04 April 2022 Two years ago, a virus disrupted life on a global scale. As someone said to me, going forward, we will use pre and post COVID as a measure of time like pre and post illness, pre and post wedding day, pre and post parenthood. It will become a barometer. Our memories will hold places imperfectly of events before the virus and during the virus and how we struggled to cope with how it altered our lives. In ten years, we will call on those imperfect memories and use them to help us navigate whatever event it is in the present moment, comparing it to how good or bad the present moment is to the two years of vaccines, boosters, masks and variants. Our lexicon is now filled with such terminology as social distancing, mandates and lockdowns. The virus gave us insights into the things that up to March of 2020 we likely took for granted, chief among them, how we treat each other. While it is always tempting to be pulled into the cynical vortex of “people” when we talked about our encounters in public, I think we can look to those good souls in what the cold and calculating business world calls the “hospitality industry” to see a reflection of the best of how we can be towards each other. In a recent trip to Goodstone Inn and Restaurant in Middleburg, VA, I encountered such souls. With virtually no effort, I could see as I drove up the stonewalled drive through the Virginia woods, the attentiveness of hands who care for the land. Hands that understood how to take the rolling hills and pastures and sculpt them with an eye for contour and serenity so that it was the first impression from the outside, of what continued on the inside. There, Sue and Sarah, Stuart, Stephen, Paloma, Vincent, Jefferson and Gordon and Tyler showed us what it means to be stewards of one another. These good souls understood that we would be coming back to them after the bouts and bruises left by COVID, looking for a place to heal, a place to wed and just a place to celebrate the joie de vivre that comes from the deep places of gratitude when, after hardship, we come out the other side pledging never to take life and love for granted. But knowing that we may, as the next thing coming will certainly test us again we hope to remember the good souls at Goodstone who helped us heal and recover, and girded with the goodness they shared with us we will go forth, knowing that we will return to them again and again for remedial training on what it means to feed and shelter one another with élan.…
We get away each year to Goodstone to celebrate our wedding anniversary. This was our tenth visit and the best yet! So quiet, so pastoral. The management has added many improvements: clearly marked hiking trails throughout the property, a fruit tree grove with beehives, beautiful lighting of landscaping at night, etc. We stayed at the Dutch Cottage and loved the screened-in back porch and private fire pit nearby. The new chef, Tyler Stout, created an incredibly delicious, over-the-top gourmet dinner! One of our favorite parts of the Goodstone is the daily fresh eggs at breakfast. After eating, we always head to the barn to thank the chickens! We highly recommend this rural Virginia retreat, a welcome change from big resorts and hotel chains.
We rented the Manor house for a work event and it was a total delight. The house overlooks rolling Virginia hills and is close to Middleburg, wineries, and other activities. The staff was easy to work with to ensure we had a great experience. The restaurant is NOT to be missed and we thoroughly enjoyed the full tasting menu and wine pairing. Highly recommend and looking forward to a return visit.
The small gold and diamond wedding ring I wear around my neck was not in my zipped jewelry sack when I returned home from my trip to Goodstone. I realized that it must have slipped off the necklace and somewhere in to the safe (which was in a precariously high location) when I packed it. I have written emails and called numerous times, and the staff has been rude and dismissive, simply telling me that "housekeeping found nothing in the room". I have stayed at Goodstone twice before, and our stays have been lovely, but I will never go back again. Goodstone cares nothing about its customers.
Being a professional travel and food writer, it is my job to share uniquely winning dining and travel experiences with readers. It is with such joy I must mention that Virginia now has a brilliant , world class chef in the person of Jan Van Haute- move over my beloved Patrick O’Connell there’s a new kid in town. When every dish that is sampled on a menu ,that allows a culinary journey , is perfect, one knows that in the kitchen there must be a magician and there is. Venerable chefs spend their lives procuring the finest ingredients and then finessing them into savoury and sweet cuisine and chef van Haute adds love as well. He even introduces us to rare recipe ideas and new , pretty fabulous, suppliers like Belgian caviar. He served us a potato soup in one of the caviar tins that will never be forgotten. A while ago I reviewed Goodstone for a London based magazine only to have the entire building “ turned upside down “ during renovations and a totally revamped menu concept . Therefore, I will not mention all the specifics from the kitchen of this peerless chef , but know ,whatever will be on offer will have you singing the praises of truly superlative cuisine and the creator too.Bravo Monsieur van Haute !…
It was a true pleasure staying and dining at the Goodstone Inn and Restaurant for our 6th Anniversary. The food and wine was spectacular, the accommodations were romantic, and the grounds were beautiful, with a pool and hot tub that overlooked a beautiful vista and farm. However, we wish to extend a special acknowledgement to the extraordinary service of the entire hospitality team. They were thoughtful enough to grant us a one night stay with a tasting menu, as a substitute for an additional night, one of the only properties in the entire region that was so accommodating. The staff always had a smile on their face and were gracious to help at every moment of our stay. This has been one of the finest experiences we’ve ever had, and we’ve been to a few places. We look forward to our return visit.…
We cant say enough about the wonderful warm service. We stayed in the Bull Barn which was a perfect walk to the main building, best shower ever and plenty of room to spread out. Quiet (other than the fun animals outside) . We took the hike around the property which was lovely, important (for us) that we took the provided walking sticks, lots of ups and downs and mud and walking over water. We somehow missed the 1/2 way cut through, it wasn't well marked, so you may want to ask. A great tour from Tony of the property and also enjoyed speaking with Gordon. The only area for improvement we saw was actually the restaurant, which surprised us. The service was just a bit off for both dinners, not as polished as we expected, although friendly. The entrees were good, but the same sides (taking advantage of seasonal ingredients) became repetitive. Meats night two were both overcooked. Great wine list. We would definitely return to try it again once covid is a distant memory.…
Every aspect of our recent stay at the Goodstone Inn was top-notch. The French Farm house provided a perfect combination of privacy and common space for our group of 6. The quality and selection of cuisine at the restaurant was outstanding, and the staff were extremely friendly and accommodating -- particularly in helping us to identify and arrange interesting activities on the estate itself, as well as in the nearby Middleburg area. Great meals, hikes, tours, winetasting. A 3-day weekend was not long enough -- we'll definitely be back.
Beautiful property but poor service and so-so accommodations. Room reeked of wood smoke. Later I (stupidly) lit premade fire, nice at first until oh wait! fire alarm goes off. Then we call “emergency” number, person asks us whether fire alarm is hard-wired or battery-powered. Wouldn’t the hotel know that? Hotel then said oh right, fireplace needs to be serviced. Then why’d you leave a pre-made fire ready to be lit? Phone did not work in room, staff shrugged in response. Oh well. “Oh yeah, phones have been glitchy” they said. Promised to fix phone. But didn’t. We asked room to be serviced when we left for the day, front desk said ‘ok’ yet housekeeping left giant pile of trash, didn’t make beds or clean anything. Oh well. (Apparently this is due to COVID, but ok, you need to communicate that to guests when they check in or - preferably - beforehand.) Also, why’d you say you’d service the room if you weren’t going to? Front desk staff is chilly and unhelpful-minor requests felt like asking for a kidney donation - you have to negotiate because there’s obvious reluctance to help. It’s really weird. Goldstone manages to make you feel like an unwanted houseguest. For $600 a night. Weird fluorescent lights in rooms. Not exactly romantic. Rustic is cool, but many other places do it better, and for a lot less money. It doesn’t seem like there’s a lot of care or thought applied to anything. Shame, because it’s a beautiful place that we’d come back to otherwise.…
The grounds at Goodstone are beautiful. The restaurant is also gorgeous and the food was delicious. But, there were several disappointing aspects to our visit. We stayed in the Mare Suite which was ok, not great... the heat did not work terribly well and the room and bathroom were not as well appointed as we would expect at this price point. We also were frustrated b/c several things were not told to us in advance: 1. that there was no housekeeping service b/c of COVID 2. That there was a tip added to the breakfast which was included in the room cost. The service was inconsistent- the women who worked here were uniformly helpful but the men not so much... At a less expensive property, I would say the service was fine but at this price point not so much. They said there was a spa but there were no details about services in our room and they said you ha dot reserve 48 hours in advance. One other odd thing, they asked when we reserved and when we arrived at dinner whether it was a special occasion which it was but nothing happened... In short, especially in cold weather where you can't use the pool etc.. that we felt the room charge was too high for what we got...…
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