Business

A10
Business
Three
cheers
for the
Bavarian
Shepherdstown inn
among 3 W.Va. spots
to rate four diamonds
CHRISTINE MILLER FORD Spirit Staff
SHEPHERDSTOWN – The Eastern Panhandle’s hot spot for
German food and fine lodging has been awarded a four-diamond
rating from AAA.
The Bavarian Inn in Shepherdstown again was among businesses
given the coveted designation – a step below AAA’s top Five-Diamond
award made this year to just 101 destinations in the United States.
The ratings, made public late last week, are based on unannounced on-site property evaluations by AAA inspectors.
Only two other businesses in West Virginia – The Greenbrier
in White Sulphur Springs and Stonewall Resort in Roanoke near
Weston – won four diamonds in the 2013 ratings.
The Bavarian, founded in 1977 by Erwin and Carol Asam, today operates under the direction of the couple’s sons, David and Christian.
The Bavarian has long garnered praise from both locals and outof-town visitors, many from D.C. and Baltimore, for an outstanding Sunday brunch and other traditional German offerings from a
kitchen overseen by German-born executive chef Wolfgang Vomend, as a setting for weddings and other special events, for the
11-acre site’s lovely views overlooking the Potomac, for the Bavarian’s annual fall Oktoberfest celebration with German music and
dancing, and more.
The Bavarian has been a staple on both AAA’s four-diamond list as
well as Mobile Travel Guide’s four-star ratings system since the 1980s.
The newest resort making AAA’s list is Stonewall, built a decade
ago in the region where famed Confederate Gen. Stonewall Jackson
grew up. Stonewall features lakeside cottages, nature trails, a spa,
restaurants and an 18-hole Arnold Palmer Signature Golf Course.
But for The Greenbrier, the four-diamond designation marked a
decline. It’s the first time in 36 years that the historic resort wasn’t
named to AAA’s Five-Diamond list.
Now The Broadmoor hotel in Colorado Springs, Colo., is the
only hotel in the nation to earn AAA’s Five Diamond Award every
year since the rating system began in 1976.
The Greenbrier, which dates to 1778, and JW Marriott Camelback Inn Resort & Spa in Scottsdale, Ariz., enjoyed that status until
this year.
Greenbrier President Jeff Kmiec said AAA alerted resort officials
last year that The Greenbrier would receive a four-diamond rating
primarily because of the size of bedrooms and bathrooms in about
10 percent of the resort’s 710 guest rooms.
“We simply cannot alter the footprint of the hotel in order to meet
the new standard,’’ Kmiec said in a statement. “We cannot destroy
hundreds of years of legacy and history for larger bathrooms.
“To quote (Greenbrier owner Jim) Justice, `That’s like asking to
change the face of Mount Rushmore; we won’t do it.’”
Instead, the resort updated the rooms’ interiors. Since Justice purchased the resort in 2009, more than $300 million has gone into
renovations and additions.
“While we regret the AAA decision, we are more committed than
ever to provide the absolute best in hospitality as we have done for
the past 235 years,” Kmiec said.
Twenty-six U.S. presidents, including Dwight Eisenhower, John
F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson, have stayed at The Greenbrier
over the years.
– The Associated Press contributed to this report
ABOVE: Shepherdstown’s Bavarian Inn
is among just three West Virginia destinations awarded a four-diamond designation
from AAA this year.
LEFT: Brothers Christian and David Asam
oversee the Bavarian’s lodging, restaurant, pub and other offerings. They took
over the award-winning business from
their parents, who founded it in 1977.
RICK LEE
Fee 60
Research shows that early detection for
$
breast cancer saves thousands of lives
Screening Mammogram
for Women 35 & Older
CHRISTOPHER JACKSON
ABOVE: German-born Wolfgang Vomend serves as the executive chef at the Bavarian Inn.
BELOW: Every September, the inn’s Oktoberfest celebration
brings locals and out-of-towners to Shepherdstown to celebrate
German food, music and dance.
each year, and doctors believe that
many more lives could be saved if
more women took advantage of
City Hospital
these tests. That’s why WVUH-East
-DQXDU\‡DPSP
Jefferson Memorial Hospital
-DQXDU\‡DPSP
continues to offer Digital Mammogram
Screening Clinics to women age 35 & older
at a discounted “community service” fee.
Cash, credit card or check accepted.
A physician’s order is not required, but
patients must register by calling 304-264-1297
at City Hospital and 304-724-5647 at Jefferson
Memorial Hospital. Any patient without a physician
will be assigned one to receive test results.
CYAN
MAGENTA YELLOW
BLACK
®
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