We recently spent two nights (sans kids) in Middleburg, VA for a mini getaway. Joe’s parents gave us a two night stay at Goodstone Inn, set in the Virginia countryside with beautiful views of the Blue Ridge Mountains,for Christmas (travel is the best gift! A few years ago they also took us to Ireland as a Christmas gift!) and we decided to go at the end of February.
We left somewhere around 9:30 am on Thursday and drove a little over 3 hours to get to Goodstone. It was a really easy ride from outside of Philadelphia and we didn’t hit much traffic at all. We knew wanted to stop at a winery before getting to the hotel because we knew we’d be arriving well before check in and there are a bunch in the area. We chose to stop at Quattro Goombas Winery & Brewery, party because of the name and partly because it was a winery, brewery, and had a pizzeria so we could have lunch. I don’t know about anyone else in our group but this was my favorite place. I’m no wine connoisseur, but, the wine was good, the beer was good, the food was really good, and I just really liked the atmosphere here. They have live music in the brewery (check their schedule of events), the grounds are pretty, and the people were incredible!
We then drove the remaining 10-15 minutes along some very winding and narrow roads to Goodstone Inn and luckily our rooms were ready when we arrived. It’s definitely one of those places where you instantly feel transported back in time. We all stayed in the main building and it was nice to be so close to the lobby, bar, and restaurant. Joe got us coffee from the restaurant in the mornings to enjoy on walks around the property and there was tea and cookies in the afternoons (See my Instagram saved favorited stories for a room tour & more of our trip highlights!*). The property itself is beautiful and even the grounds were incredible in mid-February. I can’t even imagine how gorgeous they are in the spring and summer. It was still kind of chilly since it was February, but I think we did a decent job of exploring. We even got to walk through the main floor of one of the larger manses on the property (stunning). The farm was so pretty in the mornings, especially with the fog, and it reminded us a little of being in Ireland. There are hiking trails, too, that lead through the woods and along a creek.
The first night for dinner we went to the Red Fox Inn, a historic Virginia landmark established in 1728. It was somewhere we definitely wanted to see as it was standing during the Revolutionary War and used as a headquarters and a hospital for the South during the Civil War. We ate at the pub upstairs and tried the Virginia peanut soup (apparently a colonial delicacy). The truffle fries were good, the Goat Cheese Crusted Date Salad was delicious, and the Salted Caramel Vanilla Crunch Cake was incredible!
The bucolic landscape really was so calming and peaceful. Foggy morning walks were one of my favorite parts of this trip.
The following day we had breakfast at Goodstone and it was really, really good. We actually ate there both days and the croissants are homemade and some of the best I’ve had. Then we went to Mt. Defiance Cider Barn, which is also beautiful, and tried a few of their ciders. I’m not a cider person but it was a fun experience and something different. After that we went to Greenville Winery and got to tour their property which was really cool. Then we parked in town, grabbed some coffee at Common Grounds, walked through some shops, stopped at The Upper Crust Bakery for some cookies (this is a MUST DO- their cookies are mouth-watering- especially the cow puddle cookies!), and tried a flight at Mt. Defiance Distillery. That night we ate at Goodstone and, afterwards, had drinks by the fire.
The fireplace in the lobby was so nice. We sat for a little in the mornings before going for a walk and again at night before and after dinner.
As beautiful as the property is and as much fun as it was to tour the wineries, cidery, and distillery, I was a little surprised to find that there weren’t more historical attractions open for the amount of history steeped in Middleburg. The George Marshall house was nearby but it wasn’t open. And other than sporting museums (Middleburg is the heart of Virginia Hunt Country), we couldn’t find much of any historical sites close. It seemed like there were a lot of battlegrounds around, though, so if we were in that area again, I’d probably research some of those and try to see at least one. In all the places I’ve been, this is one of those places that I felt instantly connected to the ground. It was very much a retreat-like place in a one street town and there wasn’t much to do other than enjoy nature and each other (there was wifi but we didn’t even have a tv in our bedroom, it was in a separate sitting room). The quiet was so peaceful and though it took some getting used to at night, by the time we were ready to leave I felt myself really settling in… isn’t that how it always goes?! It was a really nice change of pace and I would highly recommend it to anyone looking to escape the business of city life (or life in general).
Thanks so much for reading! If you’re local to the area and looking for quick road trips perfect for 1-2 night stays, check out my Haven Montauk, Cranwell, and The Reeds travel diaries or click the travel tab (under categories) for details on all of our past adventures! We try to visit at least one place a year we’ve never been before and do a good bit of traveling, even if it’s just a short road trip, so feel free to email me or DM me if you need any recommendations or if you have any good recs, too!
*You will only be able to see my saved stories on the app.
