Join your Waterford friends and neighbors for this festive 2 night trip to Asheville offering a full immersion into the Biltmore House during the Holiday Season along with a special treat of enjoying Chihuly at Biltmore!  

  No other residence in America offers a more authentic, original, and inspiring view of life during the Guided Age at Christmas than the Biltmore House.  George Vanderbilt first welcomed guests to Biltmore Estate on Christmas Eve in 1895 and today his legacy and love of entertaining are shared with you in a self-guided audio tour hosted by Estate Curators.  Thousands of ornaments, dozens of trees, garland, wreaths, vintage toys and holiday fragrances greet you in every room!  The Estate visit experience also offers time to enjoy the Conservatory bedecked with hundreds of blooming poinsettias. 

Beyond the morning tour of the Biltmore House, the afternoon offers a one hour Premium guided Legacy of the Land tour of the estate grounds and admission to the Dale Chihuly Exhibit.  Chihuly at Biltmore includes pedestal works, Drawings, and large-scale installations of Chandeliers, Towers, Mille Fiori, and Neon.   There is also optional time to enjoy wine tasting at the Biltmore Winery and visit the Biltmore Legacy Exhibit featuring rarely seen private collections from the family. 

Additional trip highlights include dinner at one of the most iconic Historic Hotels of America, The Omni Grove Park Inn and the 32nd National Gingerbread House Competition.  Following dinner, a stroll through the hotel celebrates the design, innovation and tradition of this amazing competition.  Each year contestants travel from 30 states and Canada and spend more than 500 hours constructing their entries.

On our departure morning, we pay a visit to the Blue Ridge Parkway Folk Art Center.  The Folk Art Center showcases the finest in traditional and contemporary craft of the Southern Appalachians. It houses the Southern Highland Craft Guild’s century-old Allanstand Craft Shop and exhibitions in three galleries.  Guild artisans demonstrate a variety of arts and crafts in the Folk Art Center lobby.

**Be sure to scroll down to read about all the trip inclusions**

After the full payment due date of October 15th,  refunds are only possible if the trip can be resold to another passenger or expenses can be recovered from the trip vendors.    Trip insurance  is also available for purchase through this website.  

This trip is best enjoyed if guests are comfortable with walking and stairs. 

Not all rooms of the Biltmore House are accessible.  Anyone limited to visiting all the public rooms can view them from the video lounge on the second floor.