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In-Depth Information
From the outside, this colonial-style white
inn with its double verandas is unassuming—
it doesn't even have a sign. But within, the
decor is a heady onslaught of art, swagged
draperies, antiques, huge floral arrange-
ments, dainty rose-colored lampshades,
sparkling crystal and china. And for guests
who want to keep the pampered glow going,
O'Connell and his co-owner Reinhold Lynch
offer 18 equally plush accommodations, dec-
orated in lavish English country-house style.
These luxurious digs range from double
rooms to two-story suites to separate cot-
tages (the President's Retreat is 17 miles
[27km] away, but the cost includes a butler
who will drive you back and forth from the inn
and serve breakfast the next morning). Even
the most modest rooms cost over $400 a
night, and charges go up considerably on
weekends. Still, rates include breakfast and
afternoon tea and, best of all, guarantee your
dinner reservation. Of course, the rooms
book up a year in advance too. But who ever
said that perfect luxury should come easy?
The Inn at Little Washington, at the base of the
Blue Ridge Mountains.
Middle and Main Sts., Washington
( & 540/675-3800; www.theinnatlittle
washington.com).
( Reagan Washington National (61
miles/98km).
the two fireside tables back in the kitchen,
where you can watch the master and his
crew at work.
Gourmet Inns & Resorts
70
Auberge de Soleil
Wine Country Pioneer
Napa Valley, California
The name means “Inn of the Sun,” and
when this Provençal-inspired restaurant
opened in a Napa Valley olive grove in
1981, it was an immediate hit—just the
sort of upscale place that Napa's burgeon-
ing wine tourism needed. Despite its Med-
iterranean accents, the restaurant made
local produce and food producers its
stars—a relatively fresh idea in 1981,
when California cuisine had already taken
a detour into fussy fusionism. By trans-
forming French cuisine into something
robustly Californian, Auberge du Soleil
helped to signal Napa Valley's coming of
age as a wine region.
In 1985, the inn added luxury accommo-
dations in a series of small buildings terraced
down the hillside. Every room has a view of
the valley, the inn's gardens, or a hillside of
olive trees, and huge windows and roomy
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