Of the three Mansions that were open during Thanksgiving Weekend, the Elms was second only to the Breakers. It is definitely a must see. The self guided walking tour is very informative and as short or long as you want it to be. Interesting history of the Vanderbilt family as well.
Taken on its own with no comparisons to other Bellevue Avenue mansions, The Elms is very impressive and yet it had fairly common oak floors. The marble columns, fireplace mantles and furniture tops were very interesting. I found the staircase to be most impressive. The history of this mansion is also very interesting as it was very close to being demolished. The tour guide was very knowledgeable and encouraged questions.
We had some time to kill between tours at the smaller mansions and since we had done the Elms tour last time we decided to walk around the grounds and take some pictures. The Elms grounds are beautiful and even with only 30 minutes it was a wonderful walk.
It was amazing to see the way people lived during the Gatsby era. So much wealth that it's almost disturbing!! The Historical Society of Newport has saved and preserved many mansions that were going to be set for demolition. I was glad to see this glimpse of history preserved. The audio tour was very informative.
The Breakers is impressive, but we like The Elms best. It had many of the original art pieces and furniture and the greenhouse was just amazing!The behind the scenes (Servants Life) tour is worth it, though nowhere near as good as the one at The Biltmore in North Carolina. Unfortunately, the tour guide was a little offputting -- he kept saying things like the servants were nameless and faceless and obviously unhappy, even though there were several photos of smiling faces. Still, it was fun to see the private coal car in the basement and the luggage room with all of the old steamer trunks.
The Elms is stately as well as beautiful. Where the others could be "over-the-top" with their opulence, this one was not. I'd like to tour it again, since it was the first we went through.
Even on a snowy day, the visit was well worth it. The mansion is over-the-top opulent. The guides have great stories and the tour is a lot of fun.
We toured the Breakers Mansion and the Servants Quarters at the Elms. I read the reviews and so many people recommended the Servants Tour. I did not enjoy it as much as the mansion tour. I wish we had done the Mansion Tour at the Elms along with the servants. The tour was a little long and we were somewhat bored with it. I did enjoy the insight and stories of the servants lives but it just went a little long.
Very similar to The Breakers. Hard to hear/understand the tour guide. If you're going to several mansions, no need to do this AND The Breakers.
Interesting perspective of life at the turn of the last century. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable of this and the other Newport properties