Salamander Resort & Spa

Salamander Resort & Spa

Each morning, horses are led out from the 14,000-square-foot stable across the resort's 25 dedicated acres of equestrian grounds, with the Blue Ridge Mountains still holding mist over the vineyards below. Salamander Resort & Spa sits on 340 acres in Middleburg, Virginia, an hour from Washington, D.C., and is built around mornings like that: one of the finest resort riding programs in the country sits alongside a 23,000-square-foot spa with 14 treatment rooms, a private outdoor courtyard, and its own heated pool. Guests who want to move will find zip-lining, tennis, archery, hiking trails, and the new Champions Pool, a one-acre, multitiered pool holding roughly 145,000 gallons of heated water set into the woodlands. Guests who would rather not move will find a library, a picnic area, a billiards room, and 168 rooms spread across four floors, most with private balconies or patios and countryside views. Families are handled properly, with a kids' club, a playroom, and babysitting on request; travellers with a dog can bring it, deposit required. None of this reads like a stopover. It is built for staying several days, riding, eating at Harrimans, and not thinking about the city at all. It will not suit anyone chasing a beach or a skyline; Middleburg is horse and wine country, full stop, and the nearest urban buzz is an hour's drive away. What sets it apart locally is specific: it holds the Forbes Five-Star Award for both its hotel and its restaurant, and its spa is the only one in Virginia to carry that distinction. Check-in is at 4pm, check-out at 11am. Come for the horses; staying turns out to be the harder part. Salamander Resort & Spa spreads across 340 acres of Middleburg horse country, an hour from Washington, D.C., built around a serious equestrian program, a 23,000-square-foot spa, and the new Champions Pool. It suits riders, spa-goers, and families more than city-seekers; its restaurant and spa both hold the Forbes Five-Star Award.