Shenandoah and nearby
 

Any thoughts on where to stay in/near Shenandoah, in early summer? It looks like the hotels/motels in the park are pretty spartan.

How far is the Wintergreen Resort from the park? Could we combine day trips to the park with a stay at the Resort? Any info on the Wintergreen Resort and similar would be appreciated.

My FIL is staying with us, so we'd rather not subject him to "motel living" even if we are okay with it.

Wintergreen Resort is about an hour or so from SNP, depending on where in the park you want visit. We've stayed in the lodge part of Wintergreen a couple of times. Neither of the rooms impressed me as much more than a motel room, although both had easy access to the restaurants and lobby. I believe each unit is individually owned, so the decor will be different in each. In addition to the lodge, however, Wintergreen has a large variety of lodging options - everything from condos and townhouses, to multi-room houses. I'm sure you could find something very nice. The mountainous area surrounding Wintergreen is beautiful.

rhrd, take a look at vrbo to get an idea of all the places you can rent at the resort.

Try Charlottesville.Not far from the Skyline drive and the Blue ridge parkway plus you visit Monticello,Ashlawn and Micie tavern.Paul

We are a bit shy of just "renting" without a resort behind it. We'd love something more upscale than Skyland Resort to stay at in the park, but we haven't found anything yet.

We found a 3 bedroom condo for $355 per night from Wintergreen Resort's website, but I'll try vrbo.

Wintergreen is lovely and a vacation in itself. Great pools, tennis, hiking, golf. The problem with using it as a base of operations is going up and down that mountain. It only takes 15 min but you have to do it in a lower gear and there are a lot of hairpins so if that kind of driving bothers you it could be a problem. The Stoney Creek area of the resort is in the valley but there aren't any rentals there that are operated by Wintergreen. Unless it has changed, there was one house listed on vrbo that was located there. You will miss out on a lot of ammenities in Stoney Creek but there is golf, tennis, an outdoor pool and restaurant.

If you're interested in a small upscale inn, you could look at The Inn at Little Washington. The restaurant is well known as one of the best in the world, and a destination in itself. Both the inn and the restaurant come with a heft price tag, but they may be what you are looking for.

You might take a look at Massanutten Resort near Harrisonburg. It is OK and very close to the park. If you were willing to forgo a resort, there are some good B and Bs in the area--we stayed a Jordon Hollow Farms Inn near Luray and it was marvelous. It has a good restuarant with it, too. Inn at Little Washington is WORLD FAMOUS as well.

rhrd, I just noticed on another of your posts that you are traveling with kids. In that case, I wouldn't recommend The Inn at Little Washington for you. Wintergreen is a much better option.

The mountain part of Wintergreen is very close to Blue Ridge Parkway and the Appalachian Trail (just go up the mountain at the entrance versus down to the valley). It is still a ways up the Blue Ridge Parkway to Shenandoah National Park and then you are at the south end of the park. Personally, I think there's a lot more to do in the middle section of the park near Big Meadows and Skyland than the south end and driving thru the park on the Skyline Drive is not a quick drive.

If you're looking for a couple days lounging around the pool and playing golf in the mountains then I would recommend Wintergreen (can't comment on the rooms since my parents had a place.) If you're planning to do primarily day trips elsewhere, then you'll spend a lot of time driving (and when it rains the clouds move into the mountains and that drive to Wintergreen can be in pea soup.)

The lodges in the park (Big Meadows and Skyland) are good as bases for hiking, etc but are not in the same class as Wintergreen.

Thanks for all the responses. That is the dilemma. We have three kids, and having two or three of them able to be babysat while we drive around and do some hikes would be priceless.

We do love B&B's, but with six people (three kids one preschool), don't think it would work out.

I think we have to get more set on our itinerary each day, and then the lodging choices will become more apparent. Maybe we should forget/minimize the park and just go for the historical stuff (until the littler ones are older)?

You could just stay at Wintergreen for a few days and enjoy the activities and hiking there. Spend one day in Charlottesville to get your history fix. I don't know if you have gone to www.wintergreenresort.com. You'll see that they offer a lot of activities for kids.