As a huge gift to celebrate completing my doctorate, my amazing family pitched in to send me to the Inn at Little Washington with my husband for a night.

We are foodies and have always wanted to try this legendary restaurant. We are also usually "budget" travelers, so I am bit intimidated (I have the dress code and manners down pat for the Hampton Inn and Motel Six, but have never stayed anywhere of this level!) and would welcome advice from Fodorites who have stayed there.

First, do we need to dress up for the tea they serve in the afternoon?

I was thinking nice jeans, heels, nice tweed blazer for me, corduroys and cashmere sweater over open-necked shirt for him.

Next, do the rooms provide fluffy robes, or should I bring my own? I want to lounge around soaking up the glory of the decor!

Finally, should my husband go full-out and wear a dark suit or is that too "banker-ish" and a camel-hair blazer and dress slacks with tie would be better?

I've read that if the men aren't in suits they seat you in a horrible nook where all the tables are squished together.

Any other tips or things to watch for/ask for to maximize the experience? I want to enjoy myself and not spend the whole night feeling like a rube because I can't stop thinking about how ungodly expensive it is.

Also, do they still do the white rose thing to show the waitstaff who is staying there and who isn't?

THANKS to everyone in advance!

Blue

Never stayed at the Inn so can't answer the robe question or the white rose thing. Although the last time we ate there the people next to us, who we chatted with a lot, were staying at the Inn and didn't have a white rose or anything different than ours on their table. On the robes I can't imagine they don't have them and if you call the Inn they will tell you. I have always found the staff to be incredibly nice and not snooty at all. For the tea, no need to dress up. What you describe sounds fine. My husband has always worn a sports jacket for dinner and we've sat in various places. Last time we sat on the patio/porch part and loved the privacy of being away from the main dining area...just us and 1 other couple were there. Congrats on your doctorate and have a wonderful visit.

Please tell us all about it when you come back!! As to the robe question, I am sure they would have them, but why not call or email and ask them directly. Have a wonderful time, and congrats on the doctorate! Email address is in the link below.

http://www.theinnatlittlewashington.com/home.asp

Don't forget that while the Inn at LW is one of the best restaurants in the US it is in a tiny town way out in the country. There will be limos parked out front but it really is a different atmosphere than a top restaurant in the city would have.

Sorry, but it is definitely worth the trip out to (Little)Washington.

I really wish more of our "in-town" restaurants had that kind of food and service.

Thanks everyone! I will try emailing about the robe question.

yestravel and birdie- Your remarks have helped me feel more relaxed and ready to just enjoy the experience instead of being stressed about it! Thanks!

I will post again next week to tell all about our experience.

We had our anniversary dinner there. Incredible experience - food was incredible, service was wonderful. Everyone was very friendly.

There are also some vineyards in the area you could do a tasting at before your evening or the next day!


8-)

Jeans?

I am with CiaoLeone: this is likely to be one of the most special experiences of your life. Neat jeans for tea would probably be fine, but don't you have anything nicer, especially if you are planning to take pictures.

Dukey - I didn't mean my comments to be taken in any way as a bad review of the Inn. I think that knowing the setting of a place always helps me in deciding what to wear.

Yes- I might re-think the jeans and go for a skirt for tea. Thanks.

I'm getting excited!

Wishing you both a wonderful weekend BlueSwimmer. I have seen the Inn at Little Washington profiled on TV more than once and always thought it would be a delightful place to spend a few at, and I am sure that you will find it so.

And congratulations on receiving your doctorate, that is quite an accomplishment! All of your family must be so proud of you and they certainly gave you a beautiful present.

Hi Blue,
In addition to outstanding food and beautiful rooms what an inn of this type provides is the very, very best service. Most of all, that should mean making all the guests comfortable. Do not hesitate to call the inn prior to your visit, explain your situation and celebration, and ask all the questions that you need to ask. Don't ask "would it be OK to wear jeans to tea." Better to ask "what would be best to wear to tea, to dinner, etc." I think that you will find that they will try to be very helpful.

Congratulations. Have a wonderful trip.

Congratulations! It is a huge gift....and one they must have been working on for a while. How thoughtful!
We've had dinner there twice but only stayed at the Inn once. I don't recall any special rose on the table. When we came down for dinner, they seemed to know we were guests there. My husband wore a sport coat & tie on both occasions and we were not seated in a horrible nook.
Enjoy your evening!

Thanks everyone- for the advice, reassurance, and congratulations.

Yes, my family is wonderful and very proud of me since I am not only the first doctorate but also the first to graduate from college. We are joking about taking our camera into the dining room and surreptiously taking photos of each course for my mom to see since she is so excited to have pulled this gift together.

GBC- You make a great point about the service being about the guests' comfort, and one that I will keep in mind. Sort of like the famed hostess who drank the water from her finger bowl to keep a guest who did the same thing by mistake from feeling foolish!

Oh no! I spelled surreptitiously
wrong. How embarassing. That is what I get for posting while talking to my husand!

I spent two nights at ILW two years ago. We drove up from Mississippi through TN and VA with my wife's parents. We spent a night at Inn at Blackberry Farm, two nights at ILW, then we went through DC to Inn At Perry Cabin in Maryland, Williamsburg Inn, Keswick Hall in Charlottesville, Grove Park Inn in Asheville, NC and finally back to MS.

My wife wore casual clothes like pants and/or a skirt to these places during the late afternoon for tea/drinks, etc. She did not wear jeans. I'm sure jeans are fine if you dressed appropriately along with the jeans. We had a wonderful time at ILW. The men wore dress shirts and a jacket but we did not wear a tie. I don't wear a tie in NYC most of the time. I think you will be fine. Good luck.

Here is a report on my trip to the Inn at Little Washington.

First, thanks to everyone here for the advice; it was really helpful for packing and getting me mentally ready to enjoy the experience to the fullest!

Well, what can I say but that we had a fabulous time and we are already saving up so we can do it again in 10 years or so.

GBC was correct in writing that the service is designed to make you feel special. I really didn't need to worry so much ahead of time because the staff was so welcoming that I could have shown up wearing a ratty bathrobe and curlers, and I think they would have been just as delighted to help me enjoy myself as if I was in a designer dress.

We had planned to drive out to the area early to go hiking, but our hike was cut short because last week's snow was still on parts of the trail in the form of a sheet of ice. We didn't want to break a leg or anything before our big night, so we headed to Washington to walk around and check out the shops for an hour or so before check-in time at 3:00.

The valet area in front of the Inn is under construction, so we pulled into the parking area across the street, figuring it was "town" parking since there were no signs restricting the area to guests of the Inn. Before we were even out of the car, we were greeting by a lovely young man who whisked us into the Inn for check in and a tour. I had planned to change out of my hiking boots and put on some lipstick first, but we didn't have a chance. No unobtrusive sneaking into the Inn, apparently!

Our tour was kicked off with flutes of Virginia sparkling wine mixed with passion fruit puree. The place is exquisite and we just walked around with our drinks marvelling about how beautiful it was, while I kept sneaking glances to make sure we weren't leaving muddy boot prints on the luxurious carpets.

They told us they were still "putting the finishing touches" on our room, so we walked around town for a while and returned to be escorted to our suite in the Norman House across the street.

At first, I was disappointed not to be in the Inn proper, but we ended up loving our room. We had a charming living room, a HUGE bathroom with jacuzzi tub, and a beautiful bedroom with a king bed. The decorating is over the top- Frette linens, robes, and slippers; beautiful antiques, incredible wallpaper and fabrics, etc. Being across the street from the Inn was no problem at all, and it was very quiet and private.

Afternoon tea was our first taste of how relaxing the Inn is. It was about 60 degrees- just warm enough to sit in the sheltered garden next to the Koi pond. We had a bottle of Champagne with our tea which set the celebratory tone for us. The tea and pastries were served on lovely china (all of the china at the Inn was just beautiful, if you like that sort of thing- I do!).

You know I was worried about what to wear. I ended up in a skirt and dressy sweater for tea, and my husband wore a sportsjacket. We were the most dressy people at tea. One couple was in matching sweatsuits from a statusy brand name; as I said before, the staff didn't blink an eye. If you are staying at the Inn, you are treasured, no matter what you wear! But still... I was glad to be a little dressed up because it made me feel like a princess sipping tea at an English country house.

Dinner was wonderful. The young man who gave us our tour remembered the table I mentioned as my favorite, so we were seated there. They even had a special menu printed welcoming me and congratulating me on my PhD! Everyone on the staff made a point of congratulating me- I felt like a celebrity.

The White Flower: Yep-if you are staying at the Inn the gentleman gets a white flower for his buttonhole when you arrive for dinner. I didn't see any flower-less tables getting bad service, but I read somewhere that it means you can have your table for as long as you like. We did see some tables being moved to the tea room for dessert. I don't think this would be a hardship as it is just beautiful, too.

The service was impeccable without being snooty. By dinner, we knew most of the servers from meeting them at tea, so they were very attentive. Dress: My husband wore a dark suit and I wore a dressy but not formal dress. We felt festive and appropriate. There were lots of women in little black velvet dresses, and most of the men were in sports jackets and ties.

I have read in other reviews that this isn't the place to get "full" and that was true. The cooking was flawless, creative, delicious, beautifully presented, overall just stellar, but...the portions were tiny. Extremely tiny. We had to get a bag of pretzels from the car after dinner to quiet our hunger before going to sleep.

I was also a little irked that the amuse bouche plate had only one of each tiny item so that we couldn't both taste everything. They bring a soup course in small demi-tasse cups. We had a private laugh when the server called it a "warm sip of soup" because it was literally about two sips. It was amazingly delicious apple-rutabaga cream soup and I wanted MORE sips, maybe even gulps! Otherwise, though, it was a wonderful dining experience and we thoroughly enjoyed it.

And then there is breakfast...All I can say is WOW! I have had amazing gourmet dinners elsewhere but never a breakfast to rival this one in pure deliciousness and elegance.

We wore nice jeans and blazers because we were feeling a bit, um, delicate after all the wine the night before. We looked fine- it was very casual.

The continental breakfast that is included with your room is lovely- granola and fruit parfait, pastries, cafe au lait, freshly squeezed juice- but the cooked breakfast for $25 extra was stupendously delicious. I had house-smoked salmon scrambled eggs atop a potato rosti that was like being in heaven. The bacon and house-made sausage was sinful!

The service was still flawless, but more friendly and restful, befitting the morning hour. The china (yet another pattern) was again lovely, and we left on a cloud of happiness and peace to go back to our gorgeous room for a mid-morning snooze in our Frette sheets before checking out (since we had to "spring forward" and only got about 5 hours of sleep.)

Overall- It was worth it to splurge above and beyond the initial splurge of just going there to get the suite and the jacuzzi tub. We really enjoyed relaxing in our room.

We also made a concious decision to forget the costs and just revel in the whole experience, which was, for us, a great idea. Everything was over the top, gorgeous, and amazing. By not worrying about the cost, we did what would make our stay nicest, like having a nice bottle of champagne with tea and ordering the hot breakfast, instead of thinking we were already spending too much money and trying to conserve.

Neither of us thought about work or home stress one single time the entire weekend, and we are both world-class worriers. It was like being in a fairyland with every detail perfect and not a single thing to annoy us.

Was it worth it? I'm glad we had the experience. If it hadn't been a gift we never would have done it. As foodies, we had always wanted to try the restaurant, but would never have thought of spending so much to stay there. In the end, the dinner was great and a fun foodie experience, but being a guest of the Inn was so much more magical than just the food, so I am glad we had the whole weekend there.

I will now be buying lottery tickets in hopes of becoming wealthy enough to visit the Inn regularly!! Thanks again to everyone for your help!

P.S.- I read some reviews that recommended a burger place in nearby Sperryville for lunch before heading for the Inn. Apparently they had kobe beef burgers that were unbelievable. I thought it would be a cool contrast- burger for lunch, gourmet for dinner. Anyway, the place closed in the fall. Instead we had an early lunch (soup and sandwiches) at a funky, cute place called Rae's in Sperryville. It was simple but good and hit the spot before hiking.

Thank you for the report, BlueSwimmer. My husband and I are going the first weekend in april to celebrate my 50th b'day. My kids....they are so generous. We couldn't get a room at TLLW, but we are dining there. Your descriptions of dress were particularly helpful--i tend to fret over things like that. Again, thank you for the post.

Thanks for such a great report! And glad you thoroughly enjoyed your time at the Inn...sounds like a wonderful stay. So white flowers for the men's lapels, very interesting!

Being a foodie, you might be interested in 2 restaurants in the area of the Inn, both started by former Inn staff...Four and Twenty Blackbirds in Flint Hill,VA http://www.fourandtwenty.com/ and Foti's in Culpepper, VA
http://www.fotisrestaurant.com/
Nothing like the INN, but still really good food out in the country.