The most famous home in American history
If you were a wealthy and successful businessman who sought their own getaway from the everyday hustle of city life, what would you do? Move out of the country? How about building the largest private home in American history? That's what George W. Vanderbilt did. My wife and I took a trip to Asheville, NC to see the prestigious Biltmore House. Check out the gallery below.
Winter Garden's entry way
Taken from the main entrance is a grand sunroom. Everything seen here, with exception of the plants of course is original to when the home was first built....
Game on
...to the game room where men would play pool, smoke cigars, and talk about gentlemanly things. The string with beads is how they kept score and on the right is a hidden door Vanderbilt and his guests would use to have private discussions.
The true heart of the home
This room...man what a marvel. What you're looking at now is the library Vanderbilt kept hundreds of books in. Everything here is custom made from the fireplace to the furniture and the breathtaking ceiling art. It's said that Vanderbilt spared no expense in the making of his Biltmore estate and this room is prime example of his legacy.
A king's suite
We're now in the room G.W. Vanderbilt slept in. The walls are lined in real gold and though it seems small his bed is an elevated king. The elegance and size of his room dwarfed his bed adding to the Biltmore's grandeur.
Boys just want to have fun, right?
We fast forward a bit to two rooms that made quite the splash on our tour.First up is the massive underground swimming pool. The 70,000 gallon, 10 feet deep pool was a literal playground for Vanderbilt and his guests. During our tour the pool had to be emptied as a leak was found to be flooding the room beneath it. If swimming wasn't your thing back then located next to it was a workout room. In the mornings the men would ride horses and in this room they'd do all sorts of exercises to keep themselves in shape.
Nom, nom, nom...
The tour didn't wrap up in the kitchen but you know what they say about finding your way to a man's stomach. You need food to make that happen and with a kitchen this size there was no shortage of delectable treats. Cooks had the best equipment ever seen at that time to prepare feasts for Vanderbilt and his guests. The windows along side of this room gave breathtaking views of the mountains which were often used to inspire the meals created here.
Now I can show you every room, nook, and corner of the Biltmore but let's be real, there's too much and too little room for this blog for that. The home itself keeps 33 bedrooms, 45 bathrooms, and 65 fireplaces. It took over 9 million pounds of limestone to build mounting up to a never before seen, or yet to be surpassed 175,000 square foot luxury home. Oh and that's just the home. There are acres of land, a couple of hotels, restaurants, gardens, and winery on the Biltmore grounds. Based on those stats alone you can see why this is the most famous home in American history. It's overflowing with ambiance and if you're in search of a place to visit that, as Vanderbilt had in mind could be used to get away from it all I can personally vouch the Biltmore estate is one you won't forget.
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