$1k a night for a cute and very nice B&B type setting in farmland Virginia is insane. not saying i will never do it, because you’re essentially paying a $500 convenience fee for a reservation, but there are tons of cute and very nice B&Bs in the area (including some within 5 minutes of IALW) for half the price (at the very top end).
How true. Too many times I go to look up some place I see recommended, or drive past, or see in a magazine article, etc., and it’s $1200/night, or 1500, 2000. Doesn’t much matter, that’s a range I would simply never get into. I guess for someone making a million bucks a year, like a bunch of people here do, it’s not even something they think about. But heck, not us average folk. Luckily, there are still a lot of cool places in the $300 and below range (lol, even that seems high).
I won’t argue the value proposition, but I think you vastly underestimate what a stay at the Inn is like. It is not, by any stretch, a “cute and nice B&B.” It is widely regarded as one of the finest hotel/inn experiences in the world. Worth a grand a night? Well, that’s a personal judgment.
You’re not factoring in the expected value of a DWI/DUI.
There is a “cottage” industry (yuk yuk) in the little town; many B&Bs within walking distance of the Inn for that very reason.
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I spent three nights at the Claiborne House (owned by the Inn) a few years back and it is the most incredible “hotel” I’ve ever experienced. Blackberry Mountain comes in a distant second and it was amazing.
Every element of the house has been planned to excite all of your senses. There is a single butterfly on the wallpaper in the main entrance which makes you think “how the hell did that get there?”. The wallpaper was flawlessly applied and there was this one perfectly placed imperfection that made me feel like I was in the Uffizi looking at Botticelli. Every room in the house smells different and delicious, and I couldn’t figure out what was causing it. I could go on, but the whole experience was invigorating and I felt 10 years younger by the time I left.
The cost was prohibitive, but it was as uplifting an experience as the best bottles of wine I’ve ever had. Speaking of wine, they keep 15,000 bottles of wine in the garage adjacent to the property, so I’m bringing a chainsaw if I ever go back.
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I guess we need to hear from actual luxury hotel afficionados, should there be any here, on how the Inn shapes up in that category. I stayed there many years ago. They offer extremely well appointed rooms with amenities, but they are rooms. The service is, by at least an order of magnitude, better than I have ever seen. It’s rather like being a Bourbon in the sense that more than you can think of has been thought of and taken care of without your having to be aware of it happening. I don’t think that is worth the cost, but others might. On the other hand, other luxury hotels give much more well-appointed space and obtrusively obsequious help for your money. Maybe some luxury hotel afficionados prefer that? Inquiring minds need to know.
i’ll be sure to report back when i inevitably try it out. i am not to the level of luxury hotel aficionado, but i have stayed in my share, including a couple at IALW’s price point. i really hope it compares, because i’ll feel like a chump that there’s a $450 well-reviewed place next door otherwise.
I think a lot depends on your personal tastes. I stay at a lot of luxury hotels; I personally prefer a more modern aesthetic (equinox hotel penthouse, etc) but my wife lives IALW and that style of property.