GREENBRIER TO
CLOSE FOR MAKEOVER THE
ASSOCIATED PRESS The Greenbrier will be closed to guests for three months next winter because of a $50 million-plus makeover. As a result, about 500 full-time employees face temporary layoff, resort officials said this week. The project, which is expected to take 18 months, will include the White Sulphur Springs resort's main dining room, the Tavern Room, Old White Lounge, main kitchen and about 65 guest rooms in the 93-year-old center section of the main building. Guest services will be suspended Jan. 2 - after the resort's holiday guests check out - and will resume April 2, resort spokeswoman Lynn Swann said. The renovation project is The Greenbrier's most extensive since a redecoration of the hotel interior by noted decorator Dorothy Draper in the mid-1940s, Swann said. Swann didn't have any details Thursday about the layofff, but said 200 to 250 employees are laid off during the traditionally slow winter months anyway. The resort is Greenbrier County's largest employer, with about 1,800 employees during the peak season. The renovations to the guest rooms include new furniture and marble bathrooms. Swann confirmed that the plans include telephones in the bathrooms. Those missing amenities were cited by Mobil in 2000 when it stripped the resort of its five-star rating, a distinction The Greenbrier had held for 38 years. Regaining the fifth star isn't the purpose of the renovation project, Swann said, but it would be a nice bonus. "We are always looking to continue to be a leader in the industry," she said. "We want to stay ahead of the curve in the luxury resort industry." Last week, The Greenbrier received AAA Allied Group's Five Diamond Award for the 30th consecutive year. The Greenbrier, which is owned by railroad company CSX Corp., is also finishing renovations to its 112,544-square-foot bunker and plans to reopen the once-sccret facility to the public in July. The bunker, built between 1959 and 1962 at a cost of $14 million, was supposed to house Congress in the event of a nuclear attack. After its existence was revealed by an investigative reporter in 1992, it became a popular attraction, drawing 30,000 to 35,000 visitors annually. |
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