Skip to main content

Travel Tip: A place you don't want to miss

Next time you're in Virginia, The Omni Homestead Resort in Hot Springs is one property you certainly don't want to miss. The charming property encompasses 2,300 acres with 483 guestrooms that boast elegant fabrics and furnishings, a slew of fine restaurants, an award-winning spa, a full-service fitness center, and more.

It boasts over 45 acres of activities, including two hot springs. Guests take to the slopes for snowboarding and skiing in the winter and enjoy world-class golf, tennis, and horseback riding in the summer.

But the main draw has to be the property's rich history.

Ten years before the country was founded, The Homestead opened as an 18-room lodge in the mountains. George Washington awarded a land grant to Thomas Bullitt on which the first hotel was built. In 1818, Thomas Jefferson spent three weeks here, and, since then, over 20 other presidents have been guests at this lovely resort, from Teddy Roosevelt to George W. Bush.

For more than 100 years, the resort has hosted events and meetings for guests from around the world. In 1908, President William Howard Taft joined the Virginia Bar Association meeting and in 1943, an international conference focused on tackling the world’s food shortages was held here as a trial run for the creation of the United Nations.

From December 1941 until June 1942, following the United States' entry into World War II, The Homestead also served as a high-end internment camp for 785 Japanese diplomats and their families -- a dark chapter in the resort's otherwise splendid history, to be sure.

A member of Historic Hotels of America, The Omni Homestead Resort was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1991.

The property's stellar amenities and venerable history speak for themselves.

Would you stay here if you were to visit Virginia?

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Do you have Isolophilia? Find out...

You're probably asking yourself, "What in the world does Isolophilia mean?" It sounds like it would be something negative, doesn't it?  After all, words that end in "philia" (e.g., pedophilia) tend to involve things we want nothing to do with. But Isolophilia isn't something all people deplore. In fact, introverts like me welcome it. Put simply, Isolophilia is defined as having a strong affinity for solitude. It describes a person who relishes being alone. While extroverts can only take so much solitude, we introverts find that it rejuvenates us. In order to recharge our batteries, we need to retreat to a quiet environment where we we're left alone to rest and/or gather our thoughts. Extroverts, on the other hand, become bored and drained when they're alone for a lengthy period of time. Social interaction is the fuel that drives them. So while an extrovert would probably do anything to avoid feelings of Isolophilia in most cases, an...

No response from someone IS a response

Make no mistake about it: When you don't get a response from someone -- whether they fail to answer your texts or return your phone calls -- it is  still a response, and a powerful one at that. When a person fails to respond, it's a direct reflection of their interest -- or lack thereof -- in the relationship. Few things are more aggravating than having to hound a partner, friend, or relative for some sort of reply after we've reached out to them. Yes, we get busy from time to time, but that doesn't give anyone the right to leave the other person hanging. A terse text with something like "Been busy, will reach out soon" doesn't say much, but at least it shows some effort to bring the other person up to speed on why they've fallen off the radar. Failing to provide a response for weeks -- if not months -- communicates that you are just not a priority, and that you'll have to wait your turn to get this individual's attention. This is n...

Women vs. Men: Who likes to backstab more?

Whether it's on TV or in the workplace, the general consensus seems to be that women gossip, backstab, and stir up more conflict than men do. But, as with every other topic, I thought it only fair to put this so-called stereotype under the microscope. If you watch reality shows like Celebrity Apprentice, you'll notice it's the women who spend far more time bickering. While the men do at times become embroiled in tit for tat, it's the women who are portrayed as meaner and more hostile. In the workplace, I have noticed that women seem to gossip far more than their male counterparts. I haven't really seen any cases where a person blatantly backstabs the other, but I have caught both men and women in little white lies. If it is true that women are generally more into backstabbing and gossiping than men, why is this the case? I believe that it isn't fair to make a blanket statement like "all women play these games while all men keep to themselves and pre...