Hanging Out With Thomas Jefferson

I just got back from a weekend at one of the most historic resorts in Virginia, The Homestead in Hot Springs. Since 1766, America’s presidents and most prestigious families have been retreating to this mountain resort for a little R & R, a lot of golf, and to take advantage of the therapeutic springs.

The view of the stately red brick colonial hotel is breathtaking when you arrive. Decorated in colonial style, The Homestead has a laid back, Southern vibe where casual golf and tennis clothes are replaced by jacket and tie for dinner in the Main Dining Room. The resort offers a European-style meal plan which includes dinner and breakfast, definitely a better value than booking your room separately, especially since other dining options off property are minimal. This is a resort made for extended stays, whose slogan is “your home away from home”.

My sister and I took the hotel shuttle to the nearby Jefferson Pools in Warm Springs to soak up a little history. It is widely accepted that regular visitor, Thomas Jefferson, designed the octagonal-shaped men’s bath structure. You can soak in either that pool or the women’s pool for $17 an hour in the warm mineral springs that have been rejuvenating weary travelers since George Washington’s day. In the women’s bath, there’s a chair on a platform with a pulley mechanism that may be the first handicapped-accessible bathing in America. It was designed for Robert E. Lee’s invalid wife so that she could partake of the healing waters. Feeling very relaxed after floating in the bath-tempature mountain waters, we headed back to The Homestead to dress for dinner in the Main Dining Room.

This elegant ballroom is filled with sparkling crystal chandeliers and tables are set around a central dance floor. A three-piece combo played classic tunes, and fathers took their daughters for a spin before and after dinner.

The dinner menu offers several selections of appetizers, entrées, and desserts, and special dietary needs can be easily accommodated. For my starter, I chose the portabello mushrooms wrapped in phyllo with goat cheese and beets. The sweet beets were a wonderful complement to the chalky goat cheese. For my entrée, I went for the fresh Mountain Trout, a local specialty that the resort’s fly fishing outfitter will teach you to catch in one of the mountain streams. It was perfectly cooked, crispy on the outside and moist on the inside.

Unfortunately, there was no chocolate on the dessert menu and since I was stuffed anyway, I retired to my room in the West Wing to rest up for the gigantic buffet breakfast. www.TheHomestead.com