10 Things We Love about Family Easter Getaways at The Greenbrier

Of all the holidays Easter is our second favorite, and we LOVE celebrating with egg hunts, visits to the Easter bunny, getting dressed in our Sunday best for church and a fancy Easter brunch, and more. We found the perfect place for family Easter getaways that seamlessly combines luxury with good old-fashioned fun for an unforgettable Easter break. The Greenbrier is a famous hotel (home to The Greenbrier Classic golf tournament) in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia that knows how to celebrate Easter. We were there for four days for a short Spring vacation since our daughter only had 2 days off for Spring Break. We had a wonderful time from the moment we arrived, where we received glasses of champagne during check-in, to the moment we left with sad faces because no one wanted to leave. This phenomenal resort has more activities (55 +) than any hotel we’ve ever visited, which makes for a fun-filled family vacation. Our long Easter weekend was full of beautiful moments, family bonding, and creating priceless memories. Here are 10 things we love about family Easter getaways at The Greenbrier!

1. Easter cookie and egg decorating workshops

Our kids (and Alexis too) love to decorate Easter eggs and sugar cookies. The Greenbrier knows what kids love, and they offer everything to make Easter dreams come true for both parents and kids. One thing I (Alexis) don’t like about doing these activities at home is the horrible mess. Easter egg dye inevitably spills on the floor and colored sugar and candy sprinkles get in every nook and cranny in the kitchen. The fabulous thing about egg and cookie decorating at The Greenbrier is that parents can just relax and not have to clean up the mess!

Our kids, who are currently 3 and 5 years old, had so much fun creating cookie masterpieces with pastel-colored icing and sprinkles in every color of the rainbow. We had a great time as the taste-testers and those little Easter bunny and Easter egg cookies were delicious. 🙂 The kids were so concentrated on decorating their cookies that they were barely interested in eating them. Now that’s a win win!

2. Children’s dance party with the Easter Bunny

After the kids ingested their share of sugar cookies, it was time to burn off some energy at the Children’s Dance Party. An elegant red and pink ballroom with crystal chandeliers was the beautiful backdrop. The Easter Bunny, Greenious P. Brier, was so kind to swing by for photos. The kids danced, ran and hopped like bunnies across the ballroom while burning off their sugar cookie high. Genius idea to have the dance party after the cookie decorating! The Greenbrier thinks of everything. 😉

We sat back to relax on the luxurious red velvet couches as we sipped tea and nibbled mini flower cupcakes from the Afternoon Tea, another complimentary daily activity at the resort. We didn’t let them have all the fun though and joined them for some dancing too. Our little daddy’s girl beamed with joy as her father twirled her across the dance floor. Our mama’s boy snuggled up to his mama while dancing and loved having so much undivided attention. Those are moments we will forever cherish, especially when they become teenagers and don’t want to have anything to do with us. LOL!

3. Easter concerts and free movies every night

If you haven’t sufficiently worn out the kids by now, stay up for some free entertainment every night at the resort. The Greenbrier’s Springhouse Entertainers perform nightly, either in the elegant lobby or the chapel. During the holiday weekend they performed an Easter Cantata in the chapel with angelic voices singing beautiful songs. On our last night we enjoyed the show in the lobby, which was a mix of Easter songs and popular selections like Beauty and the Beast. Our kids were mesmerized by the performance and couldn’t help but bob their heads to the beat of the livelier tunes.

The resort also has a movie theater, the old-fashioned kind with a stage and popcorn machine. We enjoyed nightly movies in the theater (for free) while noshing on popcorn (also free). We watched Sing and Coco, two kid-friendly movies that we all enjoyed. It was the perfect way to wind down our exciting day as the kids began to finally get sleepy.

4. Children’s egg roll and family challenge

There are so many opportunities for family bonding at this luxury retreat, including the Family Challenge and Easter Egg Roll. Each family is a team and competes against other families rolling hard-boiled eggs across the floor with their noses. The last round stepped up the challenge a bit with the wheelbarrow egg roll. Bertaut held both kids’ legs as they rolled their eggs across the floor while walking on their hands in the wheelbarrow position. It was a lot of fun and burned off more of their endless energy. Each family walked away with a prize for playing, which was a giant Easter egg filled with chocolate malt balls. Yum!

Speaking of chocolate, make sure to check out the Easter chocolate display near the reception desk which is crafted out of 700 pounds of gourmet chocolate. Kids and adults will marvel at dark chocolate eggs, bunnies and chickens sculpted out of chocolate by the resort’s award-winning Executive Pastry Chef and his team. Our son wanted to jump the fence and dig in! LOL! I seriously wonder what would happen if someone’s child got into that display when no one was watching…

5. Parents can relax while kids play at Adventure Zone

We love spending time together as a family, and we also love having some time together as a couple. The Greenbrier makes that easy with their children’s program called Adventure Zone. They offer a half day program (9am- 12:30pm or 12:30-4pm) and a full day program (9am-4pm) where the kids get to enjoy all sorts of fun activities like swimming in the indoor pool, playing games, watching movies, puppet shows, and more!

After 3 days of nonstop family fun at The Greenbrier, we were ready for some R&R and signed the kids up for the full day Adventure Zone program. Our kids weren’t ready to leave when we came to pick them up at 4pm. They had a blast, made new friends, and were worn out from playing so hard all day long.

Meanwhile, we enjoyed an exciting morning driving around the scenic country roads in a Polaris Slingshot, which you can rent from the resort for a half day ($299) or full day ($399). Make sure to dress warm because it was an unseasonably cold spring day and I was freezing after speeding around for several hours through the mountains.

After a peaceful kid-free lunch at Draper’s, we headed to the world-renowned Greenbrier spa for the blissful Wei to Wellness treatment. We started with the sauna, then had a soak in the healing sulpher waters from their mineral spring scented by aromatic flowers, enjoyed a blissful 80-minute massage, and ended with the sulpher steam room. The entire treatment was amazing and one of the best massages we’ve ever had! We highly recommend a spa treatment while your kids are at Adventure Zone! However, there are tons of other activities to choose from like Segway tours, horseback riding, going to the shooting range, bunker tours and more. The resort offers more than 55 activities to choose from on the 11,000 acre playground. Of course, you could also just snuggle in your room. 😉

If a day of kid-free relaxation sounds good during your luxury getaway, then try Adventure Zone. The fee is $64.50 for a half day without lunch, $74.50 for half day with lunch, or $87 for the full day, which includes lunch and a snack. We highly recommend signing them up for the full day for only $15 more to give you much more time to enjoy the resort’s adult-only activities. The program is for kids ages 3-14 and they must be fully potty-trained. There is also an evening program for kids ages 6-14 from 6-10:15pm for $68.50 (dinner is additional).  However, if you child is not old enough for the program yet, there’s another option we’ll share more about next.

6. Affordable babysitting service allows for date nights

If your children don’t meet the criteria for Adventure Zone, you can still enjoy some time to yourselves. The resort offers a babysitting service day and night that is surprisingly affordable! We hired a babysitter so we could enjoy the complimentary champagne toast and waltz in the casino that is offered every night. We both love to dance and rarely have the opportunity to go out anymore, so we stayed for the DJ for a few hours. We had a blast! The DJ was hilarious and played all our requests, which kept us on the dance floor all night.

Our little date night kindled the flames of passion, literally ;). Our cozy cottage with a wood-burning fireplace was the perfect place to retreat at the end of the night. What’s more romantic than sitting by a crackling fire sipping wine with your better half? Here’s a look at the South Caroline Cottage’s luxurious living and dining room with plenty of space for everyone to stay happy. The kids had their own bedroom, which made for an even better date night.

Meanwhile, while we were out cutting a rug, the babysitter got the kids ready for bed, read them a bedtime story, and tucked them in for the night. Our sitter plays basketball on a local high school team, she was very courteous, conversational and did such a good job with the kids.

Babysitting at The Greenbrier is so easy to arrange- just call concierge and they will ask for your children’s ages and any special needs.  You pay the babysitter cash directly at the end of the night. The rate is excellent- just $13 per hour for the first child and $4 per additional child. We were expecting a much higher rate for a luxury resort, so were pleasantly surprised. Combine the affordable babysitting with the free champagne toast and DJ at the casino, and you have an inexpensive yet exciting date night in the works.

7. Children’s Fun Fest and Egg Hunt plus an Adult Egg Hunt

Of all the fun family-friendly activities at the resort, our children’s favorite Easter event was the Children’s Fun Fest and Easter Egg Hunt. This excellent party included bounce houses, crafts, pony rides, balloon-making, face painting, temporary tattoos, egg drops, games and light refreshments. The kids bounced off more energy, giggled over their pink bunny noses and whiskers, and proudly displayed their bunny balloon headbands and ears.

The grand finale was the egg hunt with hundreds of colorful eggs filled with candy decorating the lawn of America’s resort. There were prizes for special eggs and goody bags for every child. Egg hunts have always been one of my favorite Easter activities, so this was also a highlight for me.

If you’re anything like me and love a little healthy competition, then come to the adult egg hunt at The Greenbrier. Once again, hundreds of eggs filled with candy were scattered across the lawn. Adults lined up in their Easter best and waited until the whistle so we could begin the hunt. I was out of breath after making a mad dash for a golden egg, which earned me a prize of $25 match play at the casino. One woman told me that she won a free night stay in her golden egg last year. Now that’s a prize worth sweating for! The kids enjoyed opening my eggs afterward one by one and adding to their stash of Easter candy.

8. Your daughter can be a princess for a day!

Our daughter is such a girlie girl and loves all things that sparkle, shine and glitter. The Greenbrier’s salon offers Little Princess Services that include up-do’s complete with a rhinestone tiara, makeup, and mini manicures. We pampered our sweet little angel with the princess makeover at The Greenbrier and she was bubbling with excitement! She chose her sparkly tiara, purple eye shadow, pink lipgloss, and pink nail polish to match her dress and lips. She had the biggest smile on her face the entire time and felt like a little lady. This mama even got pampered with a complimentary glass of champagne while my little princess was beautified.

9. Easter Sunrise Service at The Greenbrier Chapel

This is the first year we’ve been away from home on Easter. It is such a special holiday, and we love going to church on Easter morning. You don’t have to miss Easter church service when you stay at The Greenbrier. The resort has its own chapel with Easter sunrise service at 7am. Local reverends led us in prayer and delivered a sermon while a church choir and the Springhouse Entertainers led us in song. The service is best for older children or children who can sit quietly, since there is no nursery program. Our kids were still sound asleep, worn out from the action-packed weekend, in the cottage with Bertaut while I snuck off for a peaceful Easter service by myself.

10.  The best Easter Brunch ever

The grand finale of Easter celebrations at The Greenbrier is Easter Brunch. We heard from other guests who’ve been coming for years that it is a brunch unlike any other. Still, we were awe-struck as we entered the grand hall that was decorated to the nines for Easter with a live band performing on stage.

It felt like a very classy wedding with an impressive and colorful buffet. The selection included shrimp, salads, carving stations with ham, roast beef and lamb, made to order omelettes, waffles, pastries, fruit, bacon, sausage, grilled chicken, fish and more. The food was delicious and as usual with buffets, we ate too much.

The favorite part for the kids was the dessert table, or tables I should say. It was like something out of Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory, with sweets galore! There were tarts that looked like chickens, parfaits with tiny chocolate ladybugs, chocolate pies decorated with chocolate egg nests, an ice cream bar complete with sprinkles, whipped cream and gummy bears! Our kids were in dessert heaven, and even us adults were drooling with anticipation. Here’s a look at some of the edible art on the dessert table for Easter Brunch at The Greenbrier.

Last words on Easter getaways at The Greenbrier

The Greenbrier in White Sulpher Springs, West Virginia is a lovely place to spend Easter weekend breaks as a family. This National Historic Landmark and world-class resort has it all to entertain both kids and parents, from egg hunts to dance parties, Easter concerts, puppet shows, movies and more! We had an incredible spring break getaway at this gorgeous resort surrounded by the Allegheny Mountains. Easter at The Greenbrier has become a tradition for many families, and we can certainly understand why. If you’re looking for spring break ideas or somewhere special for your Easter weekend getaway, consider The Greenbrier for a holiday to remember. At just 4.5 hours from our home near Baltimore, we will surely be back for another Easter at The Greenbrier. Check out the beautiful scenery in our drone photo below. By the way, a drone is so much fun to capture epic vacation photos, so Get your own drone for photos that will make all your friends jealous! 😉

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A lot of people are already in on the secret that The Greenbrier is the perfect place to spend Easter with your family. Therefore, we recommend scheduling your activities and dinners in advance because the resort is at high capacity over the holiday weekend. Some other activities at The Greenbrier you don’t want to miss include the carriage ride, bowling, swimming in the historic indoor pool, and daily Afternoon Tea accompanied by live piano. You will feel like you stepped back in time at this classic luxury resort that has welcomed royalty, celebrities, and more than half of the Presidents of the United States.

Check out this 360 degree image of the indoor pool at The Greenbrier that we captured with our Ricoh Theta Spherical Camera.

Post from RICOH THETA. – Spherical Image – The Greenbrier Indoor Pool

Whether it is for Easter, Spring Break, or a family vacation any time of the year, America’s resort is sure to please even the pickiest kids with the plethora of exciting family activities. What’s more, the staff love children and were extremely helpful during our visit. Our waitresses cut up our children’s food, walked them around the breakfast buffet to help them get their food, and even showed them the chefs baking brick-oven pizzas so we could finish our dinner in peace once the kids were done eating and were getting antsy. We were certainly impressed by how they went out of their way to take good care of us! See how happy we all are below. Our son who is normally stingy with kisses was laying them on us all weekend long. 🙂 By the way, if you aren’t following us on Instagram yet, click on the blue Follow button below to follow along on all our adventures across the world, from lesser-known Oman to the popular Maldives!

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**Disclosure- Although we paid for our own accommodation, The Greenbrier provided complimentary activities and meals during our visit. All opinions are our own. This post also contains affiliate links which means that if you purchase a product through our link, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you!

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