"Originally built as an Italianate villa, this off-the-beaten-path resort in the Blue Ridge Mountains now has a cluster of country cottages and is laid out to resemble an English country village, with ten acres of heirloom gardens. Cottages are beautifully and uniquely decorated, with claw-foot tubs and handpicked reproduction furnishings, and have porches with rocking chairs or swings. Rice House serves prime beef, fresh fish, and wild game in an 1854 farmhouse with bullet holes from the Civil War—the food is first-class, and it has a certain Barnsley flair to it. Activities include the awesome golf course, designed by Jim Fazio, and two 14-station clay shooting courses. Staff are fabulous and the environment lends itself to a true escape from the daily grind."
