The Salamander - Resort near Middleburg, VA

[genericeric]

5-star resorts are in a tough spot.  A more accurate designation would be 'Anything more than 4 stars' as you're measured against a wide range of competition.  There are also so many factors that go into a resort property versus a standard hotel.  Room, dining, activities, grounds, etc.

The resort largely places itself on the spectrum with its cost - in The Salamander's case, basic rooms start at around $500 per night.  This property has beautiful common areas, competent service, and comfortable guest rooms.  Does it compete with similarly-priced properties?  Eh.

I assume many leisure guests go to The Salamander for a getaway.  My wife and I went for that reason - a short trip, for the purposes of not leaving the property during our stay.  Unfortunately, the property's flagship restaurant is closed on Monday and Tuesday for dinner.  While reviews online suggest we didn't miss much, it was likely still more enjoyable than eating at the bar (its marketed as a wine bar, but that's a stretch).  

The rooms themselves (the basic king room) are comfortable but nothing to write home about.  Small things like being at a resort in wine country, with wine in the mini bar, but no corkscrew or appropriate glasses.  

Don't get me wrong.  It's a nice place to lay your head down at night.  But at the price point, small missteps become harder to ignore, as does the lack of the main dining room two nights a week.

[DonRocks]

2 hours ago, genericeric said:

Don't get me wrong.  It's a nice place to lay your head down at night.  But at the price point, small missteps become harder to ignore, as does the lack of the main dining room two nights a week.

Thanks for this essay - you can save yourself some money by doing what I did on New Year's Eve: I stayed at Lansdowne Resort (having bought-and-brought dinner from Arrowine), and then had a disturbingly bad New Year's Day Brunch at The Restaurant at Patowmack Farm. 

Lansdowne Resort is no Salamander Resort, but you have a lot less to lose by staying there - Lansdowne is essentially a nice hotel with a golf course attached to it, and not much more than that - it is the very definition of new money, and really isn't all that great.

The problem with both of these places is that there just isn't the critical mass of customers to pay for them - I've never been able to bring myself to stay at The Inn at Little Washington, but they seem to have thumbed their nose at the critical-mass problem by charging tip-top dollar, empty rooms be damned. I'd love to hear from people who have stayed at the Inn ... twice. They must surely fly first-class (which is something I have never payed to do - I just can't bring myself to do it, but damn it sure is nice when I get bumped up).

You know, that really sucks about not having a corkscrew or wine glasses. Five-hundred bucks a night can buy one heck of a luxurious hotel room, if you time your visit appropriately (and that second day is a 24-hour day which is a *huge* difference).

[Steve R.]

Thread drift alert - we just bought our 1st First Class tickets for a July trip to Seattle to visit friends.  It really was a big decision, since they were almost 3 times what coach seats would’ve cost.  But we didn’t have miles to spend &, well, it just seemed like a good idea.

[DonRocks]

16 minutes ago, Steve R. said:

Thread drift alert - we just bought our 1st First Class tickets for a July trip to Seattle to visit friends.  It really was a big decision, since they were almost 3 times what coach seats would’ve cost.  But we didn’t have miles to spend &, well, it just seemed like a good idea.

[Don't worry about thread drift - I'll split things off into their proper place.]

(But now you're obligated to report on Canlis.)

[DaveO]

1 hour ago, Steve R. said:

Thread drift alert - we just bought our 1st First Class tickets for a July trip to Seattle to visit friends.  It really was a big decision, since they were almost 3 times what coach seats would’ve cost.  But we didn’t have miles to spend &, well, it just seemed like a good idea.

I hate flying.  I really really hate flying long distances.   One of the best things I did was fly first class to Hawaii (with a stopover). Then I hated spending  such an absurd amt of money.  Life is tough.   Enjoy Seattle 

Come to think of it after Hawaii I so much preferred the Caribbean to Hawaii— and Hawaii is better.  Life is tough.  Enjoy Seattle

[zgast]

I've never been able to bring myself to book this place.  The Goodstone Inn has the great meal, great room, etc. that tick all my boxes.  I don't need the overpriced amenities.  This fits within my overall philosophy of expensive hotels.  I will pay up for international business class at times, but never for an expensive hotel (well, almost never).  I'd rather have a nice room and blow the extra $200-300 on a couple nicer dinners. What's the difference?  Someone to grab my roller bag and carry it to the check-in desk?

[Steve R.]

Seattle is not until July.  We’re flying to Paris for May.  That’s why we had no miles left to use.

[zgast]

22 minutes ago, Steve R. said:

Seattle is not until July.  We’re flying to Paris for May.  That’s why we had no miles left to use.

Enjoy Paris!  Be sure to report on all the great places to dine.

[ktmoomau]

I will say- if you want to have a local spa day- this can be a good choice for that.  Although I went during a snow storm so it was likely much less crowded than normal.  But I liked that they had full facilities- outdoor heated pool, you could swim with snow around you, outdoor hot tub, indoor whirlpool, steam, sauna, etc, etc.  Especially if you want to do a ladies spa day, I think it is my favorite place this side of Nemacolin.  You can also get a locals discount (at least during the week).  So perhaps not a great place to stay, but a great place to spa with some friends.

[DonRocks]

8 hours ago, ktmoomau said:

Nemacolin.

This would be an awesome name for a laxative (Nemesis + Colon).

[Tweaked]

Sheila Johnson has expanded the Salamander portfolio with several more high-end hotels and resorts, including taking over DC's Mandarin Oriental hotel along the SW waterfront.  A friend stayed there on a recent business trip and I thought isn't that the hotel where CityZen was years ago.