The Homestead Resort & Spa

As monumental as a state capitol building (complete with red-brick wings and a green-domed cupola), the 255-year-old Homestead is the uncontested grande dame of the Allegheny Mountains, set 180 miles south of Richmond. Here, old Virginia hospitality suffuses every aspect of guests’ stays, from the gracious service and haute-traditional cuisine to the ritual of afternoon tea and biscuits in the pillared Grand Hall. The 483 rooms and suites also exemplify antebellum elegance, with warm-pastel wallpapers of mauve and rose, roomy upholstered armchairs, thick floral drapes, and sumptuous down featherbeds that would give even the daintiest of southern belles sweet dreams. Plus, some suites have sun porches with rocking chairs—all the better for admiring the property’s misty mountain surroundings.