Washington
Virginia


The Experience

In the 1970s, chef Patrick O'Connell and business partner Reinhardt Lynch bought a garage in this teeny town of seven streets (population 168) and opened a restaurant, with rooms for diners who might have overindulged on the New American cuisine and excellent wine cellar. Today, countless renovations later, the inn and restaurant are fabulous follies with an almost over-the-top decor yet also decorated with every major honor in the book, from multiple James Beard awards to Zagat's number-one spot.

The Rooms

The owners wanted the rooms to be like little stage sets, and so they hired a London theater designer to pile on the drama: a hand-painted linen ceiling, a wooden floor imported from a 350-year-old French château, a Jacuzzi angled to catch the sunset behind the mountains. If you are considering a private celebration -- and this is definitely the sort of place for that -- try the inn's newest suite, #16, which has its own garden for weddings and get-togethers.

The Service

That a staff of 110 is employed to look after the guests in 16 rooms speaks for itself. The intent is a refuge from reality, from the very first moment you're greeted on the porch with a white peach Bellini and your bags are whisked to your room. At dinner, a rose is pinned to the gentlemen's lapel, color-coded so the staff knows if you can be spared explanations because you are a repeat diner or if you need extra attention.

The Highlights

The restaurant is the inn's major calling card -- reservations are made a year in advance. Also set like a stage, where rose-colored silk lampshades hang over each table, it turns out Patrick O'Connell's creations, like pan-roasted Maine lobster with grapefruit, orzo and citrus butter sauce, and pistachio-crusted grilled lamb chop with forest mushrooms and carrot-ginger essence, wrapping you in a wondrous cocoon of luxury. There's such demand that the best way to guarantee a table for dinner is to stay the night. In fact, so many guests use this stratagem on Saturday nights that there's a $245 surplus charge per room ($145 for Friday nights). When not dining, you can explore the tiny town for antiques, visit vineyards or motor on gorgeous Skyline Drive through Shenandoah National Park.

-- Kathleen Beckett

Find Hotel Deals on Yahoo Travel»