Nestled in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains in the small town of Washington, Virginia, The Inn at Little Washington is the only Double Forbes Five Star, Double AAA Five Diamond property in the Washington metro area. The Inn's eighteen bedrooms and suites are sumptuous hideaways created by Joyce Evans, a London stage and set designer, for whom The Inn has become a life's work. Many of the furnishings were purchased in England, numbered and shipped to Virginia to be assembled on site like a giant jigsaw puzzle. The Inn offers a range of accommodations from well-appointed rooms to luxurious, two story suites many with balconies and garden views. The Inn's dining rooms are pure fantasy - a wondrous cocoon of luxury. Rose-colored, silk lampshades float above each table creating a private, romantic world below. Chef/Proprietor Patrick O'Connell's creations arrive as if served by invisible hands, course after course more dazzling than the last. From the award-winning 14,000 bottle wine cellar, which includes the finest offerings from Bordeaux, Burgundy, California and Virginia, the Sommelier plays matchmaker between you, your dinner and the wine.
Star ratings are intended to indicate the general level of features, amenities, and services to expect. This property is classified according to Giata.
HOTEL STYLE
Luxury
Classic
Languages Spoken
English, French
Location
Middle and Main Streets, Washington, VA 22747
The Inn at Little Washington
682 reviews
Getting there
Car recommended
Places to stay are graded on a 0-100 scale. The higher the grade, the easier it is for travelers to find restaurants and things to do within walking distance.
This hotel is beautiful and elegant and in a gorgeous location, particularly in the fall with all the leaves changing color. Both the room and the extravagant dinner are worth the high price ($1000/night) ... you can't offer this type of experience for less IMHO. Service, especially in the restaurant, was fantastic. So, what's the problem? Well, after dinner when we went back to our room and noticed that we could clearly hear the music from downstairs (we were one flight up and just above the lobby/restaurant area). We also noticed a box of earplugs had been placed on each side of the bed, so the Inn is aware of the issue. We decided it was no big deal and likely would not be going on late in to the night. At 11 the music was turned off and that seemed reasonable. Unfortunately At exactly 7 AM the next morning the music was turned back on. 7 AM!! If I wanted to get up at 7 I would have stayed home and slept in my own bed for free. Instead of having a wonderful relaxing morning, I was irritable and tired. It was a buzzkill. I really don't understand why it would be necessary to have music playing at 7 am, especially when you are well aware it can be heard clearly in the guestrooms (or perhaps just our room). We ordered room service coffee and when the waiter brought it my husband complained about the music. Within 5 minutes they had turned it off, which, almost made it worse--if the music was optional, why did you turn it on at 7?
Bottom line, we're not likely to return because of this issue.
But if you like getting up early, everything else was perfect so definitely go!
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Date of stay: November 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We celebrated our ten-year anniversary with an overnight stay at the Inn at Little Washington and dinner. We arrived & upon check-in received a glass of champagne. Then we enjoyed the afternoon tea. Our room at the Parsonage was well kept with communal living space & tea available on the main floor. We received a welcome note & gift from Chef O'Connell. When we checked out, admittedly I was a bit weepy. This was truly a once in a lifetime opportunity and I enjoyed every minute at the Inn. The service, staff, and food were some of the best I have had. Thank you to the Inn and Chef O'Connell for making this a magical experience! (Due to limited characters, I will post more details in other posts)
We had drinks in the Monkey Lounge and while small, it was a nice spot to sip drinks before dinner. Dinner..where should I begin? I had the vegetarian menu and my partner had the Gastronaut's menu. Each course was rich and executed to perfection. My partner had the wine pairings with dinner and was glad he did. We chose the cheese selection in addition to dessert, because, why not? The Fromager asked us what types of cheeses we like and we were each given 5 different kinds of cheese. The presentation and choices were among the best I have ever experienced. Our desserts were amazing & then just when we thought we were done, chocolate with sea salt appeared on top of a dish of candied grapefruit rind.
After 2 1/2 hours of eating, we walked back to our room and found a small pouring of port wine, cookies & a note from Luray, Chef O'Connell's famous dalmatian! As dog lovers, this was the best!
In the morning, we walked over to the Inn for breakfast which was included in our lodging rate. We had tea, a flight of 5 juices, pastries, and yogurt parfaits. We did splurge and order off the a la carte menu and had the omelet of the day and the breakfast trio of scrambled eggs with salmon, corned beef hash, and oatmeal souffle. Afterward, we walked around the gardens, saw the goats, sheep, & alpacas. We were so excited to run into Luray on his morning walk and got to pet him and take his photos! We checked out and admittedly I was a bit weepy. This was truly a once in a lifetime opportunity and I enjoyed every minute at the Inn. The service, staff, and food were some of the best I have had.
Thank you to the Inn and Chef O'Connell for making this a magical experience!
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Date of stay: October 2020
Value
Service
Sleep Quality
Room Tip:The parsonage is a cute house with multiple rooms across the parking lot from the Inn
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
The best restaurant experience I've ever had. My wife and I stayed overnight, at the "Mayor's Cottage" and felt pampered all the way - great accommodations, including our own private garden, with housekeeping to beat the band. The food - superb. You will pay for the experience, lodging above $1,000 and dinner was $320 each, with my wine flight an extra $200 plus. It is well worth the cost. This is a "memories" place and should be on everybody's bucket list.
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Date of stay: July 2022
Value
Service
Sleep Quality
Room Tip:I don't see how you can top the "Mayor's Cottage"
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
For my birthday, my husband purchased a $1500 gift certificate. He was told that this would be enough for dinner and an overnight stay. When I tried to book a room (well in advance), all they had "left" was a room for $1200. That meant that, after room taxes and other fees, we had to pay an additional $1000 beyond the gift certificate, which was the price of our dinner. When we arrived in the afternoon, we asked to be seated for tea and were initially told it was too late even though it was about 1/2 hour before the time they told us that tea would no longer be served. The service was inattentive, and the sandwiches and scones (which we had to request) were microscopic. I had tea at the Four Seasons in Hampshire, England a few weeks later, and there is no comparison. As for dinner, the first problem was that they initially tried seating us at the end of a bowling alley like room at a very cramped and small corner table. When we asked to be moved, they seated us at a table right near an entrance where servers were frequently passing us only inches away. In the end, we had the lesser of 3 evils, a rounded banquette in a pleasant room, but I was closed in, so that when I had to get up to use the ladies, my husband had to get out and the server had to come to pull the table out (and come to push it back in when I returned). Given that this was a special occasion, $1000 meal, none of these options was acceptable. Our service was fine, although one of the people serving at a nearby table in our small room was loud and very talkative. As for the food, it was mostly bland and extremely underwhelming. The only reason for the 2 stars is that our $1200 room was beautiful (as it should be), the garden out back was lovely, and the vegetable garden across the street was a real treat to visit, although there seemed to be little, if any, of its produce in our meals. Breakfast the next morning was even more disappointing, with inattentive, disorganized and at times, curt service.
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Date of stay: September 2019
Location
Cleanliness
Service
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
I wish I could award 41/2 stars, because though this is a 5 star establishment in almost every respect, I did have one not-inconsequential quibble with our recent stay, and another, less significant but still less than optimal. First the good stuff: this is an extraordinary place both in accommodation, food (a foodie’s paradise), and service. We stayed two nights in the Claiborne House, and we ate twice in the dining room. This did not come at all cheap, but considering the level of service, the impeccable quality of the food ( this is a Michelin 3 star restaurant that does not disappoint) and the numerous extras including a ramble around the Inn’s picture perfect little farm, I thought that it probably was worth close to what we paid. Now the caveats: the king sized bed at the Claiborne House is way too high. I am 5’7”, and I felt as if I needed the Fosbury flop to get into it. Getting down wasn’t too easy either. And once in bed, the mattress was too hard for my comfort. This mattress has not heard of memory foam. After 2 nights I was ready for my own bed. The second, lesser, issue is the lack of oat-milk in the kitchen. I am severely lactose intolerant, and I thoroughly dislike almond and soy milk. I am always delighted to be offered lactose- free milk or oat milk. Neither is available at the Inn, which seems surprisingly out of date. Even Starbucks has oat milk these days. Otherwise, perfection. Including afternoon tea, a very pleasant continental breakfast, and numerous goodies for snacking. The flowers arrangements deserve their own review. Lovely garden, the farm for a walk…and did I mention the dinner? If you can swing it, I highly recommend a visit.
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Date of stay: May 2021Trip type: Traveled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
I read about the Inn back in the 70's when it opened and knew that I'd love to go there, but we were young, raising kids, and had neither time nor finances to go. Kids grown and many anniversaries later, we spent 2 nights and dinners at the Inn and fell in love. This past November we celebrated our 49th anniversary with our family at the Inn, overnight in the Claiborne House, with dinner and wine parings. In addition, our 2 sons spent the day learning from the Inn chefs in their kitchen. Everything this place does is pure magic, from the amazing decor and conversation nooks to the over-the-top service and creative cuisine. This is truly a 5 star experience in every way whether just dining or staying over. We couldn't recommend it more!
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Date of stay: November 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
38° 42' 48.50" N -78° 09' 34.30 W. That's the latitude and longitude of The Inn at Little Washington which is nothing short of wonderment. Write that one down. Every detail, spot on. Truly a visual, mental, and flavor theater. This amalgam of stimuli is, in a word, outstanding. The cornucopia of tastes for dinner were unbelievable perfection. From the start, a potato chip amuse bouche is served. Yes, a potato chip. That first explosion sent my mouth on an unforgettable journey. Course after course, this whirlwind of taste was an intense and fascinating roller coaster of flavor. It was as if everything served was seasoned for my pallette, right down to the perfect amount of salt. If you ever want to eat, taste, and enjoy in a spectacular fashion, The Inn at Little Washington is the perfectly exact location. Plug that into your GPS in file your flight plan. Giddy up.
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Date of stay: August 2021Trip type: Traveled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
I booked the entire Inn at Little Washington experience for my 50th birthday. Even though it was a splurge, I still had ta budget to work within, so I opted for an “intermediate room” in the Parsonage, and this ended up being the only negative part of our visit. The room itself (Room 20) was lovely, but the door was right across from the common area coffee bar and around the corner from housekeeping, so our visit was punctuated by noise and we were woken up at 7 am by other guests making coffee in the hall. Even though this was a “lower end” room, it was still $900/night, so I expected better. IMHO, that coffee bar shouldn’t be anywhere near the guest rooms.
The amenities, service, afternoon tea, breakfast, and cookies from puppy Luray were all amazing. I would definitely go for dinner again, but wouldn’t stay at the Inn unless I could afford a superior room.
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Date of stay: October 2021Trip type: Traveled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Beautiful lavish and luxurious rooms. Wonderful and quaint little town with picture postcard views year round. The dining room serves one of the most exceptional meals one will ever have the chance to experience. Perfection!
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Date of stay: March 2019Trip type: Traveled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
No detail too small, each bit of your stay and/or meal is beautifully and thoughtfully curated. The service is the most inviting and full of warmth of any place we've ever been, making it comfortable at every level of expectation. A truly unique and wonderful experience, we can't wait to do again!
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Date of stay: March 2019
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Room Tip:you can't go wrong
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Slingerlands, New York27 contributions14 helpful votes
Things to do: North to City of Front Royal, Skyline Caverns and Skyline Drive entrance - 19 miles/25 minutes. South to Sperryville, Skyline Drive entrance and Luray Caverns - 25 miles/38 minutes. Each direction would be a separate day trip.
We enjoyed the activities in both directions.
Hi - we stayed in the Jacques Pepin Room, a Junior Suite which did have a fireplace, but I have to say that you cannot go wrong at this hotel. Our stay there remains one of the most memorable and worthwhile hotel visits we have ever experienced. And that does not even include the restaurant, which is obviously amazing as well. I am sure you will be comfortable no matter what you choose, so breath easy and get prepared for a most relaxing trip!
PS - look at the visitor posted pics of the Julia Child bathroom and you will see a shower to the left of the picture. It seems to be set up just as ours was. Hope this is helpful.
There are more places to choose from in the Washington area.
PRICE RANGE
$713 - $1,700 (Based on Average Rates for a Standard Room)
ALSO KNOWN AS
the inn at little washington hotel washington
LOCATION
United StatesVirginiaRappahannock CountyWashington
NUMBER OF ROOMS
23
Prices are the average nightly price provided by our partners and may not include all taxes and fees. Taxes and fees that are shown are estimates only. Please see our partners for more details.
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