Omni Homestead Weekend Getaway

For our anniversary this year we visited the Omni Homestead Resort in Hot Springs, VA for the weekend.  The luxury resort was originally built in 1766 and people were drawn to it because of its hot springs which many people believed had healing powers.  The resort passed thru several different owners before it was purchased in 1888 by M.E. Ingalls and J.P. Morgan.  The investors were able to raise one million dollars to build a new hotel but on June 2, 1901 a fire started in the pastry shop and burned the entire main building.  The Spa, Casino, the cottages in Cottage Row, and the Virginia Hotel were all saved.

The day after the fire it was determined that they would rebuild and over the next several years the hotel would add the Great Hall, the West Wing and the East Wing.  In the 1920s, the Empire, Crystal and Garden rooms and theater were added.  During WWII, the hotel was used as a high end internment camp for Japanese diplomats and their families.

In 1973, the Garden Wing was built.  In 1993, Club Resorts acquired the Homestead and completed a renovation which was finished in 2001.  They added a Grand Ballroom, outdoor pool, a new shooting club, an ice skating rink, and snow-blowing equipment for the ski slopes.  In 2006 the resort was once again sold to KSL Resorts.  Under their ownership they added Allegheny Springs, a children’s play area, lazy river, and water slides.  KSL sold the Homestead to Omni Resorts in 2013 and is now known as The Omni Homestead Resort.

Accommodations

We stayed in a Deluxe Garden View room in the Garden Wing of the resort.  We were on the 4th floor and had a gorgeous view of the lawn and mountains.  Our room was outfitted in Southern elegance, it had a queen size bed, flat screen TV, desk, over-sized chair, and a balcony.  The bathroom had double sinks, toilet and shower.  There was ample storage in the room which included a small dresser and a large closet.  The resort also offers Premier Rooms which are located in the historic area of the resort, and Suites which boast separate sleeping and living areas.

Activities

Depending on the season you visit, the Homestead has activities for both winter and summer.  We visited in mid-September so we took part in the summer activities including a hike through the Allegheny mountains, the lazy river at the outdoor pool, and of course the water slides!  Also available during the summer is zip lining, mini-golf, horseback riding, fly fishing, shooting, two 18 hole golf courses (one of which having the oldest tee-box in the United States).  During the winter months, the Homestead offers skiing, snowboarding, snow tubing, ice skating, and snowmobile riding.  Throughout the year, there is also a full service Spa on the property.

If you go during the summer, I highly recommend the guided hike.  It was a 3 mile hike thru the Allegheny mountains which ended with lunch at Rubino’s.  Our tour guide, Brian, was absolutely amazing, he has been doing his job for almost 30 years and had appeared on the National Geographic channel.  Brian’s knowledge of nature was awe-inspiring and I learned so much just in our short time together.

Food

We ate at several restaurants during our stay:  Woody’s, Rubino’s, Jefferson’s Restaurant, Martha’s Market and we ordered room service for breakfast.  One thing I really liked is that the Homestead has a garden with 60 plants that are used in the restaurants on the property.  They also introduced a hive of Italian Bees in 2017 and now able to serve their own honey.

Woody’s was our first dinner which serves mostly burgers and pizza.  We both opted for burgers with no bun and a side salad.  Woody’s was very gracious in accommodating our gluten and dairy free request.  It was our server’s first day on the job so he went and asked another waiter for help with our request.  I appreciated that he took the time to make sure he knew our exact dietary restrictions.

The next morning we ordered room service for breakfast as we were doing the hike at 8:30am so we didn’t have time for a sit down breakfast.  The night before, we hung our order form outside our door.  We ordered a sweet potato hash which came with two fried eggs, onions, and tomatoes.  It was a large portion and kept us full through our hike!

After our hike, we ate lunch at Rubino’s which is at the golf course.  We both ordered the Cobb salad which came with hard boiled eggs, avocado, tomatoes, bacon, and a lemon vinaigrette dressing.  While the Cobb salad was very good, unfortunately, it was the only Paleo option on the menu so I would have liked a little more variety.

For dinner it was between Jefferson’s Restaurant or the Main Dining Room, we decided on Jefferson’s Restaurant because it was a little less formal than the Main Dining Room.  When our waitress arrived at our table we informed her we were gluten and dairy free and she brought out a gluten free bread basket which was a nice surprise.  Due to our dietary restrictions, our waitress talked to the chef and we were allowed to substitute some of the side options (such as rice) for mushrooms instead.  For dinner, I got the Allegheny Trout and my husband got the Broiled Salmon.  Both entrees were very good and I was very impressed how the restaurant went above and beyond to accommodate us.

For breakfast the next morning we ventured down to Martha’s Market, we were once again in a hurry because we wanted to take the Historic Hotel Tour at 10am which is only offered once a day.  For reference, the hotel does offer a sit down breakfast in the Main Dining Room.  At Martha’s Market we were able to get a green smoothie blended with coconut milk and some fruit.  They also had gluten-free muffins available and more healthy options like yogurt.

My husband and I definitely plan to re-visit the Omni Homestead Resort in the future.  I would like to visit during the winter next time so we can take part in some of their winter activities.  If you have any questions about the resort, feel free to e-mail me!

Check out my other posts on weekend getaways:

• Weekend Summer Getaway in Reykjavik, Iceland
• Weekend Winter Getaway at Greenbrier Resort

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