Hi, I was planning a trip to the VA vineyards. Any suggestions on which vineyards
to visit. Also is the Inn at Little Washington worth all the hype. Any room suggestions.

For dinner, the Inn At Little Washington is absolutely worth all the hype. No question.

Rooms run $400-$800 a night. Worth it? Not for me.

But the food is first rate.

my neighbor was just telling me that they spent a night at the inn. she said for $600, she'd wouldn't do it again and it wasn't worth it.

the restaurant is supposed to be fantastic so definitely plan a trip there.

Best white wines in Northern Virginia are made by Pearmund Cellars. Other wineries we have enjoyed: Piedmont, Rappahannock Cellars, Unicorn.

We don't care as much for Oasis and Chrysalis.

If you are in that part of Rappahannock County, be sure to get a burger at the Sunnyside Farms rest stop in Sperryville, 5 miles down the road from Little Washington. Burgers made with organic Kobe beef, and they are the most spectacular burgers on the planet.

Inn at Little Washington is worth it for dinner but not overnite. There are B&Bs in town for 1/3 the price that are just fine, if you don't want to drive after dinner.

Is there a tavern / restaurant across from the Inn? I seem to remember being in something almost ten years ago. Thanks!

On our way back to DC from Skyline Drive and Big Meadows for Wildflower Weekend (we didn't know about that), we stopped at the Inn (hoping they offered lunch, but haven't for a few years). Staff there was extremely nice and spoke to us for a while. The decor is opulent colonial. I wish we had time to stay for dinner, but we had a flight out. The doorman suggested that we head over to a town 6 beautiful miles from the Inn - Flint Hill. We had lunch at the Public House which is also an Inn. Great Quail for $12 and that local organic beef salad for $10. We had heard from a woman on a hike with us that the restaurant somewhat across from the Public House is fabulous - Four and Twenty Blackbirds. Zagat rated I noticed in the window, but that too was closed on a Monday for lunch.

JR

How funny, we just ate at Four and Twenty Blackbirds on Saturday. It was very good, friendly staff, and the service was excellent. Funky decor that reminded us of Evening Star, another good Northern VA restaurant in Alexandria.

We had a drink at the Griffin Tavern, but the Flint Hill Public House wouldn't let us in -- they had a private party going on. At any rate little Flint Hill has certainly come up.

everything about the inn at little washington is worth every penny you spend. the money is on the walls, on the table, in the service, in the flowers, in the bed, in the air ... and after one night there is only one choice but to do it all over again as soon as possible. while it is billed as a once in a lifetime experience, life is too short to visit this place only once. obviously i'm a big fan -- have been going for years -- but i'm no sucker, standards are high, and this place delivers. so, go.

This is from a 1998 posting by Neal Sanders about the Inn; you might want to "search" for the entire posting by Neal because there were people who disagreed with him; it makes for interesting reading.

Looking for that very special and romantic getaway? Looking to be pampered and to have one of the most memorable dining experiences of your life? If you live anywhere in the Middle Atlantic states, there's such a place just a few hours away. It's called the Inn at Little Washington in Washington, Virginia.

Before there was an Inn, there was a restaurant, and the IALW rates as one of the best in the country. The service is friendly, helpful, and never solicitous. The staff genuinely seems to want to know what you think of the meal. The menu changes daily; it is inventive without being "cute;" the ingredients are the best. Period.

The Inn has twelve rooms carved out of a hundred-year-old building. Each is individually furnished with a great deal of whimsy involved. Our room (#9) was very luxurious with a wonderful verandah opening onto the quiet main street of town. The staff can't do enough for you. At dinner the night before, my wife had remarked that the passion fruit sauce on one of her dishes would go well with raspberries. At breakfast the following morning, she was presented with a large plate with two dozen perfect raspberries in a sea of passion fruit sauce, each raspberry in turn residing in its own pool of raspberry puree. What a way to start the day!

Staying at the Inn confers two benefits apart from all of that coddling. First, you get a white rose to wear at dinner. This means your table is yours for the evening (otherwise, you're part of one of three "seatings"). While other diners' service was never rushed, we enjoyed the luxury of a three-hour dinner. The second benefit available to those who stay at the Inn is the opportunity to order a picnic lunch when you leave. The IALW has a slightly different idea of what constitutes a picnic than the rest of the world… it comes in two large bags and will feed a small European nation. We are still dining off of the cheese course five days after our return.

The IALW isn't cheap, but there are two ways to make it more affordable: 1) don't go on a Saturday night (rooms are an extra hundred dollars and the prie fixe dinner is twenty dollars higher), and don't go in October, when all rooms are an extra $100-200 per day.

That said, if you've ever wanted to pamper yourself and the one you love without flying 2500 miles, this is the way to do it.








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I'm in total agreement: eat at the Inn at LW, but stay elsewhere - we enjoyed the Middleton Inn, http://www.middletoninn.com/, which is just down the road, and will coordinate with the Inn at LW for your dinner reservations. Bring or rent bikes for some lovely, easy day rides.
At the Inn at LW, have your dessert in the garden (they'll move you there for that if you request). Don't have an afternoon snack that day, whatever you do!

Orange VA is a good base to visit some good wineries such as Horton and Barboursville. My favotrites, though are aound the Leesburg, Middleburg areas - you can see several while driving around the pretty countryside. Some of my favorites are Linden, Chrysalis, Naked Nountain, Piedmont and Hillsborough (for the sunset view). Take a look at http://www.virginiawines.org/wineries/ is you havent already- has good itineraries and maps. Have fun!!