KDH Road Trip, Chapter Two: Keswick Hall In Charlottesville, VA!

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Majestic Keswick Hall in Charlottesville, Virginia.
The 600-acre Keswick Estate provides the ideal setting for Keswick Hall and Keswick Club. This Tuscan-style villa is in the heart of Virginia’s hunt country, bordering the Blue Ridge Mountains. The inn features a private helipad for quick and easy access for guests.

 

KDH blew out of the Hamptons last week for our first family road trip. Not willing to battle the airports and a gaggle of screaming kids clamoring to fly away for an Easter break, we decided that it would be great to take a drive south to visit my husband’s parents, show Lily the University of Virginia, tour Monticello, and of course with KDH on board, check out the historic luxury estate called Keswick Hall! Here is my travel diary:

Villa Crawford, the historic north wing of Keswick Hall, was built in 1912 as a gorgeous, Italianate-style private estate and was converted to a country club in 1948. Meticulously restored in the early 1990’s, it is now considered a world-class hotel that graces the most beautiful piece of Virginia countryside.

Named as #1 US Mainland Small Resort for the Readers’ Choice Awards in Condé Nast Traveler and chosen by Departure Magazine readers as one of the Top 25 Boutique Hotels in the US and Canada, Keswick Hall’s Italianate architecture, pastoral green setting, refined ambiance, and elegant décor are reflective of 19th century American affluence.

Pulling up to Keswick feels like you have stepped back in time, the impeccable 600-acre property seems to roll on indefinitely, the golden sunshine saturates the stucco exterior, and a pervasive dose of southern hospitality blankets you as you walk through the grand entrance and are greeted by the Keswick clan…

 

Keswick Hall, formerly the private residence Villa Crawford, underwent a major renovation in the 1990's transforming the property into Conde Nast's ' #1 Small Resort in Mainland U.S.'
Apart from my husband's mistrust of the British guy directing him on the GPS, our first family road trip was lovely.
The gardens lining the property are pristinely maintained.

 

All of the gardens were blooming with tulips, hyacinths and pansies.

 

Keswick Hall offers an 18-hole Arnold Palmer designed golf course, infinity pool, fitness center, spa, tennis facility, informal dining room and lounge, and cozy bar. This time the girls won and Doc agreed to spend the day with us and not on the links [although he stared off longingly every time we looked out the window!].

 

Beyond the infinity pool facing East was the Arnold Palmer designed championship private golf course, one of only nine Audubon certified courses in the state..
Lily and I ganged up and beat Dad in tennis.
Family Spa Day!!!

 

The spa offers myriad massage techniques including Raindrop Therapy, and hot stone massage.

 

"We were pampered with southern hospitality at the spa, where we soaked in the jacuzzi and received Swedish massages," says Doc.

 

In keeping with the grandest and most authentic estates, the public rooms at Keswick Hall are inviting and filled with period-inspired furnishings and art that tell the story of the home.

The Crawford Lounge, formerly the entrance hall for Villa Crawford, is an ideal setting for cocktails or afternoon tea. The Morning Room, the cozy Villa Crawford and the Snooker Room are places where guests can enjoy afternoon tea, a midnight game of backgammon, and glass of port before retiring for the evening.

 

The Library, with its cozy fire, houses books written by Virginians or about Virginia.

 

We played billiards in the game room, and indulged in a piano solo by Lily.

 

The signature drink in the Snooker Room at Keswick is the "Jefferson Fashion," made with Jefferson's Reserve whisky, Apricot Nectar puree, bitters, sugar and muddled ginger.

 

Each of Keswick Hall’s 48 guest rooms face formal gardens at the front, with the golf course and lush rolling fields at the back. Our suite featured a canopied four-poster bed plumped with comforters and feather pillows. An obsessive antiquarian, Doc loved the hand-painted armoires, antique furnishings and custom carpets that furnished the room.

Room number nine is the Louis XV inspired room, featuring the original hardwood floors that date back to 1912 and French doors that open onto a private terrace – the room offers breathtaking views of the golf course and infinity pool below. One of the most frequently requested guest rooms is the original master bedroom of the Crawford family who resided here from 1912 to 1919.

 

Each of the 48 rooms in the hotel is individually decorated. Our suite felt like a room designed after "Tara," with subtly themed patterns, antiques, and luxe linen fabrics.

 

Opened in June 2004, Keswick Hall’s elegant yet casual evening restaurant, Fossett’s, features expansive floor to ceiling windows with spectacular views of the estate’s pristine landscape and the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Like most great Hamptons restaurants, the restaurant offers a farm-to-table menu that is approachable, contemporary, and innovative. I was very impressed by the modern twists that the chef placed on southern classics.

 

I opted for the fried eggs over creamed leeks and brioche with gruyere cheese~ soooo good!
The brunch at Keswick was beyond delicious. Doc devoured Eggs Benedict with salmon and asparagus.

 

Fossett’s is named in honor of Thomas Jefferson’s chief cook at Monticello, Edith Fossett (1787-1854). Mrs. Fossett held one of the most responsible positions in Jefferson’s household during his retirement years. Mrs. Fossett learned the art of French cooking from Honore Julien, Head Chef, and Etienne Lemaire, the maitre d’, while serving in the White House during Jefferson’s presidential years.

The hotel produces its own private label wines~ Edith’s Chardonnay and Edith’s Petit Verdot~ a tribute to Mrs. Fossett.

 

Continuing the grand tradition of local “garden to table” eating as cultivated by Jefferson at Monticello, the hotel boasts its own “Chef’s Garden”, an extensive supply of produce year-round. We were blown away by our visit to the gardens at Monticello (pictured above).

 

We visited Thomas Jefferson's home Monticello the next day. The 'Sage of Monticello' began construction on Monticello in 1768 and completed the last revisions in 1809. He retired to his beloved 'little mountain' following his two terms as President.

 

Doc attended medical school at the University of Virginia and was excited to take Lily and me on a tour of Monticello, the home of President Thomas Jefferson [who built the university].

Perhaps the greatest American ever, Jefferson is remembered on his epitath as ‘the Author of the Declaration of American Independence of the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom, and Father of the University of Virginia’.

 

Doc channels his hero, "Perhaps the greatest American ever, he died on July 4th, 1826, fifty years after the signing of the Declaration of American Independence."

 

Jefferson taught himself to be n architect, relying on observation and oops. He described his 40-year period of design and construction of Monticello as his "essay in architecture."

 

Like many history buffs, my husband’s favorite historical figure is Thomas Jefferson. He shares, “Jefferson’s vision of the pursuit of higher learning required the interaction of scholar and student. In 1987, Jefferson’s Academical Village was named a World Heritage Site on UNESCO’s World Heritage list. I felt reverence for this architectural feat upon my return and hope one day that my daughter Lily will attend the University of Virginia.”

 

"Thomas Jefferson's Academical Village at the University of Virginia is an architectural masterpiece. It comprised the Rotunda (above), modeled after the Roman Pantheon, ten pavilions, which housed the professors and classrooms.

 

Fifty charming dorm rooms with fireplaces reserved for exceptional fourth year students flank "the lawn.'.

 

Other nearby attractions include: Ash-Lawn Highland (home of President James Monroe); Montpelier (home of President James Madison); downtown historic Charlottesville; local vineyards – Barboursville, Horton, Jefferson and Montedomaine; famous Civil and Revolutionary War battlegrounds.

 

For more information on Keswick Hall please go to:

701 CLUB DRIVE KESWICK, VA 22947    RESERVATIONS 888-778-2565    HOTEL DIRECT 434-979-3440