The Homestead - VA
U.S. Route 220 Main Street
P.O. Box 2000
Hot Springs, VA 24445
Phone: (800) 838-1766 or (540) 839-1766
Fax: (540) 839-7782 www.thehomestead.com
Resort Overview: The Homestead, a National Historic Landmark resort, is nestled in the Allegheny Mountains in southwestern Virginia. The setting is gorgeous, and is the perfect place to view fall foliage or escape the heat during the summer months. This is an excellent resort for families with school-age children (3-12) and/or teens. The Homestead Kids Club offers excellent programs and activities for school-age children, and teens will be pleased with the wide variety of activities and amenities available to them. The Homestead was chosen as one of the nation's top five family resorts by Travel and Leisure magazine. This resort is a great vacation option for active families and those who enjoy being pampered in a historic setting. If you go, book dinner reservations, spa treatments, babysitters and activity reservations before you arrive, as these tend to fill quickly.
Stand-Out Features: The Homestead is particularly unique due to its historic elegance and Georgian-style architecture; its beautiful setting on 15,000 acres in the Allegheny Mountains; its extensive spa and Spa Suite programs offering a wide variety of spa treatments and amenities for kids, teens and adults; and the broad array of amenities and sports activities the resort offers. The resort's award-winning children's programs make it an excellent choice for families.
Accommodations: The Homestead has recently completed renovations of all of the resort's 506 guestrooms and suites. Connecting rooms are available as well. The size and configuration of the rooms varies by room type, with deluxe and larger rooms being the best for families of four. Ask the well-trained reservationists for help if you have specific needs or requests, such as being close to an elevator, in the older historic setting, or locating a multi-generational group close to each other. Accommodations feature traditional furnishings, cable TV, Lodgenet with movies and video games, voicemail, a refreshment center, wine glasses, robes, feather pillows, in-room safe, iron and ironing board, hair dryer, daily maid service, breakfast and dinner daily, afternoon teas, the use of hiking and biking trails, the Fitness Center, an indoor pool (fed by the hot springs), historical tours, nightly movies in the "turn-of-the-century" theater, valet parking, phone access fees and shuttles to resort activities. A "Family Vacation Package", which also includes the supervised activities in the KidsClub program, is offered from late April through early November. The second room for children traveling with parents is 50% off. During the day, casual resort attire is preferred. In the evening, jacket and tie are required in the Dining Room and jackets elsewhere.
Restaurants: The Homestead's formal Dining Room offers continental cuisine with distinctive wines from their exquisite Wine Room. Live music and dancing is available during dinner, and many parents take their school-age children out on the dance floor to sway to the music. Jacket and tie are required in the evening. The 1766 Grille offers an intimate atmosphere for dinner with views of the grounds and the Casino. French and American cuisines are served at the Grille, and many items are prepared tableside. The tableside theatrics are often a hit with teens and older children, and the waiters enjoy showing off their skills. Jackets are required in the 1766 Grille, and there is an extra per-person charge for dinners in this facility. For dining out pleasures in a casual setting, try Sam Snead's Tavern for lunch or dinner. The Players Pub (featuring big-screen TV, 6 regular size TVs, darts, billiards and Top 40 music dancing) is a good place to enjoy a game of pool with the family, or for late-night dancing, drinks and snacks. For lunch, try the Casino Club Restaurant (located adjacent to the first tee of the Old Course with view of practice green, outdoor pool, tennis courts and lawn game area). The restaurant also offers a relaxed dinner setting on Friday and Saturday evenings during the summer. Cocktails before or after dinner can be enjoyed at the Presidents Lounge, where portraits of all presidents who've visited The Homestead grace the walls. The Homestead's "private dining" (a luxury room service option) is offered from 7a.m. until midnight daily.
Children's Programs: This KidsClub is headquartered in its own expansive Clubhouse on Cottage Row. The KidsClub operates year-round from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and is jam-packed with innovative and exhilarating activities in a top-notch facility. The Homestead KidsClub is licensed through the Commonwealth of Virginia Department of Social Services and is a member of the National Association of the Education for Young Children and the Virginia Fine Arts Museum. Counselor Aides are composed of carefully selected high school students along with counselors who have specialized training in education and childcare. Counselors appear to be enthusiastic and energetic, and parents have told FTN that their children love the program and ask to go back. Full-day activities (ages 3-13, potty-trained) with lunch is $60 for the first child and $40 for each additional child. A half-day program with lunch is $40 per child. The center- oriented program is quite unique. In the Children's lit center, children are entertained by readings of regional folklore and history storytelling. With center stage readings and theme costume adornments, the children often join in impromptu play-acting on the theatre stage. Child authors are invited to read from their own books while at other times, kids read and learn about life in other cultures. The Art and Design Center offers children creative arts and crafts activities with Popsicle stick boxes, finger painting, bird feeder designing, making wreaths and key chains, decorating t-shirts, tote bags and jewelry, weaving baskets, origami sessions, mask making and photography. The Science & Biology Center encourages participation for all levels of interest. A nature walk in the woods can also evolve into studying plant life under the microscope. The study of dinosaurs includes looking at dinosaur fossils and then discussing archeology. The space shuttle and astronaut life are discussed, and prizes are given for the best design of space gliders. Hands-on fun includes making "cosmic slime". There are other fun activities available including pole fishing at the Children's Fish Pond, tennis on mini-courts, mountain biking, hand-led horseback riding, exotic bird demonstrations, bowling, swimming, nightly movies, video games and shopping expeditions. Babysitting is offered in guest's room or for outings (infants to teens) by trained staff, certified in CPR and First Aid. Advanced registration and 2-hour minimum is required ($12/hr for first child; $2 each additional child in family).
Spa: The Homestead Spa was built on the centuries-old tradition of "taking the waters". Since that time, it has evolved into one of the top spas in the country and offers innovative spa treatments in a unique, historic setting. Graceful Victorian-style lighting casts a soft glow in this imposing 4-story building. Guests (ages 16 and older) can enjoy a full range of treatments at the spa, including several different types of facials and massages, skin treatments, manicures and pedicures. The bath, naturally heated by mineral waters that have made The Homestead famous, is just one of the many options available for guests. At the Spa robes and slippers are provided. A full service salon offers men and women hairstyling, skin care therapies and skin treatments. The Fitness Center, complete with Cybex equipment, treadmills, steppers and stationary cycles, and the Aerobic Room where exercise and yoga classes are held, are located on the ground floor near the indoor pool. This pool is fed naturally by the heated mineral waters from the hot springs. Outside, there is a beautiful new heated pool and children's pool along with an old-fashioned parlor-style snack bar.
The Homestead is an innovator in family spa services, as it now offers a new spa facility for families with children under the age of sixteen. The Spa Suite and its KidSpa activities are perfect way to pamper younger teens and pre-teens - or even much younger children. There is a brand new menu of custom-designed spa offerings just for kids. Designed for guests under the age of 16, these offerings provide the perfect platform for youngsters to discover the joys of spa life with their parents and to get an important head start on health and wellness. Kids can get a head start on stress management with the custom-designed "Kids Massage" (parent or guardian presence required). The "Teen Facial" is designed for acne-prone skin and includes a take home regimen and "Make Up for Me" instructs younger girls on how to properly apply makeup the natural way. "Fun Fingers" is a special manicure featuring a strawberry and cream soak and "Fancy Feet" is a pedicure of chocolate milk bath soak. Manicures and pedicures in the Spa Suite offer kids a more vibrant selection of colors than is usually found in the Salon. Another new services offered in the Spa Suite is "Coming of Age", a special mother-daughter treatment offering fun, quality time together. In addition to the Spa Suite, the resort has added a small retail shop offering special spa products tailored to children and teens.
Hiking: There are one hundred miles of hiking trails winding over the 15,000 acres of mountains and valleys at The Homestead. There are 3 self-guided trails and a guided hike through the Cascades Gorge. Hiking the trail through the Cascades Gorge takes guests past beautiful waterfalls and through colorful foliage. The trail is perfect for active families wishing to enjoy the scenery, and the hike takes about an hour.
Horseback Riding: The new Equestrian Center with modernized facilities is staffed and open for guests. The Homestead stables features 50 well-trained horses and both English and Western style riding can be enjoyed. Families can take trail rides through the forest or carriage rides (some restored by the carriage maker date back to the early 1900's) at twilight on over 100 miles of forest trails. Pony rides are also available.
Golf: The Homestead features three renowned golf courses: The Cascades, the Lower Cascades, and the Old Course. The Cascades, a particularly beautiful course, as been consistently ranked among Golf Digest's and Golf Magazine's top fifty courses. The Lower Cascades is a Robert Trent Jones course built in 1963, and has hosted US Men's Amateur qualifying rounds and is also the site of the American Junior Golf Association ClubCorp Championship. The Old Course was recently redesigned under the direction of Rees Jones to preserve the course's essential flair and enhance the characteristics of this traditional favorite. A driving range and putting green are adjacent to this course. The Homestead's Golf Advantage School offers individual and group instruction with student-to-instructor ratio at a maximum of 5 to 1 on the three championship courses. Golf packages are offered including luxurious accommodations, three meals day, unlimited green fees, cart usage, personalized videotape and instructions.
Tennis: The Homestead has 6 courts: 4 Har-Tru courts and 2 all-weather courts. The two tiers of courts give privacy to players and allow views of The Homestead tower and the mountain valley. Instructions are offered from mid-March to mid-November under the direction of Peter Burwash International. Clinics and playing options are designed to accommodate all ages and skill levels. In August, tournament players can participate in The Homestead tennis tournament.
Other Activities and Amenities: Mountain biking can be done on the hiking and horseback riding trails. Falconry lessons, as well as sporting clays, skeet and trap shooting are offered as well. Swimming is available year-round in the spring-fed indoor pool and seasonally in the outdoor pool. There are also a variety of other daily activities offered on a seasonal basis, including kayak and canoe trips to nearby Lake Moomaw, snowmobiling excursions, downhill skiing and ice skating at The Homestead's facilities, and hay rides during the summer and fall months.
More Information: For more information on The Homestead phone: (888) 796-5838 or visit the website at: www.thehomestead.com.
