If you are not aware of the story, in the late 50s the US government made a deal with the Greenbrier Resort to build a new section of the hotel... which would include a secret bunker under it. This bunker would be used for Congress in the event of a nuclear war type situation.
Our guide on our tour told us that the government, at this time, would have taken over the entire property for government use. The place was maintained, ready at a moments notice, for such an event until it was exposed by a journalist in 1992.
Fresh food was available, and it was filtered through the hotel restaurant so that nothing was wasted, yet a supply was still available.
In the bunker, we did see water tanks, dorm rooms, and an incinerator that would have been used in the event of a nuclear holocaust. We were also allowed to walk through the decontamination showers that would have been used in that crisis (that luckily never happened).
They do not allow cameras, cell phones or any recording devices on the tour, as the areas are mostly used for data storage now, and such devices might compromise the security. Almost everyone in our tour group was OK with checking their phone for the tour, except for one lady. She thought she was very important as she pouted like a tween about having to give up her phone for the tour.
Some of the old bunker area is in the public parts of the resort, so you can get photos of the formerly hidden door to the bunker, the dining area, and a few other spaces.Our guide told us that there is still some mystery surrounding how the journalist (Ted Gup) who exposed the bunker found out about it. There are many theories. One theory was that the bunker was outdated at this point, and the government leaked info to him. That way, the place would be exposed, and the government would be off the hook for maintenance costs.
We had a great guide for our tour who obviously enjoyed giving tours, and he knew a lot about the bunker. After our tour I chatted with him some about the Presidents who had visited. He noted that Clinton had been by, along with George W. He told us that Jimmy Carter (during his Presidency) would call the bunker often, just so that they would be familiar with his voice- as the President would need to communicate with the bunker in a crisis.
As someone who remembers the terror and threat of the Cold War... there was something very fascinating yet sad about visiting this bunker. There is something truly scary to me about words like decontamination shower, nuclear crisis, etc. This tour is directly linked to the boogy-man that gave me nightmares as a kid.
BUT, it is now open for tours as a very unique... and historically scary attraction. It gets my highest possible recommendation.
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