The Biltmore Company

As a passholder, I drove to NC with my husband to visit our son who lives in Weaverville, and also had a 5pm Biltmore house entry. On line, passholders are allowed to have passengers in vehicle at 5pm. They were dropping me in front of the house due to foot issue. Kent at the entry point said my husband AND my son could not drop me off in the same vehicle, saying I had to pick one! We had to drop my husband at the Visitor Center and get back in vehicle line. My son dropped me at the house. It’s ridiculous my son could not be with his dad at the Visitor Center, because he would not be able to re-enter to pick me up! On an overnight visit, they were separated as I hurried through the house. I also received a rude comment from another employee when I was agitated and focused on going through quickly with their separation. Would the family business like their family treated this way? I have screen saves of the on line policy. I have screen saves of Guest Services placing me on hold for 20 min then disconnecting. An incoming call when answered took me to the long menu again! I have screen saves of the next call. I was told I’d be called by a supervisor with no call received. There is NO written policy I can find that states only 1 person can be in the car with you! My visit was upsetting and after having brought so many paying guests to The Biltmore over the years this has has hurt me. The lack of customer service response has hurt me more. I have customer service experience and have served on a TN tourism board, this is not the Biltmore I thought I knew and loved.

A server disregarded a note I left her on the wine menu
She was brusque and did not understand what she did
Wine tasting on 1/18 Admission time was 9:15 am Afternoon
Server Rachelle
I had 2 guests
We were given menus
I wrote on my menu Grape Juice only
and turned it so she could read it
She said she preferred the menus turned to patron,as she had it memorized.
I assumed she had seen what I wrote
A glass was placed in front of me, and as I was speaking to my guests, I never looked at it
It was wine
I am a Recovering Alcoholic
24 years
I am a card holder and have visited many times
NEVER has this happened before
Most people who pour at your wine bars are respectful of a written message
I am not going to announce out loud my situation
I did not make a fuss nor say anything disparaging. I am a Hostess at an exclusive local Country Club and have manners
This whole situation wouldn't have been as insulting had she not given me watered down I'm not sure what to drink when I asked for Grape Juice
She then told me I could take myself to the Wine Bar and get some
WHAT. You don't have any.? I remember the juice I used to get
What a letdown and I didn't have to go get myself
I'm sorry your workers were stressed on a busy MLK weekend
But there is no excuse for her to ignore
an important issue.
I deserve a response

Deceptive Tickets. The tickets say unused Candlelight Ticket can be redeemed. We never entered the house for the Candlelight that evening.
We visited the Biltmore Estate on 11/29/2019. We purchased Candlelight Tickets for the 10:45 PM entry to the house. The ticket states verbatim: Adult CLC + Grounds. MAY ENTER ESTATE GROUNDS DAY OF OR DAY AFTER CANDLELIGHT. Unused Candlelight ticket is good for ONE Daytime visit through 10/31/2020. When I called today 12/30/2019, they said the ticket was considered used. We never went into the House for the Candlelight. I find this deceptive as we thought we could go back and redeem for the daytime as we did not partake in the Candlelight, we grew tired waiting for 10:45 PM as the weather worsened. I paid $105.93 for 2 tickets and $52.97 for my daughter, totaling $264.83. I am very disappointed this is how customers are being treated as when I called, it was sorry, we scanned your ticket on the grounds. I find the ticket deceptive / misleading as Biltmore considers the ticket used by entering the gate and walking around the shops, grounds. I would have stayed had I known this and there was no mention of being able to come back on the ticket.

Ok, so now I am pleasantly surprised and happy as to how our previous situation has been resolved. I received very pleasant phone call from the Biltmore Estate group sales center and spoke with a lovely and very kind woman named Anne. She is the true example of customer service! She patiently listened to my dilemma and was able to fix our very confusing situation. I have learned one thing through all of this. I will only book future visits through the Biltmore website or via the call center.

I am now excited to share my love of this amazing home and its history this Christmas time with my mom and husband!

Thank you Anne.

Went online to purchase 1 day pass ticket, was charged incorrectly for 7 tickets when only 1 was to be purchased.
Went online to purchase 1 day pass ticket on August 14 for $55 and with tax would have been $58.85. After checking out, on the confirmation screen it showed that 7 tickets were purchased and my debit card was charged for $411. 95. The purchase was made at 9:31 pm (I have the email that was sent to me to confirm). The confirmation code is ***. I immediately saw the discrepancy and attempted to call the Biltmore, however it was no longer their working hours and I emailed them at 9:41 pm after being unable to contact someone (would be glad to provide the email) . I called again the next morning at 8 am their time on August 15 and explained the situation and was told a supervisor would call me in 24-48 hours. Called again on the 16th in the afternoon at 1:36 pm was told by an associate that there was nothing they can do to correct the situation. A supervisor called me later that afternoon at 2:19 pm on the 16th, again said there was nothing they could do to correct the situation. The supervisor said they would reach out to their web team to see if there was a system error but if it wasn't a known error at that time then they still would be unable to correct the situation.

As longtime annual passholders at the Biltmore Estate, my family and I had just sat down for a picnic along the *** at approximately 6:15 PM on Thursday, 7/5/18 when a white SUV with an estate logo on its side barreled up beside us and a gentleman by the name of Ray jumped out. We were all surprised by his aggressive demeanor, and his first question was, "Are you family?" When we replied, "Yes," he said, "I mean of the estate?" Being confused by his line of questioning, we began to ask questions as we had no idea why we were being interrogated, or what we had done to warrant such an aggressive encounter. Being longtime passholders, we have picnicked in this same spot countless times over the years. It is a spot where guests walk, run, bike and ride horses past regularly. Countless times we have been passed by security vehicles and estate shuttles alike. In fact, we are fairly certain this same gentleman jumped one of our friends' vehicles in this same location in the past year when his battery died. Not once have we ever been told this is an area we could not be. When asked if this was a new rule, he responded that it's always been that way. The encounter probably lasted 5 total minutes as we packed up, but the security officer continued to be aggressive and threatening while we simply wanted to be sure we understood the "rules" and where we could or couldn't be, and what we could or couldn't have in our picnic. My experience and concern is multi-faceted. 1-When we renew our passes online every year, it is a monetary transaction that does not require reading of "rules," new, old or otherwise. When we got home, we did find some rules on the website that were contradictory to what Ray had threatened us with. 2-It became apparent that Ray was not interested in being sure as paying customers that we understood any rules that were being broken. He was unable to respond accurately to questions and seemed to be unreasonably agitated by our existence from the beginning. He approached us in an aggressive manner that escalated completely unnecessarily, and left me concerned for others who might be visiting the estate. 3-Ray may have simply been having a bad day. But he treated us as if we were engaged in criminal activity rather than guests who might be unaware of a rule. He threatened us with several courses of action as if we were not complying. As customers, there is a right way and a wrong way to be treated. 4-I think it is crucial to properly vet an individual who is being employed in an enforcement capacity. Unfortunately, we live in a society where we see individuals in these types of positions wielding excessive force and authority on the news almost daily. This encounter left me and my family feeling like Ray might not be a good fit for a position of this nature. Had we been different people, this exchange could have gone very wrong. I think Biltmore Company needs to be aware of this and take appropriate measures and precautions to keep everyone safe and informed in the future. If Ray remains employed with the Biltmore Company, we believe he needs to receive proper training in how to effectively handle situations including effective, non-aggressive communication. We believe it is also imperative that he thoroughly understands his employer's rules and regulations in a way that allows him to enforce them and effectively communicate what they are. We do not know if we will return to the Biltmore Estate in the future.

Biltmore Estate lack of response to complaint re shuttle driver refusal to transport family from parking lot marked handicap to the House
Please know that I do not make this complaint lightly Four generations of my family have enjoyed visiting Biltmore Estate during all seasons However, given that I have emailed and phoned Guest Services numerous times and only received one phone message saying a representative would be in touch I feel that I have no other recourse On 2/20/18 I visited the Estate with a 9 yr old special needs child, a toddler, a 1 1/2 year old and their parents We inadvertently parked in Lot B, a handicap lot which annual pass *** were advised in a March email had been converted to a walking lot only (there was no notice posted that day that we observed) When a shuttle approached the driver refused us transport to the House and told us to drive back to Lot C to obtain transport We considered this but realized how disturbing it would be to the 9 yr old who was focused on visiting the "castle" & who already was close to inconsolable about not boarding the shuttle In addition, the toddler has occasional physical challenges as well The walk to the House was made more difficult by construction traffic By the way, although my complaint still has not yet been addressed I renewed my annual pass *** that my nieces, nephews and great nieces and nephews and I can continue to enjoy the splendor of Biltmore
and its special events
On a positive note we had a wonderful visit and even came home with 3 chicks!

Tickets to Biltmore Estate ordered on-line. An error occurred. My credit card was charged but tickets were not provided by e-mail.
Tickets to Biltmore Estate ordered on-line on 1/16/2018. An error occurred. My credit card was charged but tickets were not provided by e-mail. Customer service was called two times, each time with promise they would call me back. No response has been received. My credit card bill was received with the charges included. I have disputed the transaction with my credit card company.

Management refused to honor assurances given by an employee.
Upon hearing that I could use my smart phone to show my tour ticket and gain access to the property, I called Biltmore to verify this information at 11:06 am on Dec 22. The number I called was ***. I was told by the representative who took my call that this information was correct as the bar code on the ticket could be scanned on the phone at the entrance.

Upon my arrival at the gate (approximately 30 minutes ahead of scheduled tour) I was told I had been given incorrect information and would need to have the ticket printed to be allowed to enter the property. I made my way to the ticket area and explained to the sales person what had happened, and shared my concern about a possible delay due to having to re-enter the car line during a busy time. I asked what could be done for my inconvenience. The representative asked ***, who identified herself as the manager, to speak to me. After requesting my phone number and inquiring about the time I had called earlier, *** proceeded to insist that I would be able to make it on time to my scheduled tour. She would not listen or validate my concerns. When I asked her who her Supervisor was, she told me it was "other people and the Supervisor at the Call Center." She would not provide a name or further assistance and was not willing to help.

I made a call to the Call Center I had called earlier as soon as I drove away from the Ticket Center so that I could speak to a Supervisor. The person I spoke to told me Supervisors did not take calls and would not be able to help me.

As per a picture I emailed Guest Support of the clock on the bus we took to the property, we in fact did not arrive at the scheduled tour time. Since we had previously arranged dinner plans, we had to leave and were not able to tour the property as we had planned.

Given that our plans were made approximately 1 month in advance, this was extremely disappointing. A simple voucher for valet parking, which I understand is offered, along with appropriate customer service, would have allowed us to carry out our evening as planned. Being delayed at the gate led to a sequence of delays that hindered our ability to visit the property as planned. While we had reservations to return to the property the following day for lunch, we did not do so out of sheer disappointment. This is not the kind of experience we paid for.

Biltmore sells "annual passes" that aren't valid for 365 days!

In December of 2016 I purchased an annual pass online to the Biltmore Estate and in February of 2017 I activated the pass at their ticket center. When the ticket sales person handed me the pass she stated that the pass expires in December.

I questioned her on the date and she stated that the annual pass starts on the date that the pass was purchased online! I asked to speak with her manager who came out and spoke to me about my concerns. While she was professional, she wasn't bending "the rules". I then asked to speak with her manager and another female came out. The same response.

Their take on the annual passes are that the passes are already at such a great value that you still get your moneys worth. Both managers stated that the system isn't designed to accept money on one day and activate on another day. That poor system shouldn't be my problem.

My take is that no matter what value I might get out of the annual pass that the fact is that my "annual pass" is really a 10 month pass. I have been cheated out of two months.

I doubt that everyone that purchases an annual pass online activates their pass on the same day of purchase. There should be a class-action law suit for such blatant false advertisement. Each advertisement that I receive in the mail call me an annual pass holder when clearly my pass isn't for 365 days.

Biltmore had always been a class act but this screams nothing but greed. They've become just another typical *** corporation.