Family-Friendly Salamander Resort & Spa

Middleburg, Virginia, is a one stoplight village, with preserved 18^th– and 19^th-century buildings. Children discover its street names are an American history lesson about famed Federalists: Sign posts read Washington and Madison, Jay and Marshall.

This equine-centric community is widely known for the nation’s most famous hunt, the Middleburg Hunt, for sport horses and for horse racing. President John F. Kennedy and First Lady Jackie Kennedy, an avid equestrian, chose the town for their weekend retreat from Washington, D.C., about 40 miles away.

Salamander Resort & Spa & Equestrian Center is surrounded by typically lush horse country scenery. Its winding entry drive views rolling hillsides, passes paddocks and stables and leads to the horseshoe-shaped entrance of what used to be former New York Governor Averell Harriman and his art patron wife Pamela’s private, Virginia manor house.

Front Courtyard. Photo: Salamander Resort and Spa

Sheila Johnson, the founder and CEO of Salamander Hotels & Resorts, transformed the estate into a luxe 168-room hotel, spa and equine resort. She has personalized the equestrian-themed space, even showcasing a bronze of her daughter, a rider. The horse motif décor extends throughout the public spaces with bronze horses on tables and paintings that feature horses, mares and colts, hounds and dogs. The oversized, private spaces (each has a balcony and suites have fireplaces) feature double bits as wall sculptures and stirrup-studded designs on bed coverings.

Blue Ribbon Suite. Photo: Salamander Resort and Spa

A bevy of outdoor activities take place on the 100,000-square-foot lawn including croquet, bocce, traditional lawn games, a resort pool, two tennis courts, a basketball court and a skating rink. Riders can take classes, ride in the arena or — along with walkers and hikers — spend hours on trails on the mostly wooded, 340-acre property and on trails on the neighboring 200-acre farm.

Dining Patio. Photo: Salamander Resort and Spa

The abundance of activities for children start with pony rides (ages 2–4), the Kids Camp (ages 4–10), Kiddo Zip Lining (4 years old and 40 pounds), horseback riding (age 5), and cooking classes (age 10). There’s also biking, fishing, hiking, archery, art, family yoga, falconry and a family Splash Pool & Café. Plus, Cupcake, a miniature horse, is the resort’s equine ambassador.

Spa Vitality Pool. Photo: Salamander Resort and Spa

And weather is never an issue. The spa has 14 treatment rooms (teens can enter with a parent), an indoor lap pool, a fitness center, a motion room for fitness classes and a Turkish hammam.

The resort is just 35-minute drive from Washington Dulles International Airport and about 40 miles from Washington, D.C. It can also be reached via a beautiful drive through the Blue Ridge Mountains along route I-81, near some lovely wineries.