HIPR Travels to the Old Dominion
In early January, this dude had the pleasure to visit one of America’s oldest vacation destinations-Virginia Hot Springs. You may have heard of the area, known for the elegantly
enormous Homestead Resort, but that wasn’t the reason for this trip. For 2 days Anna Stancioff, Michelle Munick and I were visiting one of our newest clients, Natural Retreats, on what would end up being a great, whirlwind of a site visit! The company, a premier vacation-rental operator founded in 2006 out of the UK, has “come home” to the U.S with the VHS location and another: the South Fork Lodge on the Snake River, ID. Why did I state the company is “coming home?” The reason is quite simple: our first morning we met the energetic founder, Matt Spence, who provided a story about childhoods spent in the national parks of the U.S and UK; only to return to Yellowstone for his honeymoon to find the choice of accommodations dare I say-bleak. It was then that he realized the opportunity to establish luxury accommodations in areas of natural beauty (hear him tell it in his own words, British accent and all and you immediately want to join him and his quest).
It’s an intriguing concept: UK vacation rental company, with great locations in Yorkshire Dales (Matt Spence’s 55 acre farm turned flagship Natural Retreats property), Fistral Beach, Cornwall, West Highlands, Ireland, soon to be John O’Groats in Scotland, locations in Ireland and the Canary Islands comes across the pond to most beautiful areas of America not because the need to, but that they feel it is only right.
We arrived to discover that our “digs” was a brick (very Virginian) house with all the amenities of a million dollar home! Wolf appliances, marble and granite counter tops, multiple flat screen, a basement bar set up with pool table and game area which would rival any hole-in-the-wall NYC dive bar and king beds dressed with…wait for it…silk sheets!? As we quickly learned, guests of Natural Retreats Virginia Hot Springs may be enjoying the great outdoors, but stay in beautifully appointed homes, each designed with its original owner in mind. Ours was called Donald Ross Trail. It would sleep 12 comfortably and you wouldn’t be tripping over each other. In fact, every house under the Natural Retreats “portfolio” can accommodate large families or groups. It just so happened we were in the party house-so make sure to see if it’s available.
The "hamper" of food
We spent the majority of our two days touring the different properties, from Travilview, a home designed in the antique log home concept to Overlook, a southern plantation style home. You could really see how travelers could choose what type of house suites their style: something more rustic feeling? Party house? Elegant? But, when staying with Natural Retreats, all guests are welcomed by the concierge team with a “hamper” of local goodies like farm fresh eggs, bread and cheeses in hand. The concierge team is on call to help make sure that every guest has what they need and can make plans to explore the area, whether by hiking, biking, playing golf, kayaking, fly fishing and more. So, as much as you have all the amenities of home (there’s WiFi in all the houses and cable, so you’re not really roughing it) you can get back to nature.
Of course, there is always The Homestead, the Jefferson Pools and cute towns of Hot Springs and Warm Springs to enjoy, but don’t take my word for it, contact the concierge team and they’ll point you in the right direction.
Our biggest takeaway is that there is so much to see in this amazing country of ours. A 4-5 hour car ride from Washington D.C and you’re in a spot where three U.S Presidents once sat their bottoms (Jefferson Pools), in a state with so much history connected to it.
Travel tip: Nearest airport is Roanoke (90+ minute drive). It’s a three hour car ride to Richmond, VA. Travel time from NYC is about 8 hours with flights or car, pick your poison.
