Inn at Willow Grove

Character and identity

A plantation-style estate on 40 acres of Central Virginia farmland with Blue Ridge views, Willow Grove pairs the bones of a Jeffersonian manor house (on the National Register, along with four of its outbuildings) with a designer hand: Fifth Avenue interiors, a modern art collection, whimsical cow sculptures, and quirks like a chair built from midcentury hardbacks in the library. Six luxury cottages dot the grounds, including an 18th-century schoolhouse, the oldest in the county. Certified butlers, a smokehouse spa, fire pits, a wine-heavy pub and Vintage Restaurant (think a "Philly cheesesteak" salad with local mushrooms) set the register: country-house leisure, polished but unstuffy.

Who's it for

Bottom line

The pull here is the setting and the cottages: a designer take on a historic Piedmont estate where the grounds, the foliage and the fire pits do most of the work. Come in spring or autumn for the gardens and colour, book one of the six cottages over a manor room (Overlook if you have a dog), and plan to arrive at sunset.