Biltmore Adventure

My wife and I recently celebrated our fifth wedding anniversary, and being from the mountains of N.C., I took her on a trip (adventure) to The Biltmore House and to a wonderful Cajun restaurant in Hendersonville, N.C. It had been several years since I had been to the Biltmore House, and I once again was overwhelmed by this stately mansion resting in mountains of North Carolina.

A few facts about The Biltmore House:
Constructed between 1888 and 1895, and is 175,000 sq feet in size.
It is the largest home in America.
The house and/or its gardens have been featured in 12 Hollywood films.
It has a 70,000 gallon swimming pool (located in the basement-totally enclosed).
It has more than 11 million bricks.
250 Rooms.
65 Fireplaces.
43 Bathrooms.
34 Bedrooms.
3 Kitchens.
The home contains over 4 acres of floor space.

Judi and I visited 57 rooms on our tour, and walked from the 1st floor level through the 4th floor, and our last stops were in the basement as we concluded the tour. It is difficult to describe the grandeur of the mansion in words, it is a tremendous testimony to the architect who designed the home. The library was probably my favorite room that I visited, all 2000 sq feet of it. It was an amazing room, with a tremendous fireplace and consisting of 2 levels of bookcases, requiring you to walk up a spiral staircase to reach the 2nd floor.

The swimming pool came in as a close second for me as my favorite room. It was constructed on the basement level, completely enclosed within the house. It is reported to hold 70,000 gallons of water...and from viewing it, I would have to say I can believe it. It was tiled from top to bottom, with wooden decking constructed around it. It was also heated, and had underwater lighting built in. Quite the advancements for the late 1800's.

It took us nearly 3 hours to complete the tour through the home, and see the 57 rooms that were open to the public. Just imagine, there are still almost 200 rooms that we don't get to see. After walking back outside, we began taking pictures of the home and the grounds...which are unbelievably landscaped. We spent over an hour walking through the gardens and taking pictures. They were beautiful and only added to the wonder of the home. With water fountains and statues throughout, you almost felt transported to another time and place, as you walked through them.

I would highly encourage you to visit the Biltmore House, in Asheville, N.C. and have a nice get away for a couple of days. There are several wonderful places to stay in the area, and I don't think you would ever regret your time spent at the Biltmore House and Estate. I am including some of our photos so you can see the majesty of this place. I hope you enjoy them. Until next time.