Dating to 1778, The Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, ranks as one of the oldest and most storied resorts in the United States.
For more than 236 years, guests — who have included the likes of Serena and Venus Williams, royals and 28 US presidents — have come to the National Historic Landmark in the Allegheny Mountains, in part, to enjoy the healing properties of the area’s natural mineral waters and its many restaurants.
Now, for the first time ever, the resort is offering loyal clientele and any interested spender the opportunity to call The Greenbrier their home. This month, the resort embarked on a new real-estate venture by launching sales of its Legacy Cottages, situated in the heart of the grounds near the main building.
Numbering 75 in total, the one- to five-bedroom offerings have asking prices of just less than $1 million to $11 million — and span 580 to 5,803 square feet. They’re being sold as fully furnished turnkey residences, with interiors by the celebrated New York-based firm Dorothy Draper & Co. (The company is named after the iconic American interior designer Dorothy Draper, who refurbished the entire resort prior to its reopening in April 1948 following World War II, when it was used as a hospital and housing for diplomats.)
Constructed between the late 18th and early 20th centuries, these cottages were introduced as rentals and reserved by families during summers who stayed for weeks, even months, at a time. They would rent the same home year after year, according to longtime Greenbrier historian, Dr. Robert Conte, and came to escape the summer heat in favor of the cooler temperatures in the mountains.
Many of the properties are arranged in rows and named after the destinations where their renters were from — Baltimore Row and Florida Row, for instance.
“These rows were mini-communities where families from the same cities socialized all summer over dinner parties, golf games and other occasions,” said Conte. “We even have Paradise Row Cottages from the early 1800s, which are the oldest buildings in Greenbrier and got their name because they were the best available accommodations on the property at the time they were built.”
The newest cottages — 33 in sum — date to the 1990s and are on Spring Row, he added. They were rebuilt to replace structures that had become dilapidated to the point where they couldn’t be renovated.
Design is a part of the story that’s as significant as the sales of the cottages themselves: Draper’s protégé, Carleton Varney, was tasked to give all of the homes a reimagined aesthetic fit for the modern age. He embarked on the multi-decade project of revitalizing the dwellings starting in the mid-1990s, which continued until 2022.
Varney created a stunning look favoring bold colors, such as pineapple yellow, lime and azalea — the latter of which is in the genus rhododendron, which is West Virginia’s state flower. He designed rooms with sumptuous florals to bring the surrounding gardens inside and layered them with other patterns to bring eye-catching appeal to the spaces.
Varney passed away last year at age 85, but his legacy was carried out by a design team led by Rudy Saunders, who worked closely with Varney.
The Greenbrier, overall, is famed for spacious interiors with dramatic colors, classical influences and modern touches. According to Saunders, the Draper team’s philosophy for the resort is gift-wrapping your vacation memories in a package that’s crowned with a dazzling ribbon.
All of the Legacy Cottages are decorated in keeping with this sensibility — and feature luxury fabrics and handcrafted furniture, along with antiques and vintage pieces, and artwork.
Examples of the properties include the Colonnade Estate Home, which has a dining room that holds 30 people, two stately antique crystal chandeliers and a hand-painted floral wallcovering. It also features a powder room with a rose quartz pedestal sink.
The Valley View Estate Home reflects the mountains of West Virginia with interiors of plaids, antlers and an oversize flagstone fireplace.
Saunders designed the model cottage.
“We adapted the floorplan for how people live today,” he said. “We added a table that serves double duty for dining and work from home, provided more closet space and designed a modern marble bathroom. Staying true to the Draper style, it has a fresh spring color palette of aqua blue, raspberry, pale green and crisp white.”
Buying a Legacy Cottage has privileges beyond calling a slice of Americana home. Owners have access to The Greenbrier’s many amenities, including four golf courses. Residents can also use the tennis and pickleball courts, multiple gyms, a 40,000-square-foot spa, a casino and multiple restaurants including a steakhouse, Prime 44 West, and a sushi spot, In Fusion.
A forthcoming highlight is access to a members-only Legacy Clubhouse. Currently under construction with an expected debut in early 2025, it will house a restaurant, a cocktail lounge, a gym and a spa.
Cottage owners can also take advantage of additional perks, such as a dedicated concierge, free airport transfers and use of branded golf carts — plus free and unlimited use of those golf courses.
The late Varney’s son and the president of Dorothy Draper & Co., Sebastian Varney, has a personal tie to the resort that he says makes the company’s work for the cottages that much more meaningful.
“We have a 75-year history of working with The Greenbrier, and I have been coming to the resort my entire life and have fond memories of staying in many of the cottages,” he said. “What better way to celebrate those times than to be part of this next chapter where the cottages get a second life for future generations who will create their own good times in the years to come?”
