Goodstone Inn & Estate
Middleburg, Va.
Anyone who has ever dreamed of owning a pastoral manor set in the rolling hills of Virginia hunt country will savor the Goodstone Inn & Estate in Middleburg. Superbly situated on 265 acres with a sweeping view of the Blue Ridge Mountains, it is permeated with a sense of peace, inside and out.
Arriving guests pass through a rustic courtyard, a soothing urn fountain at its center, and into a converted carriage and stable complex. The complex now houses the inn’s reception area, which features a massive stone fireplace and comfortable French country décor. On the far side of a wall of floor-to-ceiling Palladian windows is the 30-seat Hill toppers restaurant, which serves American fare (prix-fixe, four-course dinner, $69 to $79 per person. Wine is not included). Scattered about the property are 18 guest rooms and suites in six restored farm buildings. (All rooms have wireless Internet and satellite TV.)
Among the guest accommodations are four cozy suites in the Carriage House. The four elegant guest rooms in the Manor House give visitors the run of a spacious first floor, which includes an oversized living room, hexagonal game room and three fireplaces to keep the chill off on a cold night. Nearby, the rustic French Farm House has two log-burning fireplaces, a barn, a wood-paneled great room and lots of character.
For fair weather, a dramatic outdoor pool area has been built within the wisteria- covered ruins of the estate’s original mansion. Many guests enjoy walks on the quiet country roads or a spin on one of the inn’s mountain bikes. Rooms and suites from $250 to $435 per night plus tax (winter rates in effect from Nov. 1 to March 31), which includes a full breakfast and afternoon tea.
Goodstone Inn & Estate
Middleburg, Va.
877-219-4663
www.goodstone.com
Lake Pointe Inn
McHenry, Md.
No matter what the season, the innkeepers of Lake Pointe Inn know that their regular guests expect a nightly marshmallow roast at the open fire pit overlooking Deep Creek Lake. In addition, they keep the cookie plate in the dining room full. And no matter what the time of day, banana bread is always at the ready, as are complimentary glasses of beer and wine.
“You feel like you’re coming into your own home. It’s so welcoming,” says Bethesda resident Ellen Turner who, with her husband, Bob, has celebrated their wedding anniversary at the inn every year since 2000.
Still, the Turners don’t usually come home to a beautifully restored, 1890s farmhouse decorated in the Arts & Crafts style. Lake Pointe, located just 13 feet from the water’s edge, has two comfortable suites and eight guest rooms, each with a gas fireplace. The most requested accommodation is the third-floor Savage Room, which has a two-person spa tub and a private balcony for gazing at the lake and stars. (All rooms have wireless Internet and cable TV.) After a day of skiing at the nearby Wisp Resort or hiking in one of the area’s five state parks, guests congregate in the chestnut-paneled great room with its Mission-style furnishings to trade stories of outdoor adventures. At Deep Creek Lake, it’s easy to work up an appetite.
“They make the most amazing breakfasts,” says Rockville resident Drew Offutt, who looks forward to the puff pastry filled with scrambled eggs and topped with a tarragon mushroom sauce. “The food is exceptional.”
Rooms and suites from $188 to $279 per night plus tax (rates increase in 2009), which includes a full breakfast and light hors d’oeuvres in the afternoon.
Lake Pointe Inn
McHenry, Md.
800-523-5253
www.deepcreekinns.com
Inn at Montchanin Village
Montchanin, Del.
Long ago, laborers who worked at the DuPont Gunpowder Co. called the 11 historic buildings that make up the village of Montchanin home. After more than a decade of careful restoration— the 11 buildings date from 1799 to 1910—and with the addition of a spa over the summer, the hamlet is now more alive than ever. Today, paying guests occupy the 28 rooms and suites of the Inn at Montchanin Village, named for Alexandrine de Montchanin, the grandmother of the factory’s founder, Eleuthere Irenee du Pont. (All rooms have wireless Internet and cable TV.) Located in the Brandywine Valley four miles northwest Of Wilmington, the village, with its lush plantings on winding paths, is an excellent base for outings to nearby Winterthur, Longwood Gardens and the Hagley Museum.
At check-in upstairs in the circa 1825 Dilwyne Barn, visitors find a spacious gathering room with a huge fireplace and plenty of comfortable areas to read or converse.
Hungry? The village blacksmith shop has been converted into Krazy Kat’s Restaurant, which is whimsically decorated with feline portraits; it features fresh seafood. Ready for some pampering? The 3,000-square-foot Spa at Montchanin has four treatment rooms for massage, Japanese skin treatments and facials for every skin type.
Chevy Chase residents Steve Sroka and his wife, Annetta Mettler, have stayed in the village twice and plan to return whenever they are in the area. “Even the least expensive rooms are spacious,” says Sroka, who particularly likes Montchanin’s link to the past. “You feel like you’re out in the country, very quiet and peaceful, in a place with an interesting history.” Rooms and suites from $185 to $399, plus tax. Some packages include breakfast.
Inn at Montchanin Village
Montchanin, Del.
800-269-2473
www.montchanin.com
Inn at Little Washington
Washington, Va.
Every major metropolitan area needs a sumptuous destination for the most special of occasions. Montgomery County residents are fortunate to have one of the best inns in the world, Inn at Little Washington, only 80 minutes away. For 30 years, celebrants, dressed in their finest, have come to the otherwise sleepy town of Washington, Va., in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains to experience this fantasy hideaway. Few leave unchanged.
Most make the journey expressly to savor owner and chef Patrick O’Connell’s award-winning American cuisine, which relies on the bounty of local farms. In the inn’s opulent, Old World dining room, peak harvest flavors combine and soar on plate after plate. The service is nearly faultless, and the dining room hums with pleasure and contentment. (Prix-fixe, seven-course dinner, $148 to $178 per person. Wine is not included.)
Hotel guests retire to one of 18 lavish rooms and suites in the main building and close-by cottages. Most are furnished and swagged to the hilt by a London set designer. (All rooms have wireless Internet and satellite TV.) Guests seeking a tad less sensory overload may appreciate the relatively restrained but still indulgent garden suite in the Norman House; its sitting room with fireplace exudes a masculine appeal. The suite overlooks a garden, and it has an enormous freestanding tub in the bathroom, with French doors that open onto sloping acres of fallow fields edged by forest.
Chevy Chase Village resident Mikol Neilson has stayed at the inn more than 10 times. “I like that the staff remembers me and my preferences,” Neilson says. “They go out of their way to make me comfortable.”
Rooms and suites from $410 (some weekdays) to $1,195 per night (Saturdays), plus tax, which includes a full breakfast and afternoon tea.
Inn at Little Washington
Washington, Va.
540-675-3800
www.theinnatlittlewashington.com
Prospect Hill Plantation Inn
Charlottesville, Va.
For more than 30 years, the Sheehan family has operated Prospect Hill Plantation Inn at their 18th century plantation complex near Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello. They believe they were the first family in Virginia to turn a private home into a bed and breakfast. Over the years, the Sheehans have renovated many of the outbuildings on the 50-acre estate, located 15 miles east of Charlottesville. They now have 12 rooms and suites, all with fireplaces and most with spa tubs. (All rooms have wireless Internet.) The most requested accommodation is the spacious Carriage House suite, with its comfortable mix of antique and contemporary furnishings. It features a terra cotta tile floor, a king bed and a double spa tub.
Six nights a week, chef Bill Sheehan serves a four-course, prix-fixe candlelight dinner ($49 per person, wine not included) featuring what he calls “eclectic French” cuisine. That means: “If I’m doing tournedos de filet de boeuf, I might serve a chilled gazpacho,” he says.
Extensive gardens include a five acre arboretum with a rare magnolia specimen and lots of secluded spots for quiet relaxation. Many guests take to the country roads to visit the area’s wineries, such as the exceptional Blenheim Vineyards (open by appointment), Barboursville Vineyards and the Kluge Estate.
Rooms and suites from $195 to $350 plus tax, which includes a full breakfast and afternoon tea. (A two-night reservation is required for a Saturday stay.)
Prospect Hill Plantation Inn
Charlottesville, Va.
800-277-0844
www.prospecthill.com
Antrim 1844
Taneytown, Md.
For those who like to preview a few rooms before hauling in the overnight bags, the romantic and skillfully restored Antrim 1844 has a multitude of options. Situated on 24 acres in a small town setting 12miles from historic Gettysburg, Antrim has 40 rooms and suites located in a grand Georgian mansion and 13 outbuildings. (Some rooms have Internet access and TV.) All are decorated in high Victorian style, with downy, feather beds and antique furnishings. Most rooms have fireplaces. Don’t overlook the popular Boucher Suite, the original plantation overseer’s apartment, which has a king bed, wood-burning fireplace, two baths and a balcony that overlooks formal gardens.
When it’s time to wet the whistle, the quaint English-style pub has a selection of 58 single-malt Scotches. In the Smokehouse Restaurant, French and American cuisine shine. (Prix-fixe, six course dinner, $68.50 per person, wine not included.) The Antrim has one of the largest wine lists on the East Coast, and offers more than 2,200 selections from its 19,000-bottle cellar.
Antrim 1844 oozes history. Climb the mansion’s winding, three-story, cherry staircase to the widow’s walk where, it’s believed, Union Army Gen. George Meade watched his troops march toward Gettysburg.
Rooms and suites from $160 to $400 per night plus tax, which includes a wake-up breakfast tray, a full breakfast, afternoon tea and evening hors d’oeuvres.
Antrim 1844
Taneytown, Md.
800-858-1844
www.antrim1844.com
Inn at Vaucluse Spring
Stephens City, Va.
A pleasant surprise awaits visitors after a ride down a mile-long, bumpy dirt road past a junkyard. After a few more bends, the Inn at Vaucluse Spring appears, a serene enclave of historic buildings on 103 acres with an emerald green, spring-fed pond, and a mill house at its center. A tenderly restored 1780 Federal-style manor house done in comfortable country chic is the headquarters for check-in and dining. “It’s such a beautiful house, so elegantly restored and decorated. But it still has a cozy feeling, with amazing aromas coming from the kitchen,” says Gaithersburg resident Orly Lopez, who has spent 10 weekends at the inn with her husband, Philippe.
For exceptional serenity, The Cabin, a restored log structure, overlooks the pond from a wooded knoll. Antique sporting gear, such as wooden skis and a fishing net, hangs on the walls and gives the cabin a rustic appeal. The cheerful, two-story Mill House Studio has large windows looking out on burbling waters below; the studio comes with art supplies for those who want to capture the view by putting pastel to paper.
Stephens City is apple orchard country, and many varieties of the fruit are put to good use at the Vaucluse dinner table, whether it’s apple date nut bread at breakfast or roast pork with a spicy apple chutney glaze at dinner. (Friday dinner, with a set menu, $34.50, Saturday prix-fixe, four-course dinner, $56.50 per person. Wine is not included.)
For evening fun, there’s a classic, drive in movie theater a couple of miles away. In nearby Middletown, the Wayside Theatre is again staging plays after being closed for a year of renovations. Also in Middletown, the Irish Isle pub has live music most nights.
Rooms and suites from $150 to $305 per night plus tax, which includes a full breakfast.
Inn at Vaucluse Spring
Stephens City, Va.
800-869-0525
www.vauclusespring.com
Brampton Inn
Chestertown, Md.
When the Brampton Inn opened as a bed and breakfast in 1987 with just two rooms to rent, many of the guests were hunters (duck and goose) who appreciated the historic home’s location on the Eastern Shore near tranquil Chestertown. Today, with 12 period rooms and modern suites, each with a working fireplace, couples looking for a romantic getaway far outnumber the camouflage crowd. (All rooms have wireless Internet. Most have a TV for local stations or DVDs.)
Many people come to this grand, 1860s, antebellum plantation house for relaxation. And, they find it on a wide front porch, furnished with cushioned, wicker chairs and sofas that overlook a mature boxwood garden and 25 wooded and landscaped acres. Inside, the elegant public rooms are furnished for comfort, rather than in high Victorian style. “It’s just charming, with plenty of space,” says Potomac resident Carol Hudgins, who, along with her husband, Garven, stayed at the inn for the first time in August. “You never feel like you’re on top of other people, and the grounds are bucolic.”
The most popular, and quirky, accommodations at the Brampton are two cottages built earlier this year. Guests park in a funky, lean-to structure with an unmarked door that opens into a walled garden. Inside, they discover Mulberry Grove and Olivia’s Meadow, two contemporary-style cottages that feature towering, wood-burning fireplaces and comfy, king beds. Attached to each cottage is a screened porch with a Japanese soaking tub and outdoor shower.
Rooms and suites from $195 to $395 per night plus tax, which includes full breakfast and afternoon tea.
Brampton Inn
Chestertown, Md.
866-305-1860
www.bramptoninn.com
Walter Nicholls is a former staff writer for The Washington Post.
