Interstate 64 cuts an asphalt swath through the Alleghenies in southern West Virginia. Stretching from Beckley east to the Virginia border, the expressway carries speeding travelers into a landscape that promises misty mountain mornings, rippling brooks and a slower way of life. The route also paves the way to three luxurious country retreats: Glade Springs Resort, the General Lewis Inn and The Greenbrier.
Glade Springs Resort
Daniels
Just south of Beckley are the sprawling grounds of Glade Springs Resort. After checking in at the registration building (where you'll receive a map) you'll likely drive some distance before you reach your accommodations. The road twists and turns through the property's hills and glades: past Mallard Lake, grazing deer and two golf courses.
Glade Springs provides a variety of accommodations, ideal for family reunions and groups of friends. Executive suites include four hotel-suite clusters grouped around a central living, dining and kitchen area. The suites can be rented as typical hotel rooms, but they're perfect for groups who want to spend their daylight hours together.
Glade Springs' villas and lodges offer space and privacy in a townhouse environment. Full kitchens allow guests to make their own meals and snacks. Large living areas, multiple baths and sleeping accommodations for up to 12 offer both ample common areas and privacy. And each includes either a screened porch or a patio, the perfect setting for warm-weather meals, an evening game of cards or viewing the deer grazing on the golf course.
Dinner at Glade Springs' restaurant, Glade's Grill and Bar, provides fairway views through upper-story plate glass windows. An extensive wine list, steaks and seafood, pasta and vegetarian dishes are served on tables set with linen, crystal and silver, and the service is superb. For breakfast or lighter meals, guests venture over to Small Talk Cafe, near the resort's outdoor swimming pool.
Inside the cafe, visitors sign up for outdoor activities: canoe and kayak rentals, horseback riding or bike rentals. Pick up a trail map and spend an afternoon wandering through the woods. Sign up for tee times at either of Glade Springs' 18-hole championship courses. Or, make your way over to Glade Springs' spa for a relaxing afternoon of massage and body treatments.
General Lewis Inn
Lewisburg
Lewisburg is the home of the General Lewis Inn, about an hour east of Glade Springs. The inn was built in 1834 but named for an 18th-century general who discovered the local natural spring and then went on to fame as a soldier, first fighting Indians and then fighting the British.
The General Lewis sits atop a velvety green hill, a row of rocking chairs arranged along its veranda. Inside, guests register at
a hand-built walnut desk dating from 1760, the same desk that Patrick Henry and Thomas Jefferson registered at when the desk occupied another inn. Revolutionary and Civil War antiques furnish the inn's common areas and bedrooms. The hand-hewn ceiling beams (originally part of the property's slave quarters) and creaky floorboards add to the historic ambiance.
The inn's 23 rooms and two suites include original fireplaces, antique rocking chairs and beds, and rag rugs. And while bathrooms are smaller than those in modern hotel chains, they have all the modern amenities.
One of the General Lewis' chief draws is its main-floor restaurant. The 1834 architecture feels like just the right complement to the elegant linen and crystal table settings. Comfort foods such as mountain trout, fried chicken, duck and pork chops are favorites.
During your free time, visit Lewisburg's historic sites, including the Old Stone Presbyterian Church built in 1796 or the Confederate cemetery. Or take a walk through downtown Lewis-burg. Nearly a dozen art galleries sell local and regional works.
The Greenbrier
White Sulphur Springs
The modern history of White Sulphur Springs is said to have begun in 1778, when a local woman, suffering with rheumatism, was brought to soak in the local sulphur spring and miraculously walked home under her own power.
Whether the story is true or not, for more than two centuries White Sulphur Springs has drawn visitors who believed that "taking the waters" would cure their ills. And the Greenbrier was begun to provide lodging for those guests, expanding and becoming more elegant ever since.
Today's visitors may still come for health reasons. The Greenbrier Clinic is famous for its comprehensive health and fitness analyses. But it's more likely that guests are coming for the curative powers of the Greenbrier's fine food, meticulous service and golf.
Outside, guests are greeted by the Greenbrier's signature colonnaded entrance and uniformed attendants. Inside, the resort shouts designer Dorothy Draper's influence: pink walls in the ballroom; yellow bedspreads with emerald carpeting in a guestroom.
The Greenbrier's spa offers dozens of services to choose from, but its signature treatment comes closest to "taking the waters." The treatment begins with a soak in water from the area's famous spring.
Complimentary activities include evening movies, afternoon tea, use of extensive fitness facilities, hiking trails and shuttles to whisk you around the property. For a fee you can also keep busy with four 18-hole golf courses, tennis, a bowling alley, horseback riding, even falconry and an off-road driving school.
Southern WV Tourism, 221 George St., Suite 2, Beckley, WV, 25801, 304/252-2244.
The Greenbrier, 300 W. Main St., White Sulphur Springs, WV, 24986, 800/453-4858. www.greenbrier.com. Doubles begin at $228 per person; suites at $350. Rates include breakfast and dinner, afternoon tea and shuttle service.
General Lewis Inn, 301 E. Washington St., Lewisburg, WV, 24901, 800/628-4454. www.generallewisinn.com. Doubles $120-$140.
Glade Springs, 200 Lake Dr., Daniels, WV, 25832, 800/634-5233. www.glade springs.com. Doubles $148-$208.