My husband and I will be staying in Richmond for one night on the way back from Williamsburg. It will be my birthday, so we are looking to stay someplace special. We do not like chain accommodations. Any suggestions on where to stay--someplace romantic, interesting, and with a good location for walking?

Check out the Jeff:

http://www.jeffersonhotel.com/

I second the Jefferson Hotel for old fashioned Richmond. It is very elegant. It is not however in a good walking area. For that, I would look in Shockoe bottom area. There is an Omni(chain hotel) and there is also The Berkeley. They are more of a boutique style hotel. I have dined in their restaurant, not stayed there. You may want to check trip advisor for reviews.
At the Berkeley, you could easily walk to restaurants and some clubs.

thank you for the advice so far. I was thinking about the Jefferson--hoping that it lives up to its reputation. We stayed at the Linden Row Inn last time we stayed in Richmond, and, while unique, it wasn't vry clean. Have either of you stayed at the Jeff? BTW--The Berkeley gets horrible reviews on several travel sites.

Sorry,I guess the Berkeley is not all that great then.
I have never stayed at the Jefferson, just dined in the french restaurant. I have heard some of the rooms are small for the price. Are the reviews any good on the Jefferson?
It has very nice main areas of the hotel. Since we live in the Richmond area, we don't stay over night when we go downtown.Hopefully others can chime in on the rooms at the Jefferson.

Jefferson reviews are generally good, although a few mention cost/return inequities. I'm also looking at the Omni--while we prefer boutique hotels, it actually looks pretty good and the location is superb.

I've stayed at the Jefferson -- we did a Valentine's weekend getaway a couple of years ago. The place is AMAZING, and we got a gratuitous and unexpected upgrade to a suite (which will always make me think fondly of the place...). Very clean and luxurious in the old-fashioned sort of way. It's not a great area for walking, but they have a limo service that will take you to and from your dinner destination for free -- we had dinner in Shockoe Bottom (Pomegranate) and that came in handy.

Daughter and son in law stayed there and loved it. Though the room was smaller, the luxury was greater than usual. The hotel has an amazing Sunday buffet, though I think you need reservations even if you are a guest.

Not a Jefferson fan but did walk in the area and the room was OK
It took three phone calls to get a piece of info. Could not cook an overlight egg. It's a hotel that allows dogs.

The omni and the marriott are both fine. The Jefferson is nice, but for that price, you could have a nice room at the Omni plus dinner plus drinks plus a gourmet breakfast the next morning all covered.

I've stayed at the Omni and had friends use the Jeff ... wish it had been the other way around. Omni is fine but nondescript. Location was convenient.