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| Mr Five Star and World Travel and Dinning Reviews & Resources |
| Inn at Little Washington-VaFeatured |
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 A renowned country inn whose name is synonymous with "special occasion," the Inn at Little Washington takes grand dining to the highest level. An hour or so from Washington, DC, the extravagant restaurant invites you to savor seven courses off an extremely expensive price-fixed menu. But don't worry that you'll be limited in your selections: Each course includes somewhere between five and a dozen choices, and the menu changes daily. Chef and co-owner Patrick O'Connell crafts elaborate dishes with ingredients like lobster, veal, rabbit and filet mignon prepared in rich sauces. There's also a vegetarian menu with pasta and vegetable offerings. Desserts focus heavily on ice creams, often paired with a decadent sauce like hot caramel or blackberry.
The inn leaves no detail unchecked, from its lavish Victorian-style decor to the somm elier on hand to help you pick from a far-reaching wine list that's 40 pages long. Basically all that's required of you is allowing yourself to be pampered and taking part in a toast for your special celebration. At first glance you might not even notice the unassuming white building festooned with flags on the corner of Middle and Main Streets. There are no signs to guide you here. But once inside the front door you realize that this could only be The Inn at Little Washington. A graceful Dalmatian wearing a string of Pearls may greet you as one of the staff takes your bags and leads you to a cozy alcove for Passion Fruit tea and delicate biscuits. From an 18th Century portrait high above a crackling fire, famed French Gastronome Brillat Savarin smiles approvingly. Steps away an enchanting courtyard beckons through French doors while the sparkle of crystal and silver on nearby tables hints at pleasures to come. Wherever you look fragrant flowers, richly layered fabrics and wall coverings and amethyst-studded ceilings form a bewitching backdrop for the owner’s superb collection of art and antiques. Created by Patrick O’Connell and hi s partner, Reinhardt Lynch, in 1978 The Inn at Little Washington was the first establishment in the Mobil Travel Guide’s history ever to receive 5 stars for its restaurant and 5 stars for its accommodation, and is the first Inn ever to receive AAA’s highest accolade, the 5 Diamond Award, for both food and accommodation.The Inn’s fifteen bedrooms and suites are sumptuous hideaways created by Joyce Evans, a London stage and set designer, who conceptualized the interiors without ever setting foot in America. 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 sumptuous, two story suites many with balconies and garden views. The most recent addition, called the Mayors House, features a beamed ceiling in the bedroom, two fireplaces and a private courtyard garden. Whimsical touches transform the Inn’s bedrooms into charming jewels. Vast bouquets of Hydrangeas fill an antique pine armoire in the sun-drenched reading nook of one room. In another room, a canopied sofa has been swathed in the exotic fabrics and colors of Asia. Each room is unique in mood and utterly decadent in detail.
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