The Inn at Little Washington

Character and identity

A storybook arrival down a near-empty stretch of Lee Highway delivers you to a cheery blue clapboard inn at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains, the centrepiece of a 24-acre property that includes trails, a farm and a chicken coop fitted with a crystal chandelier. The 24 rooms and two-story suites, dressed by London stage designer Joyce Evans, layer tufted sofas, wingback chairs, thick drapes and lively patterns into a Victorian-meets-early-American whimsy. Chef-proprietor Patrick O'Connell's three-Michelin-starred restaurant is the gravitational centre, with a 2,400-bottle wine list, cocktails in the Monkey Room, afternoon tea with flamenco, and the coveted Kitchen Tables inside the range-equipped inner sanctum.

Who's it for

Bottom line

The reason to come is the restaurant, and the room is essentially your guaranteed seat at the table plus a beautifully overdressed place to sleep it off. Book if a memorable dinner is the point of the trip; otherwise the maths is hard to justify. Splurge on a suite with a garden view, secure a Kitchen Tables reservation if you can, and plan months ahead.