12 ladies from various parts of West Virginia and two from North Dakota planned a bicycling trip to Lexington and stayed with Bernie for three nights and four days of cycling. Bernie was a most gracious host and went out of his way to accomodate our large group. The house and cape cod were clean and the food was great. We enjoyed his front porch and lawn. The surrounding area was wonderful for cycling. Judy B

**I have no affiliation with this B&B or the owner**
I am traveling on a great adventure through the South, with possible relocation to VA. I usually stay at hotels since I am a single female and tend to prefer the amenities they provide. Similar to another reviewer, I too came up wanting as I viewed the hotel options in Lexington, especially since I travel with a golden retriever. So... based on the reviews here, I booked a week at this B&B and I am unequivocally glad that I did. The owner - Bernie - was wonderfully gracious in a nice, low key way - with a definite sense of humor. From the moment I arrived I was treated as a welcome guest. I'd just come from a highly rated hotel Alexandria - where the services were great, but the bed left my back in need of stretching every day. I took a nap the moment I arrived here and was pleasantly surprised to find that my back felt better. The genteel ambience of the grounds was very soothing, to the point where I had to coax my dog into the car every day just to go exploring. All of the breakfasts were wonderful - especially the pancakes and the breakfast casserole. Bernie changes breakfasts each morning - nice touch.
The house is impeccably clean and I appreciated that each room has its own bathroom. I stayed in the Cardinal room which also had a little porch addition - great for reading/using my laptop. If you like architecture, you'll enjoy all of the nice touches throughout the home; if you stay here, ask Bernie if you can look at the other rooms. Bernie was always available for any needs in a very unobtrusive way. I highly recommend this place and would definitely stay here again if I am in the area.

My wife and I had a relaxing stay at Riders Rest. Bernie was gracious and welcoming. The room was special and clean and priced right. We especially liked the atmosphere, the hearth fire, books, and decorative touches everywhere. It was personal. We will definitely rebook the next time we pass that way.

Bernie was a very friendly and welcoming host for us and our Golden Retriever. We never thought we'd find a B&B that was large dog friendly, so we had looked at some of the hotel options in Lexington and frankly found them underwhelming, they all just looked old and run down. Through Trip Advisor I found the link for Rider's Rest, and we enjoyed a very comfortable two day stay there the week before Thanksgiving. We would definitely stay here again.

The house is beautiful and obvious care and attention has gone into designing the guest rooms. We stayed in the Kingfisher Room which was very large and had a super comfortable King size bed and quaint clawfoot tub. The furniture was period authentic with some gorgeous walnut pieces. Loved the linens as well, very luxe feeling.

The house has a pretty yard with a gazebo out front, we enjoyed drinking a glass of wine there while throwing the tennis ball for the dog...we all got to unwind and the scenery is really gorgeous. The house cat even put up with the dog chasing her down through the yard.

Breakfast was fresh and hearty both mornings, we loved the crispy toast. We were especially impressed with Bernie's handling of some guests who had very specific breakfast food needs which you'd think they'd have had the courtesy of mentioning to him before he prepared their food. He was incredibly gracious about the whole situation (more so than I would have been able to be).

We ate dinner at the Southern Inn the first night, loved all of it. Great wine selection and early on a Sunday evening we had the place to ourselves. Service was excellent and we enjoyed all the courses we had. Second night after a full day of touring we just opted for some bar food at The Palms, again enjoyed all of it, another meal with fast and friendly service.

We toured the Stonewall Jackson House, VMI (definitely go for the free cadet-led tour offered middays), Washington & Lee University (so somber to see General Lee's office, it really looks like he just stepped out of it) and walked most of the very quaint downtown area. You can do all of this in one day.

On our way home we visited several of the wineries off of I-81, our favorites were Rockbridge and Barren Ridge. Overall a very relaxing vacation and a great stay at Rider's Rest.