America may not have a traditional monarchy history, but there a few influential family names that come to mind when our history books speak of “American royalty.” Starting the family business by borrowing $100 from his mother in 1810, Gloria Vanderbilt’s grandfather built a railroad empire that would eventually earn the “Vanderbilt” name a spot on the coveted short list.
I was first introduced to the “Vanderbilt” name through a pair of designer jeans. At 6 years old, I knew nothing
about the family’s rise to prominence during America’s “Gilded Age.” All this small-town Jersey girl knew is that I loved the way that embroidered Vanderbilt signature and famous swan logo looked on the back pocket of my favorite jeans. My mom had more reasons than I can count for why she refused to buy the jeans for me…but hey isn’t that what grandparents are for? After a few of my cleverly thought out “protests” in my grandmother’s favorite department store, those jeans were mine. A young fashionista in the making, my tiny fingers would spend hours flipping through my grandmother’s big glossy Harper’s Bazaar and Vogue magazines. It was the 80’s and you couldn’t pick up a magazine without coming across an ad for Gloria Vanderbilt Jeans.
As the years rolled by and Vanderbilt’s short-lived courtship with fashion design had fizzled, my growing affinity for castles and design eventually lead me to the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina. Long before I was modeling designer fitted jeans in my bathroom mirror, Gloria’s great uncle (George Washington Vanderbilt II) was building a legacy of his own using French Renaissance chateaus as inspiration to construct the palatial Biltmore House between 1889 – 1895.
As I stepped into the marbled entry hall of the 250-room home (including 35 bedrooms and 43 bathrooms) nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains, I was mesmerized by the octagonal sunken Winter Garden that is surrounded by stone archways. The largest privately owned house in the United States (the 178,926 square foot home is still owned by George Vanderbilt’s descendants), I was swept away by carved rosettes, statues and trefoils. The 107-step cantilevered Grand Staircase spiraling around a four-story, wrought-iron chandelier holding 72 light bulbs is a prominent fixture in the home.
The perfect weekend mountain escape, we stayed 5 miles from the Biltmore House at The Inn at Biltmore Estate. Upon check-in, we were greeted with a complimentary champagne reception hosted by the Banquet Team. The champagne reception offered an amazing opportunity for us to enjoy a toast in front of the lobby’s oversized fireplace.
“The voyage of discovery is not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.” – Marcel Proust
[CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ABOUT WHERE MY LOVE FOR CASTLES STARTED]
