Salamander Resort & Spa

Salamander Resort & Spa will open in 2013 in Middleburg, Virginia, at the heart of the horse and wine country long associated with Washington, D.C. Known for its fox hunts, lavish parties, elegant estates, and vineyards, Middleburg dates from pre-Revolutionary times and boasts more than 145 buildings on the National Register of Historic Places. Salamander Hotels & Resorts laid out the 340-acre resort to reflect the region’s rich legacy of outdoor pleasures. At the same time, the buildings honor the environment with construction in line for LEED certification.

Conference spaces planned for the East Wing include a boardroom, two breakout rooms, and grand and junior ballrooms. Other sites for events include a repurposed 120-year-old Stallion Barn, an Herb Garden, and the Pavilion at the Pond. Between sessions, groups can take cooking classes, play tennis, visit the spa, tour area wineries, tee off at nearby Creighton Farms Estates, ride horses, hike, bike, and board carriages for horse-drawn rides to the village.

Days of meetings, activities, and exploration will end in traditionally inspired lodgings that mirror the Piedmont region’s finest private guest rooms. The main restaurant, with its view of the resort’s stables and surrounding countryside, will uphold Piedmont traditions as well by focusing on local, sustainable ingredients. The dining room will adjoin a cozy wine bar, billiards room, and library—all opening to a gracious stone patio and grand Virginia lawn. There are no reviews posted at this time. There are no packages available at this time. There are no hot dates at this time. Posted 28 Oct, 2011 by Lucy Gonzalez Construction of Salamander Resort & Spa in Middleburg is on schedule, with the resort expected to open in Spring 2013. According to Prem Devadas, president of Salamander Hospitality, the exterior of the project is near completion and should be finished by the end of this month.
“Things are moving along according to schedule,” he said. “It really is exciting. Everyone can absolutely envision what the final product is going to be like from looking at that exterior.”

Devadas said the February snowstorms slowed progress slightly but were not a major disruption.

Upon completion, Salamander will contain a resort and spa with 168 rooms (ranging from $200 to $600 a night), 12 homes and 30,000 square feet of office space. Posted 06 Aug, 2009 by Elizabeth Longo -- Hotels, 8/4/2009 10:43:00 AM
Middleburg, VA - As construction continues and interest in booking the property increases, Salamander Resort & Spa announces the launch of a new group meetings initiative called "Meeting Green."

When it opens in March 2011, the resort will become one of the first luxury destination resort and spas in the United States to achieve LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification. In addition to the building's physical characteristics, which include extensive waste, water and energy management programs, Resort Management Company Salamander Hospitality is creating a practical program in which group attendees can participate in environmental sustainability.

"Our goal for Salamander Resort & Spa is to take a leadership role within the hospitality industry by continually looking for innovative ways to enhance our luxury resort guest experience, while maintaining sensitivity to our environment," says Prem Devadas, president of Salamander Hospitality.

Located in the beautiful and historic Village of Middleburg, the 168-room luxury resort sits on 340 acres in the midst of Virginia's horse and wine country. However, it is only 35 minutes from Washington D.C.'s Dulles Airport to the east and 30 minutes from Winchester Regional Airport to the west.

Salamander Hospitality CEO and Founder Sheila C. Johnson stated her intent to create an environmentally sensitive resort by placing 252 of the resort's acreage into a conservation easement, held jointly by the Potomac Conservancy and the Town of Middleburg. In addition, commitments were secured to use native plants to minimize irrigation, and employ unobtrusive external lighting to preserve nocturnal views and minimize light pollution.

By establishing the "Meeting Green" program, the resort will offer Basic, Intermediate and Advanced plans for groups wanting to make sure their stay is as ecologically sound as possible. These programs go beyond the usual guest recycling programs, printing on recycled paper with soy based ink, and use of non-chemical housekeeping cleaners.

Some of these additional measures will include:

Creation of all menus utilizing many sustainable and organic products produced within a 50-mile-radius, including the large on-site chef's garden, to minimize transportation and carbon footprint. Attendees will be able to cook with many of these ingredients at the resort's culinary studio.

Special menus including a 50-percent reduction in animal proteins, supplemented by vegetable proteins at meal functions

Use of potted plants instead of "cut flower" arrangements on banquet tables

Use of specially filtered water served in pitchers

Electronic meeting flyers and hand outs, accessed via a special Internet site or by e-mail

Promotion of off-site events and tours that ingrain event attendees in the area's natural environment with minimal impact. In fact, there are 22 wineries within 30 minutes of the resort, and four less than ten minutes away.

Utilization of energy saving horse-drawn carriages and bicycles to take hotel guests to and from the Village of Middleburg

The resort is also renovating the 100-year-old-plus Stallion Barn, which still stands on the grounds and is only a few hundred feet from the on-site equestrian center, and turning it into function space - part of 12,000 square feet available for group usage.

In addition, Salamander Resort & Spa is creating two "treehouse" treatment rooms in the edge of the woods overlooking a creek. The resort's spa features 14 additional treatment rooms inside the main building, seven of which include an outdoor treatment patio.

The design architect for Salamander Resort & Spa is WATG from Irvine, CA, and the architect of record is Architecture, Inc, of Reston, VA. Renowned Residential Designer Thomas Pheasant of Washington, D.C., designed the King Guestroom and inspired the overall design. Forrest Perkins of Dallas and Washington, D.C., is the interior designer and interior architect of record. BluSpas of Whitefish, MT, is the spa consultant, Turner Construction of New York City is the general contractor, and Mark G. Anderson Consultants of Washington, D.C., is the project manager. The resort's culinary director is Todd Gray, co-owner of Equinox restaurant in Washington, D.C.

For more information about Salamander Resort & Spa, or to reach the group sales department, call 540-687-3600 or visit [url]www.salamanderresort.com[/url]. The resort has special pre-opening group offers available, and to view the property's e-brochure, visit [url]www.salamanderresort.com/ebrochure/pr[/url].

http://www.elitemeetings.com/property/salamander-resort-and-spa/ Posted 06 Jan, 2009 by Nikki Hathaway There she was, braving a downpour in muddy boots, pushing a gold shovel into a 340-acre Virginia meadow where equestrians like Pamela Harriman and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis once rode.

Sheila Johnson broke ground Thursday morning on her $130 million Salamander Resort & Spa, a luxury inn destined to be the flagship of the sprawling lifestyle company that she is knitting together up and down the East Coast. The Middleburg resort will open fall of 2009.

"I feel wonderful about this," said Johnson shortly after throwing a couple of heaps of dirt. "This is a historical moment. When all is said and done, this is going to be wonderful for the town of Middleburg."

The Johnson empire, operating as Salamander Hospitality, features several different business lines. It includes Market Salamander, a gourmet food and catering operation in Middleburg and Palm Beach, Fla. Then there's the five-star, 19-room inn in Summerville, S.C., known as Woodlands, which Johnson bought last year. She has also formed a luxury hotel management company with projects underway in New Orleans and at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg. And over the summer, Salamander Hospitality bought the Innisbrook golf and tennis resort in Palm Harbor, Fla., near Tampa, for $35 million.

Salamander Hospitality President President Prem Devadas runs the business from an office on Main Street in Middleburg, just a few steps from the market and the soon-to-be resort. "Sheila and I feel a great sense of responsibility to deliver a world-class resort that our friends and supporters in Middleburg can be very proud," he said. "And now we are going to do just that."

But not everyone is thrilled.

"My feelings haven't changed. I still think it's too big for this town," said Middleburg Town Councilmember Catherine "Bundles" Murdock.

The project faced stiff opposition before it received formal approval from Middleburg and Loudoun County. Now that ground has been broken, even opponents are resigned to the inevitable.

"I was outvoted on the council," she said. "Many citizens want it. And now I just hope they build the best they can build. And Sheila is assuring us of that."

Middleburg Mayor Betsy Davis was on hand, as was Loudoun County Board of Supervisors Chairman Scott York and Loudoun County Supervisor Stephen J. Snow. Former Middleburg Mayor Tim Dimos attended as well.
The wet weather over the past two days soaked the site so thoroughly that the grounbreaking had to be moved a few hundred yards to a drier patch, where everyone gathered under a white tent. The event was catered, naturally, by Market Salamander.

It may have been miserable and rainy and muddy, but those who showed up feasted on Market Salamander crab cakes with spicey remoulade, miniature pumpkin pie tartlets, tri-color fingerling potatoes with creme freche and caviar, bourbon chicken salad on garlic crostini and smoked salmon on brioche. The gourmet fare was washed down with hot cider and champagne.

"It was the first time that everyone was happy with it raining because we so much need the rain," said Mayor Davis. "I and the town are thrilled for Sheila. As she said, this is for all of us and she won't let us down."
-- Thomas Heath