House Party at Biltmore Estate

When the Vanderbilts were in residence at Biltmore House, they often hosted house parties for their friends. Now you can enjoy a similar unique experience with a group of interesting, like-minded people who will soon be your friends!

On April 11-14, 2010 at the Inn on Biltmore Estate, The Appalachian Institution will host a "Spring House Party" featuring an exciting series of lectures on "The Genius of Frederick Law Olmsted: Designer of Biltmore's Park." Presenters will be Alan Banks, who is responsible for historic interpretation of the Olmsted National Historic Site, and Bill Alexander, Landscape and Forest Historian at Biltmore.

For this series of lectures we will be actually living in one of the great American landscapes created by Frederick Law Olmsted with an opportunity to see "close up" the elements that comprise it and the maturity of Olmsted's vision as he had only imagined. We will explore the designer's life story, the work which earned him primacy in the canon of great landscape designers, the sources of his inspiration and the design concepts which created such great majesty and beauty and contribute so lavishly to America's landscape.

The "house party" is a collaboration between The Biltmore Company and The Appalachian Institution, Inc. to bring prominent scholars to Biltmore on an occasional basis to lecture on topics of historical interest.

House party guests will be resident at the Inn on Biltmore Estate. The package includes deluxe room accommodations, a seated welcome dinner, the chef's abundant hot breakfast buffet each morning and cocktails each evening. The daily morning lectures are complemented by fine evening entertainment including a concert in Biltmore House itself and a cocktail reception on Biltmore's roof, from whence one can survey vast vistas of the Park. On Wednesday morning, Bill Alexander will lead a bus tour of the Park, highlighting Frederick Law Olmsted's design elements and the maturation of his landscape. Throughout the house party, guests will enjoy free access to Biltmore House, its grounds and beautiful gardens, primed for Biltmore’s annual Festival of Flowers event which begins April 3rd. In particular, there are the many pleasures of the Inn itself. Its luxurious accommodations, fine dining, attentive staff and all the other amenities of this fine hotel are complemented by its magnificent views of the Blue Ridge Mountains. A wide variety of additional activities such as the spa, golf, fly-fishing, hiking, biking, and horseback riding are also available at an additional charge. And if the life of a country grandee doesn't hold enough excitement for you, the vibrant City of Asheville awaits just outside the gates of the Estate!

So do yourself a favor. Join the spring house party at the Inn on Biltmore Estate and welcome Spring refreshed in mind, body and spirit!

The package price is $1285.00 per person, double occupancy, with a single supplement of $700.00.
To register, download and complete this Biltmore Spring House Party Registration Form.

For more information, email jwardpurrington@aol.com or call The Appalachian Institution, Inc. at 919-604-4624.

For further information about Biltmore House and the Inn, go to www.biltmore.com. For a virtual tour of the Inn, click here to get a sense of this magnificent small hotel.