Though the family stopped living in the mansion in the 1950s, it is still owned and run as a tourist attraction by the fourth generation of Vanderbilt descendants.
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Learn more about the backgrounds and interests of Biltmore's first hosts, George and Edith Vanderbilt.
Branches of the family are found on the United States East Coast. Contemporary descendants include American art historian John Wilmerding, journalist Anderson Cooper, actor Timothy Olyphant, musician John P. Hammond, screenwriter James Vanderbilt, and the Duke of Marlborough.
Consuelo's children, John Albert Edward William Spencer-Churchill and Ivor Charles Spencer-Churchill share a common ancestor with Princess Diana; his name was James Hamilton, Duke of Abercorn. The Duke of Abercorn was their great-grandfather and is Prince William's 4th great-grandfather.
Why Is Biltmore So Expensive? The ticket price is you paying for the HUGE amount of maintenance, restoration, and staff that it takes to run the estate, along with all the various activities that there are to do around the estate. It's not JUST to see the house and grounds.
Estate HistoryIt was during the winter of 1942 when an unusual array of guests arrived at Biltmore House. Accompanied by guards on their journey from Washington, D.C., 62 paintings and 17 sculptures from the National Gallery of Art were carried into the house and placed in the Music Room.
Famous works by Rembrandt, Raphael, Anthony van Dyck – even Gilbert Stuart's George Washington portrait – were whisked away from Washington's National Gallery of Art by train and hidden at the estate to protect against possible attacks.
One of the most popular tourist attractions in the state, Biltmore Estate proves that even the most-visited places have their secrets. The sprawling Vanderbilt mansion conceals hidden doors and secret passageways.
Speaking of ghosts, the entire second floor of the hotel is closed off and never used due the presence of spirits (the ghost kind…the other types of spirits can be found in the hotel's two bars). We entered the bar through the Cognac Lounge, which added two paintings that used to reside in the Gold Room.
Consuelo Vanderbilt is the third of her name — her great great grandmother and great great great aunt were both Consuelo Vanderbilts — and is the third cousin, twice removed, of Anderson Cooper, the CNN journalist.