Courtesy of Omni Homestead Resort
In 1766—a decade before America’s founding—Captain Thomas Bullitt built the Homestead, an 18-room Shenandoah Valley retreat where visitors could “take the waters.” Holding the title of America’s oldest resort, this Hot Springs, Virginia, grande dame hotel has been in operation for more than 250 years. It was at times a see-and-be-seen destination for the elite. Storied guests include numerous U.S. presidents (Washington, Jefferson, and FDR among them), J.P. Morgan, the Vanderbilts, a Duke of Windsor, and a young Jacqueline Bouvier, who learned to play golf there. After a $150 million renovation in 2023, the 483-room Georgian-style Omni Homestead Resort is a beautifully preserved example of old splendor with new amenities, including a spa, equestrian center, championship golf courses, and historic warm springs pools. The snow-dusted Allegheny Mountains and expansive property provide an idyllic setting for wintertime fun. Guests can go ice skating, snow tubing, snowboarding, and skiing (on nine beginner and intermediate trails), and kids can even take a whirl in mini snowmobiles. Back inside, the whole family can thaw out in the heated indoor pool fed by the mineral spring waters on which the famed resort was founded.
This article appears in the Winter 2025 issue of Southbound.
