier Resort is the highest profile luxury resort property to be hit by the economic slump. CSX, the railroad company, which owns the Greenbrier engaged Goldman Sachs to explore options for the resort which lost $35 million in 2008; one can only assume one of the options being considered is sale of this National Historic landmark property. CSX itself is facing problems after seeing freight volume drop precipitiously on its lines. The resort includes multiple golf courses, fine dining restaurants, 721 guest rooms and suites as well as 96 guest and estate houses, and a 40,000-square-foot spa.

In addition to the economy management has had to deal with a difficult situation with the union ostensibly regarding the most recent layoff of 650 staff and a forced furlough in 2007 and talk of cutting healthcare and retirement bennefits.

Detailed photo of the front facade, notice the blue ceiling of the porte-cochere. A great southern detail in a very Draper shade.

For the design minded the resort was perhaps Dorothy Draper's crowning achievement. Her designs, in place for decades, introduced an American audience to a layering of fabrics (particulary oversized florals and stripes), mix of colors (greens and pinks), garden elements, chinoisserie, and the forever glamorous black and white checkerboard marble floors. In 2007 Draper's protege Carlton Varney worked on a $50 million renovation of the hotel. Freshening the hotel while preserving the Draper style.

A guestroom showing the vibrant color palette and mixtures of patterns.

Along with the refreshed decor came a relaxation of rules that had been in place since the resort opened including the requirement that men dress for dinner, and changes in the fee structure including the elimination of the "Modified American Plan" their version of the all-inclusive dining package.

The reception hall with all the Dorothy Draper hallmarks, including the large scale black and white checkerboard marble floor.

One of the most desperate attempts to restore the fortunes of the resort came in November 2008, when the resort pushed a ballot initiative to let the resort add casino gambling. The intiative passed, but so far no slot machines in the lobby.

A hall with oversized floral draperies and a wonderfully elaborate pediment in the distance. For fun count the colors.

Occupancy at the hotel as of the time of this post is around 100 on any given evening leaving over 600 empty rooms.

The upside in all of this? Great deals, in a quick perusal of their website they're offering $400 resort credits, spa packages, and free nights to lure in guests.

Home (Far) Away From Home

"At the little town of Vevey, in Switzerland, there is a particularly comfortable hotel. There are, indeed, many hotels, for the entertainment of tourists is the business of the place, which, as many travelers will remember, is seated upon the edge of a remarkably blue lake--a lake that it behooves every tourist to visit. The shore of the lake presents an unbroken array of establishments of this order, of every category, from the "grand hotel" of the newest fashion, with a chalk-white front, a hundred balconies, and a dozen flags flying from its roof, to the little Swiss pension of an elder day, with its name inscribed in German-looking lettering upon a pink or yellow wall and an awkward summerhouse in the angle of the garden. One of the hotels at Vevey, however, is famous, even classical, being distinguished from many of its upstart neighbors by an air both of luxury and of maturity." Daisy Miller by Henry James


These lines begin the story of Daisy Miller by Henry James. I think it's quite appropriate that a great story start with a great description of a hotel, just as a great vacation should.


In this case it's the San Cristobal Tower (operated by Sheraton's Luxury Collection Brand). We selected this hotel for a variety of reasons, not the least of which was it's commanding view of the city, a distinct benefit of it's location at the foot of Cero San Cristobal across the Mapuche River from the majority of the city and the Providencia neighborhood. Here are a few photos of this excellent hotel with perhaps the most attentive staff I have ever had the privelege of meeting.


View of the hotel from the edge of the Mapuche river, the trees in the background are on San Cristobal Hill.
Here is a photo of the hotel lobby. The desk to the left of the image is one of three desks where check-in and check-out take place with a glass of Spumoso (Local Sparkling Wine).

A picture of our room, very traditional in a very sort of Ritz Carlton style, though a bit more spacious than the typical Ritz and with nice touches like operable windows and 110 outlets in the room and bathroom.

A picture of the bed after turn-down service. Loved the little chocolates, bottled water with crystal tumblers, and the slippers laid out on a little mat. I can be a bit germ phobic so the remote on the sheet didn't thrill me, but I can forgive this one questionable judgement call.
A spread of wine, pisco sours, cheeses, meats, nuts, fruit, and pasteries on the 21st floor where we frequently watched as the sun set casting beautiful shades of pink and orange on the snow capped Andes.

Nashville Part II

“The quality of food is in inverse proportion to a dining room's altitude, especially atop bank and hotel buildings (airplanes are an extreme example).” ~ Brian Miller (Food writer and former New York Times restaurant critic)

One of life's great pleasures is staying in a world-class hotel. An extension of this, for excellent hotel's in your own town and for those who would rather dispense with their wealth by other means, is spending copious amounts of time in the hotels' bars and sometimes restaurants (I can't wholeheartedly endorse all great restaurant's dining options). This was the inspiration for today's quote which I have, using the Scientific Method, repeatedly confirmed, for when views are the primary attraction the food certainly suffers. I should have given up on dining in the clouds a long time ago, but seem to tempt the fates once or twice a year only to lose again.

The hotel on which I wish to lavish praise is The Hermitage Hotel in Nashville, Tennessee. I have previously written about the pleasures of The Oak Bar located beneath the hotel in what some might refer to as a basement. This my friend's is, as Mr. Miller suggests, an indication of the fine quality of the bar and adjacent restaurant.

I have now had the pleasure of staying at The Hermitage several times with increasing frequency and now have begun to be recognized by the staff, who have proven it is possible to exceed their already impeccable service by greeting you by name at almost every turn.

I took a few pictures of the room during my last stay to share as the hotel does not provide quite enough pictures to really satisfy.