June 25, 2025 • 24 mins
One of the things I’ve really loved about doing this podcast is discovering the hidden gems. Sometimes it’s a particular attraction in a city I’m already familiar with, like a museum or something. And sometimes it’s a beautiful, and historic resort, that’s tucked away in the mountains of Virginia.
On this week’s episode we are heading to let’s say north central Virginia into the Allegheny Mountains to discuss the Omni Homestead Resort. The Homestead has been getting visitors long before it was ever a thing. The hot springs in that part of Virginia have been an attraction for locals for probably thousands of years. The waters were believed to have special powers. But it was in 1766 when someone finally put a building on it.
The Homestead has gone through a lot of changes over the last couple centuries, but that hasn’t taken away from its charm. The spa is second to none and it’s family friendly atmosphere has brought generations of visitors back for visits over and over again. There’s an elegance to it that I feel like you only see in movies. But you could see it in person at the Homestead. It was a real pleasure to learn more about this legendary destination.
With me today is Lynn Swann. She’s the director of marketing and communications for the Omni Homestead Resort and Spa. I hope you enjoy our conversation.
On this week’s episode we are heading to let’s say north central Virginia into the Allegheny Mountains to discuss the Omni Homestead Resort. The Homestead has been getting visitors long before it was ever a thing. The hot springs in that part of Virginia have been an attraction for locals for probably thousands of years. The waters were believed to have special powers. But it was in 1766 when someone finally put a building on it.
The Homestead has gone through a lot of changes over the last couple centuries, but that hasn’t taken away from its charm. The spa is second to none and it’s family friendly atmosphere has brought generations of visitors back for visits over and over again. There’s an elegance to it that I feel like you only see in movies. But you could see it in person at the Homestead. It was a real pleasure to learn more about this legendary destination.
With me today is Lynn Swann. She’s the director of marketing and communications for the Omni Homestead Resort and Spa. I hope you enjoy our conversation.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
Hey, what's going on everybody? Welcome to Delightful Destinations. My
name is Jeff Saint Pierre, and this is episode thirty
five of the show. If it's your first time checking
out the program, welcome, I appreciate your time. Delightful Destinations
is a show that I created so I can talk
to representatives from different locations around the country and learn
more about these beautiful places that are just all around us.
(00:23):
I'm always looking for an excuse to get away from home,
and I hope this show will help inspire you the
next time you're looking for a vacation. One of the
things that I've really loved about doing this podcast is
discovering the hidden gems. You know. Sometimes it's a particular
attraction in a city that I'm already familiar with, like
a museum or something. And sometimes it's a beautiful and
historic resort that's just tucked away in the mountains of Virginia.
(00:46):
And that's what's going on. On this week's episode. We're
heading to say uh, north central Virginia into the Alleghany
Mountains to discuss the Omni Homestead resort. The homestead has
been getting visitors long before it was ever a thing.
The hot springs and that part of Virginia have been
an attraction for locals for probably thousands of years. The
waters were believed to have special powers, but it was
(01:07):
in seventeen sixty six when someone finally put a building
on it. The homestead has gone through a lot of
changes over the last couple of centuries, but that hasn't
taken away from its charm. The spa is second to none,
and its family friendly atmosphere has brought generations of visitors
back for visits over and over again. There's an elegance
to it that I feel like you only see in
movies or maybe even on Bridgarton, but you could see
(01:29):
it in person at the Homestead. It was a real
pleasure to learn more about this legendary destination. With me
today is Lynn Swan. She's the director of marketing and
Communications for the Omni Homestead Resort and Spa. I hope
you enjoy our conversation. N My favorite thing about doing
this podcast for the last year or so has been
learning more about the places that really aren't that far
(01:51):
from me. I live in Baltimore and Virginia not a
far drive for us. I had no idea there were
hot springs in Virginia.
Speaker 2 (01:59):
Oh my goodness. People have been coming here for centuries,
probably for thousands of years, to be honest, to really
come to take these waters and the warm springs pools
are one of the most iconic destinations to enjoy those,
I'll say, in the entire country.
Speaker 1 (02:19):
What's really also special about this is the history that
I learned through talking to people like yourself, because you
have a historic property here, and we'll dive more into
that in a second, but I've spoken with someone from
the Shenandoah National Park. I've also spoken to someone from Greenbrier,
and there are these spots out there in the mountains
there the Apalachian Trail area where you've got these wonderful resorts,
(02:42):
and people like you said, have been going there for
so long because they take you away. I know, the
wealthy people used to leave the cities to go out
into the woods, into the mountains to cool off in
the summertime, like you've got these really hidden gems I
think out there, Well.
Speaker 2 (02:55):
There actually used to be a whole springs trail stretching
from Virginia and West Virginia, and there used to be
a series of resorts at these different springs, but over
the years, only the Homestead and the Greenbrier survived, and
a lot of that was simply due to ease of transportation.
Speaker 1 (03:13):
That's interesting. I'm glad that you're still with us. I
know this Omni Homestead Resort goes all the way back
to like seventeen sixty six or something.
Speaker 2 (03:20):
Yes, that's when the very first inn was built. It
was a small, eighteen room inn, and it was actually
named the Homestead in honor of the homesteaders who helped
build the building.
Speaker 1 (03:32):
Before we dive more into that, I want to learn
more about USA. How did you end up at the
Home State, the Omni Homestead Resort and SPA.
Speaker 2 (03:37):
So I had actually worked across the mountain at the
Greenbrier for thirteen years and then decided to make the
switch to the Homestead. And I've been here for about
thirteen years. So it's been really a great career to
spend so much time at two of America's most iconic destinations.
Speaker 1 (03:57):
And I see a lot of similarities between the too. Honestly, Like,
as I was trying to educate myself a little bit
more about the Omni Homestead, I was like, Wow, this
has a similar vibe, Like the history has some similarities
the location had I mean that's where it ends. I mean,
there are different offerings that you each have, but it
just has a similar vibe.
Speaker 2 (04:16):
Absolutely. There are two very special resorts. They both are
well known for golf, for spaw, for people coming to
take the waters. You know, they both have incredible histories
of presidential visits and royalty from foreign countries coming to visit,
and just keep points in American history. Really, you can
(04:36):
really tie it back to either resort. But to your point,
they are very different destinations. You know. Here at the
Omni Homestead, we have our Virginia Wine Experience. We're known
for being very family friendly and a lot of outdoor
adventures and we can go on and I'm sure we'll
talk more about that later. But yes, it's just a
(04:57):
very special place.
Speaker 1 (04:58):
Okay, so we've been kind of dancing around this a
little bit, but let's go right into it. Give me
your elevator pitch for the Omni Homestead Resort and spot.
I'm just bumping into you in the elevator and I say,
what do you do here? We go hit me.
Speaker 2 (05:11):
I work at one of the most magical places on
the planet. The homestead is really a special place, and
it's yes. We are nestled amidst the Alleghany Mountains. We
like to say that it's almost like the mountains are
surrounding us with a hug, and so you have beautiful
mountain visas everywhere you turn. You have the beautiful four
(05:33):
season climate that we enjoy in this region. At night,
there's so little light pollution that you can really see
the stars. So if you're coming from New York City
or from Washington, d C. Or Baltimore, you're gonna be
able to look up at night and see stars like
you've never seen them before because there are no street
lights to get in your way. What I think makes
(05:55):
this resort really extra special, though, are the associates. We
have so many associates here who are you know, maybe
they're the third or the fourth or fifth or sixth
generation of their family to have worked here. So for them,
it's almost like it's their family business. You know, they
grew up taking pride in the homestead and just serving
(06:18):
our guests. So when they greet a guest, it's almost
as if they are welcoming them into their home.
Speaker 1 (06:23):
That is something really special and I've talked to people
that have resorts, you know, in similar capacities where it's
like the big thing in that particular area, and there
is such a strong sense of pride with the people
that work there and live there in that area, like
this is their spot and they want to own it.
So I love that you highlighted the associates.
Speaker 2 (06:41):
Absolutely, whether it's Anthony, who's our maitre d Hotel, who
really is there and is the presence in the great hall,
welcoming guests, sometimes giving history tours, Quinn in our Virginia
Wine Experience, who is an incredibly knowledgeable somlier, Brian Cooper
(07:01):
Nan that do some of our outdoor activities the Cascades
Scorge Hike. You know, they're naturalists and they just you know,
they're so knowledgeable. And then of course when you get
to the golf course, you have our director of Golf,
Mark Frye and our head golf professional Barry Ryder, and
each of them have been here for thirty plus years.
(07:22):
It's really just incredible.
Speaker 1 (07:24):
That says a lot about your place too. When people
want to stay, you know, they want this to be
their home, they want this to be the thing that
they're dedicating their life to that says a lot about
the business behind what we see as a guest.
Speaker 2 (07:35):
Absolutely, and I could go on and on naming associates,
but I know we don't have that.
Speaker 1 (07:40):
Yeah, we don't have to do that. I also want
to say too that I love an Omni resort everywhere
whenever we travel, we always kind of look for them.
Every time I go to Nashville, the Omni is the
place we try to stay out. We've stayed at one
in Orlando before. It was beautiful. We've just we've really
had great experiences with the Omni. I know Omni is not,
you know, the initial owner of this hotel property over
the centuries that has been there, but I love that
(08:02):
you're tied in with them like I've always had such
a great experience with Omni properties.
Speaker 2 (08:06):
Omni is really a very interesting and very wonderful hotel company.
You know, they have a portfolio of hotels and resorts
across the United States. There are two in Canada and
one that's opening soon in Mexico. But they are really
What I love most about Omni is that each property
(08:29):
is a reflection of the community where it's located. So
if you are here in Hot Springs, Virginia. The experience here,
or should I say the decors and some of the
experiences will reflect this area. It's going to be very
different if you go to the Parker House in Boston,
or Barton Creek in Texas, or the new Omnipga Frisco
(08:53):
that's a partnership with the PGA of America that's also
in Texas. So it's really great to have these hotels
and resources that really have a great personality that make
them extra special.
Speaker 1 (09:05):
Oh that's huge to me. Like, if I'm traveling somewhere,
I want to feel like that's where I'm at. I
don't want to feel like I'm still in Baltimore because
it's the same decor, it's the same generic look. I
love when hotels take that effort, and I would imagine
that that's exactly what Homestead would do, because you're you
are You're building a vibe for people that are coming
out to visit you in this area. There's not a
(09:26):
whole lot else in there, like they're coming to that
part of the state to see you.
Speaker 2 (09:29):
You know, absolutely. We just completed a one hundred and
seventy plus million dollar renovation in twenty twenty three, And
the great thing about it was that the design team,
led by Omni's designers, was very thoughtful in the changes
that they made. They really focused on incorporating, whether it's
(09:55):
the flora and fauna of this region or some of
our history. So you feel like it's still the homestead.
We didn't lose who we were. They just made it better.
Speaker 1 (10:07):
The homestead I've seen called America's first wellness destination. Tell
me more about that.
Speaker 2 (10:13):
Yes, so I mentioned earlier the warm springs pools. The
people have been coming to take the waters, so the
in seventeen sixty one, I mean people had been coming
there to take those waters to soak in those natural
hot springs for probably thousands of years before that. But
in seventeen sixty one they actually built a stone basin. Well,
(10:35):
that stone basin is still there today, and that was
the first spa structure in the country. So that's the
basin that is at the Gentleman's bathhouse. It was enclosed
in the eighteen twenties and then in the eighteen seventies
a larger bath house was built. So the Gentleman's bath
house has eight sides. The lady's bath house actually has
(10:58):
twenty two sides, and I'm not going to say I
do love the Lady's Bathhouse better, but you know, so
those two structures and the reception house were both restored.
We did a historic structures report, really researched the history
of those bath houses and the architectural firm and the
(11:19):
historic preservations that we worked with. We identified a period
of the nineteen twenties nineteen twenty five really as our
period of significance. And so what that means is that
if it existed in the nineteen twenties, that's what the
bathhouses are going to look like today.
Speaker 1 (11:36):
So if it didn't.
Speaker 2 (11:37):
Exist in the nineteen twenties, which one example is that
in the Lady's bath House in the nineteen fifties they
had installed a support being in the center, Well that
wasn't their nineteen twenties, so guess what it's not there now.
They completely redid the roof of Lady's Bathhouse. It's absolutely beautiful.
The oculus is open, so you can, you know, see
(12:01):
the sky whether it's a beautiful sunny spring summer day
or if it's wintertime and you actually have snowfalling, and
it's quite magical.
Speaker 1 (12:11):
But that, but you're hitting on it again. I know
we've already kind of touched on this, but you're you're
giving me, you're giving another listener a reason to come,
Like we are coming there for the experience of being
at the homestead, and you're painting this picture and you're
creating this experience with all this research, this historic research
to make sure that things look a certain way. I
(12:31):
don't need to travel to Hot Springs, Virginia to stay
at a generic hotel, like I want to come for
the experience of being in this magical world that I
can't get on my own where I live, and I
just it seems like such a smart decision. It's I
always say this as a short game, long game. You
guys have long game in mind, Like you are creating
this place to get people to keep coming back for
(12:53):
more and say, hey, I want to get away. Where
do I go. We're going to Western Virginia, Like we're
going out there to experience How Springs, Virginia and the
Homestead and then if.
Speaker 2 (13:01):
You like Virginia wine, another region to come exactly. So
we started in late twenty twenty one the Virginia Wine experience.
With this you can come. We have it's part retail space,
the part tasting parlor, and our Somalia is there and
she every season creates multiple flights, so there might be
(13:25):
a white wine flight or just a featured vintage flight
that she will create so that you can come in
and enjoy, you know, these pre selected wines for a tasting,
maybe pair it with the charcuterie board. But we also
do wine tastings every Saturday. On Saturdays, we actually do
wines of the world, so it might be a region
(13:47):
in France, or Italian wines or California wines. And then
once a month we actually feature a different wine maker
from Virginia and we do a very intimate, exclusive dinner
where our chef tastes that winemaker's wines and then pairs
the food to match it to really bring out the
(14:09):
flavors of that wine. We have yet to repeat a
single menu item in all that time, and each dinner
is really a memorable event because you are there. It's
maybe thirty five to forty guests with the winemaker, so
you're hearing directly from them about their experiences and what
makes this wine perhaps so special.
Speaker 1 (14:33):
You mentioned earlier in this conversation that it's a family destination.
And look, if I'm telling my daughter that we're going
to this quiet place in the mountains, there's going to
be wine and mom and dad are going to hang
out at the spa, she's going to say it sounds terrible.
It's an awful idea. So tell me more about the
family aspect of the homestead.
Speaker 2 (14:53):
So for your daughter, you need to take her straight
to Allegheny Spring Perfect. That is our little It's a
two acre water park. We have a lazy river, water slides,
a water play zone that the little ones just love.
It has the mushroom, you know, where the water just
cascades down and they can just run through there. And
of course there's a large family pool. But we also
(15:15):
do things like carriage rides. If depending on the child's
age and height, they can do a horseback ride if
they're old enough. If they're not, we do hand led
rides around the stables and that's something that makes them
feel like a big kid and really give them that
experience too. Another fun family activity is our homestead S'mores Express,
(15:40):
So that's where families board a wagon. It's pulled by
a tractor. You go up to the equestrian center. We
have this lovely little gazebo, and you get to make
s'mores as a family and just hang out and be together,
and oftentimes you'll have somebody just there kind of playing
the guitar, and it's just these memories that you really
(16:00):
can't make anywhere else that you'll find here.
Speaker 1 (16:04):
You mentioned earlier it's a year round thing, and I
was on your website earlier and you do, and you
have ski trails, like you've got a little bit of everything.
I kept thinking about that classic song the winter, spring, summer,
or fall, like that's the home stead. You can come
any time of year, But what would you say is
your busy season, Like what's the highlighted area that people
generally tend to come to you for.
Speaker 2 (16:23):
So generally speaking, the summertime is family vacation time. It's
just that traditional getaway time. But also for the holidays,
which there's Thanksgiving, Christmas, in New Year's those are also
very popular, and probably more so for the multi generational families.
You know, maybe it's Grandma grew up coming to the
homestead with her family, and so now she's bringing her kids,
(16:47):
who are bringing their children and they can just really
enjoy those moments together, whether it's you know, a big
buffet dinner, or it's Santa, you know, sitting in his
chair letting little kids tell them what they want for
tell him what they want for Christmas. You know, we
(17:08):
have elves that will sit and read holiday stories to
the guests. Just so many wonderful ways to make memories
as a family. Maybe it's you know, cookie decorating or
building a gingerbread house, but just an abundance of activities
that give them that time to you know, really to
(17:28):
put down their cell phones and just enjoy being together.
Speaker 1 (17:32):
You just said a keyword, multigenerational. Maybe that's two now
it's one word and multi generational. And I imagine that
is a big piece of the puzzle for you all
when it comes to visitors, Like I would imagine you
have a lot of folks that came when they were kids,
took their kids, and they got older. Maybe now they're
introducing it to their grandchildren, Like I would imagine that's
a big piece of your visitation.
Speaker 2 (17:52):
It really is. And we often say that you have
you know, you have the little girls who you know
and boys who had there maybe their first fancy dinner
in our dining room. The little girls may dream about
getting married someday at the homestead when they dance with
their daddy on the dance floor in the dining room.
Little boys, it's where you know, they've learned to tie
(18:14):
their tie for the first time and to really, you know,
feel sort of grown up, if you will, as they
enjoy this very traditional, very elegant dinner with their family.
Speaker 1 (18:27):
I love that so much. And she's trying to inspire
the tradition of doing something because again, going back to
like the homestead is in a place where there's not
a whole lot at like you're traveling there for that purpose, right,
like it is it is a place that I just
imagine people make the effort to go to, and it's
just like we're gonna go back next year, and we're
gonna go back next year, and we're going to keep
coming back. Speaking of where you're located, if somebody is
(18:49):
I mean from Baltimore, I looked it up, you're about
four and a half to five hours, depending on the
traffic and the route that you take. But for people
coming elsewhere, is driving the easiest way to get there?
Like or would they where would they fly? And if
they were coming from further away, like what's the best
place or the best way to get to the homestead.
Speaker 2 (19:04):
So driving, we are very accessible via car, whether you're
coming from the Baltimore, DC area, if you're coming from
the south, whether it's Roanoke or Charlotte, or from the west.
I mean really from any direction easily accessible via car.
You can take the train to Clifton Forge, which is
about forty five minutes away, and then have a car
(19:26):
service bring you up. If you're flying, if you are
flying on a private jet, you can actually land at Inglesfield,
which is about twenty minutes from the resort. Other regional
airports you have Roanoke, the Ronoke Blacksburg Regional Airport and Roanoke,
Virginia that's about an hour and a half away, and
Charlottesville's airport is really only about an hour and forty
(19:47):
five minutes away.
Speaker 1 (19:48):
Great, so it's really accessible. There's a lot of different
options to get in. Absolutely, yes, I always worry about that.
When you're talking about a place that's like in the
mountains and kind of tucked away, it's like, well, how
are we going to get there? But when I was
looking at the map, it was very for driving purposes
from here in the mid Atlantic along the coast, very accessible,
I mean, nice easy route to get over there.
Speaker 2 (20:07):
It really is an easy drive. I make the trip
to DC frequently and it's quite nice.
Speaker 1 (20:12):
Actually, well, landa what did we miss here? What didn't
we talk about yet with the Homestead that you're just like, wow,
we got to make sure we get this out there.
Speaker 2 (20:20):
We talked a little bit about wine. Yes, do you
want to talk about bourbon?
Speaker 1 (20:24):
Sure? I mean you don't have to ask me twice.
Speaker 2 (20:26):
The Homestead actually has a pretty remarkable collection of private
barrel selections of bourbon. Right now, we do a bourbon
tasting that includes angels Envy, Planton's Knob, Creek, and Maker's Mark,
and these are all bottles that are you know, selected
where we purchased the entire barrel. Soon we will have
(20:50):
a bespoke blend from Whistle Pig as well as a
barrel pick with Whistle Pig, and then we have another
one with Russell's Reserve, and we've teed up a few
others that we're waiting on, so that could be in
the next few months, probably mid July. We'll start to
see some of those newer barrels come to the resort,
(21:12):
so we often do have bourbon tastings on holiday weekends.
I actually lead those bourbon tastings in addition to my
day job. I am a certified bourbon steward. Is not
quite that level, but I'm working up to it. But
it's something that I wanted to do for myself and
(21:33):
I've really enjoyed it and and love leading the tastings
for our guests over the holiday weekends. So yeah, trying
to continue to grow my knowledge of bourbons. Our culinary
team is phenomenal. Whether you're having breakfast in the dining
room and Chef Roderick is making you an omelet made
(21:56):
to order, or you're enjoying one of our incredible steaks
in Jefferson's, there's just a lot of great opportunities for
very just very fantastic meals.
Speaker 1 (22:09):
I know people listening right now can't see you. This
is not a visual podcast, it's an audio podcast. But
you seem very passionate about the home set as a whole.
But your face lit up in a different way when
we were talking about bourbon, so I can tell I
can tell your passion there for that, and I wonder
like I'm looking at a map right now of where
the home set is located, and look, Kentucky's not next door,
but it's not terribly far away either. Is that kind
(22:31):
of why you tie in Bourbon there because of your proximity.
Speaker 2 (22:35):
Well, Bourbon is actually very popular across the country and
around the world. But what I like to tell people
when I'm leading the tastings is that you know, back
in seventeen sixty six when our resort was founded, Kentucky
was part of Virginia.
Speaker 1 (22:49):
Okay, all right, so you're taking it.
Speaker 2 (22:51):
Back and you can find Yes, there are a lot
of phenomenal bourbons being made in Kentucky, but there are
some great bourbons being made elsewhere in the country as well.
Speaker 1 (23:02):
We talked a little bit about what the kids can do,
what they can find entertaining. We've talked about some of
the things parents would like, like the wine tasting and
all that, But what other activities do you have there
at the homestead.
Speaker 2 (23:10):
We have two incredible golf courses. The Cascades is really
one of the top golf courses in the country year
after year. We also have a shooting club that has
trap skeet and sporting clays as well as five stand
We have a zip line, we have fly fishing, we
have falconry, mountain biking. Really, the list of activities here
(23:33):
is almost endless. And we did just open six brand
new pickleball courts a couple of weeks ago.
Speaker 1 (23:39):
Well, of course you have to have that at this point, right, Yes, absolutely,
any resort without pickleball can hardly call themselves a resort. Well, then, look,
I've already started looking at the website and thinking about
a weekend that I can take my family down there
and hang out, because it does just look like the
perfect place to get away for the three of us
to go just relax for a couple of days. So
that's on my list of things, he said, I'm going
(24:00):
to investigate more for this summer, maybe before we wrap
things up and my wife goes back to school, my
daughter goes back to school. But where do people go
if they want to find more info, if they want
to start planning their trip, Where's the best place for
them to go?
Speaker 2 (24:12):
So our website is quite easy. It's theomnihomestead dot com.
Speaker 1 (24:17):
The omnihomestead dot com that is very easy to remember.
Lind Swan, the director, of Marketing and Communications for the
Omni Homestead, Resort and Spot. Thank you so much for
your time. I really appreciate it and I hope that
our past cross soon.
Speaker 2 (24:29):
That would be fantastic. Thank you so much.
Speaker 1 (24:33):
Big thank you to lind Swan for her time. I
am really excited to try and get the family out
to the Omni Homestead and Resort. It just sounds and
looks remarkable. And thank you to all of you for
your time. I appreciate you listening to delightful destinations however
you found yourself here. Just thank you. Thank you for
sharing some of your day. Until next time, be well,
Hey, what's going on everybody? Welcome to Delightful Destinations. My
name is Jeff Saint Pierre, and this is episode thirty
five of the show. If it's your first time checking
out the program, welcome, I appreciate your time. Delightful Destinations
is a show that I created so I can talk
to representatives from different locations around the country and learn
more about these beautiful places that are just all around us.
(00:23):
I'm always looking for an excuse to get away from home,
and I hope this show will help inspire you the
next time you're looking for a vacation. One of the
things that I've really loved about doing this podcast is
discovering the hidden gems. You know. Sometimes it's a particular
attraction in a city that I'm already familiar with, like
a museum or something. And sometimes it's a beautiful and
historic resort that's just tucked away in the mountains of Virginia.
(00:46):
And that's what's going on. On this week's episode. We're
heading to say uh, north central Virginia into the Alleghany
Mountains to discuss the Omni Homestead resort. The homestead has
been getting visitors long before it was ever a thing.
The hot springs and that part of Virginia have been
an attraction for locals for probably thousands of years. The
waters were believed to have special powers, but it was
(01:07):
in seventeen sixty six when someone finally put a building
on it. The homestead has gone through a lot of
changes over the last couple of centuries, but that hasn't
taken away from its charm. The spa is second to none,
and its family friendly atmosphere has brought generations of visitors
back for visits over and over again. There's an elegance
to it that I feel like you only see in
movies or maybe even on Bridgarton, but you could see
(01:29):
it in person at the Homestead. It was a real
pleasure to learn more about this legendary destination. With me
today is Lynn Swan. She's the director of marketing and
Communications for the Omni Homestead Resort and Spa. I hope
you enjoy our conversation. N My favorite thing about doing
this podcast for the last year or so has been
learning more about the places that really aren't that far
(01:51):
from me. I live in Baltimore and Virginia not a
far drive for us. I had no idea there were
hot springs in Virginia.
Speaker 2 (01:59):
Oh my goodness. People have been coming here for centuries,
probably for thousands of years, to be honest, to really
come to take these waters and the warm springs pools
are one of the most iconic destinations to enjoy those,
I'll say, in the entire country.
Speaker 1 (02:19):
What's really also special about this is the history that
I learned through talking to people like yourself, because you
have a historic property here, and we'll dive more into
that in a second, but I've spoken with someone from
the Shenandoah National Park. I've also spoken to someone from Greenbrier,
and there are these spots out there in the mountains
there the Apalachian Trail area where you've got these wonderful resorts,
(02:42):
and people like you said, have been going there for
so long because they take you away. I know, the
wealthy people used to leave the cities to go out
into the woods, into the mountains to cool off in
the summertime, like you've got these really hidden gems I
think out there, Well.
Speaker 2 (02:55):
There actually used to be a whole springs trail stretching
from Virginia and West Virginia, and there used to be
a series of resorts at these different springs, but over
the years, only the Homestead and the Greenbrier survived, and
a lot of that was simply due to ease of transportation.
Speaker 1 (03:13):
That's interesting. I'm glad that you're still with us. I
know this Omni Homestead Resort goes all the way back
to like seventeen sixty six or something.
Speaker 2 (03:20):
Yes, that's when the very first inn was built. It
was a small, eighteen room inn, and it was actually
named the Homestead in honor of the homesteaders who helped
build the building.
Speaker 1 (03:32):
Before we dive more into that, I want to learn
more about USA. How did you end up at the
Home State, the Omni Homestead Resort and SPA.
Speaker 2 (03:37):
So I had actually worked across the mountain at the
Greenbrier for thirteen years and then decided to make the
switch to the Homestead. And I've been here for about
thirteen years. So it's been really a great career to
spend so much time at two of America's most iconic destinations.
Speaker 1 (03:57):
And I see a lot of similarities between the too. Honestly, Like,
as I was trying to educate myself a little bit
more about the Omni Homestead, I was like, Wow, this
has a similar vibe, Like the history has some similarities
the location had I mean that's where it ends. I mean,
there are different offerings that you each have, but it
just has a similar vibe.
Speaker 2 (04:16):
Absolutely. There are two very special resorts. They both are
well known for golf, for spaw, for people coming to
take the waters. You know, they both have incredible histories
of presidential visits and royalty from foreign countries coming to visit,
and just keep points in American history. Really, you can
(04:36):
really tie it back to either resort. But to your point,
they are very different destinations. You know. Here at the
Omni Homestead, we have our Virginia Wine Experience. We're known
for being very family friendly and a lot of outdoor
adventures and we can go on and I'm sure we'll
talk more about that later. But yes, it's just a
(04:57):
very special place.
Speaker 1 (04:58):
Okay, so we've been kind of dancing around this a
little bit, but let's go right into it. Give me
your elevator pitch for the Omni Homestead Resort and spot.
I'm just bumping into you in the elevator and I say,
what do you do here? We go hit me.
Speaker 2 (05:11):
I work at one of the most magical places on
the planet. The homestead is really a special place, and
it's yes. We are nestled amidst the Alleghany Mountains. We
like to say that it's almost like the mountains are
surrounding us with a hug, and so you have beautiful
mountain visas everywhere you turn. You have the beautiful four
(05:33):
season climate that we enjoy in this region. At night,
there's so little light pollution that you can really see
the stars. So if you're coming from New York City
or from Washington, d C. Or Baltimore, you're gonna be
able to look up at night and see stars like
you've never seen them before because there are no street
lights to get in your way. What I think makes
(05:55):
this resort really extra special, though, are the associates. We
have so many associates here who are you know, maybe
they're the third or the fourth or fifth or sixth
generation of their family to have worked here. So for them,
it's almost like it's their family business. You know, they
grew up taking pride in the homestead and just serving
(06:18):
our guests. So when they greet a guest, it's almost
as if they are welcoming them into their home.
Speaker 1 (06:23):
That is something really special and I've talked to people
that have resorts, you know, in similar capacities where it's
like the big thing in that particular area, and there
is such a strong sense of pride with the people
that work there and live there in that area, like
this is their spot and they want to own it.
So I love that you highlighted the associates.
Speaker 2 (06:41):
Absolutely, whether it's Anthony, who's our maitre d Hotel, who
really is there and is the presence in the great hall,
welcoming guests, sometimes giving history tours, Quinn in our Virginia
Wine Experience, who is an incredibly knowledgeable somlier, Brian Cooper
(07:01):
Nan that do some of our outdoor activities the Cascades
Scorge Hike. You know, they're naturalists and they just you know,
they're so knowledgeable. And then of course when you get
to the golf course, you have our director of Golf,
Mark Frye and our head golf professional Barry Ryder, and
each of them have been here for thirty plus years.
(07:22):
It's really just incredible.
Speaker 1 (07:24):
That says a lot about your place too. When people
want to stay, you know, they want this to be
their home, they want this to be the thing that
they're dedicating their life to that says a lot about
the business behind what we see as a guest.
Speaker 2 (07:35):
Absolutely, and I could go on and on naming associates,
but I know we don't have that.
Speaker 1 (07:40):
Yeah, we don't have to do that. I also want
to say too that I love an Omni resort everywhere
whenever we travel, we always kind of look for them.
Every time I go to Nashville, the Omni is the
place we try to stay out. We've stayed at one
in Orlando before. It was beautiful. We've just we've really
had great experiences with the Omni. I know Omni is not,
you know, the initial owner of this hotel property over
the centuries that has been there, but I love that
(08:02):
you're tied in with them like I've always had such
a great experience with Omni properties.
Speaker 2 (08:06):
Omni is really a very interesting and very wonderful hotel company.
You know, they have a portfolio of hotels and resorts
across the United States. There are two in Canada and
one that's opening soon in Mexico. But they are really
What I love most about Omni is that each property
(08:29):
is a reflection of the community where it's located. So
if you are here in Hot Springs, Virginia. The experience here,
or should I say the decors and some of the
experiences will reflect this area. It's going to be very
different if you go to the Parker House in Boston,
or Barton Creek in Texas, or the new Omnipga Frisco
(08:53):
that's a partnership with the PGA of America that's also
in Texas. So it's really great to have these hotels
and resources that really have a great personality that make
them extra special.
Speaker 1 (09:05):
Oh that's huge to me. Like, if I'm traveling somewhere,
I want to feel like that's where I'm at. I
don't want to feel like I'm still in Baltimore because
it's the same decor, it's the same generic look. I
love when hotels take that effort, and I would imagine
that that's exactly what Homestead would do, because you're you
are You're building a vibe for people that are coming
out to visit you in this area. There's not a
(09:26):
whole lot else in there, like they're coming to that
part of the state to see you.
Speaker 2 (09:29):
You know, absolutely. We just completed a one hundred and
seventy plus million dollar renovation in twenty twenty three, And
the great thing about it was that the design team,
led by Omni's designers, was very thoughtful in the changes
that they made. They really focused on incorporating, whether it's
(09:55):
the flora and fauna of this region or some of
our history. So you feel like it's still the homestead.
We didn't lose who we were. They just made it better.
Speaker 1 (10:07):
The homestead I've seen called America's first wellness destination. Tell
me more about that.
Speaker 2 (10:13):
Yes, so I mentioned earlier the warm springs pools. The
people have been coming to take the waters, so the
in seventeen sixty one, I mean people had been coming
there to take those waters to soak in those natural
hot springs for probably thousands of years before that. But
in seventeen sixty one they actually built a stone basin. Well,
(10:35):
that stone basin is still there today, and that was
the first spa structure in the country. So that's the
basin that is at the Gentleman's bathhouse. It was enclosed
in the eighteen twenties and then in the eighteen seventies
a larger bath house was built. So the Gentleman's bath
house has eight sides. The lady's bath house actually has
(10:58):
twenty two sides, and I'm not going to say I
do love the Lady's Bathhouse better, but you know, so
those two structures and the reception house were both restored.
We did a historic structures report, really researched the history
of those bath houses and the architectural firm and the
(11:19):
historic preservations that we worked with. We identified a period
of the nineteen twenties nineteen twenty five really as our
period of significance. And so what that means is that
if it existed in the nineteen twenties, that's what the
bathhouses are going to look like today.
Speaker 1 (11:36):
So if it didn't.
Speaker 2 (11:37):
Exist in the nineteen twenties, which one example is that
in the Lady's bath House in the nineteen fifties they
had installed a support being in the center, Well that
wasn't their nineteen twenties, so guess what it's not there now.
They completely redid the roof of Lady's Bathhouse. It's absolutely beautiful.
The oculus is open, so you can, you know, see
(12:01):
the sky whether it's a beautiful sunny spring summer day
or if it's wintertime and you actually have snowfalling, and
it's quite magical.
Speaker 1 (12:11):
But that, but you're hitting on it again. I know
we've already kind of touched on this, but you're you're
giving me, you're giving another listener a reason to come,
Like we are coming there for the experience of being
at the homestead, and you're painting this picture and you're
creating this experience with all this research, this historic research
to make sure that things look a certain way. I
(12:31):
don't need to travel to Hot Springs, Virginia to stay
at a generic hotel, like I want to come for
the experience of being in this magical world that I
can't get on my own where I live, and I
just it seems like such a smart decision. It's I
always say this as a short game, long game. You
guys have long game in mind, Like you are creating
this place to get people to keep coming back for
(12:53):
more and say, hey, I want to get away. Where
do I go. We're going to Western Virginia, Like we're
going out there to experience How Springs, Virginia and the
Homestead and then if.
Speaker 2 (13:01):
You like Virginia wine, another region to come exactly. So
we started in late twenty twenty one the Virginia Wine experience.
With this you can come. We have it's part retail space,
the part tasting parlor, and our Somalia is there and
she every season creates multiple flights, so there might be
(13:25):
a white wine flight or just a featured vintage flight
that she will create so that you can come in
and enjoy, you know, these pre selected wines for a tasting,
maybe pair it with the charcuterie board. But we also
do wine tastings every Saturday. On Saturdays, we actually do
wines of the world, so it might be a region
(13:47):
in France, or Italian wines or California wines. And then
once a month we actually feature a different wine maker
from Virginia and we do a very intimate, exclusive dinner
where our chef tastes that winemaker's wines and then pairs
the food to match it to really bring out the
(14:09):
flavors of that wine. We have yet to repeat a
single menu item in all that time, and each dinner
is really a memorable event because you are there. It's
maybe thirty five to forty guests with the winemaker, so
you're hearing directly from them about their experiences and what
makes this wine perhaps so special.
Speaker 1 (14:33):
You mentioned earlier in this conversation that it's a family destination.
And look, if I'm telling my daughter that we're going
to this quiet place in the mountains, there's going to
be wine and mom and dad are going to hang
out at the spa, she's going to say it sounds terrible.
It's an awful idea. So tell me more about the
family aspect of the homestead.
Speaker 2 (14:53):
So for your daughter, you need to take her straight
to Allegheny Spring Perfect. That is our little It's a
two acre water park. We have a lazy river, water slides,
a water play zone that the little ones just love.
It has the mushroom, you know, where the water just
cascades down and they can just run through there. And
of course there's a large family pool. But we also
(15:15):
do things like carriage rides. If depending on the child's
age and height, they can do a horseback ride if
they're old enough. If they're not, we do hand led
rides around the stables and that's something that makes them
feel like a big kid and really give them that
experience too. Another fun family activity is our homestead S'mores Express,
(15:40):
So that's where families board a wagon. It's pulled by
a tractor. You go up to the equestrian center. We
have this lovely little gazebo, and you get to make
s'mores as a family and just hang out and be together,
and oftentimes you'll have somebody just there kind of playing
the guitar, and it's just these memories that you really
(16:00):
can't make anywhere else that you'll find here.
Speaker 1 (16:04):
You mentioned earlier it's a year round thing, and I
was on your website earlier and you do, and you
have ski trails, like you've got a little bit of everything.
I kept thinking about that classic song the winter, spring, summer,
or fall, like that's the home stead. You can come
any time of year, But what would you say is
your busy season, Like what's the highlighted area that people
generally tend to come to you for.
Speaker 2 (16:23):
So generally speaking, the summertime is family vacation time. It's
just that traditional getaway time. But also for the holidays,
which there's Thanksgiving, Christmas, in New Year's those are also
very popular, and probably more so for the multi generational families.
You know, maybe it's Grandma grew up coming to the
homestead with her family, and so now she's bringing her kids,
(16:47):
who are bringing their children and they can just really
enjoy those moments together, whether it's you know, a big
buffet dinner, or it's Santa, you know, sitting in his
chair letting little kids tell them what they want for
tell him what they want for Christmas. You know, we
(17:08):
have elves that will sit and read holiday stories to
the guests. Just so many wonderful ways to make memories
as a family. Maybe it's you know, cookie decorating or
building a gingerbread house, but just an abundance of activities
that give them that time to you know, really to
(17:28):
put down their cell phones and just enjoy being together.
Speaker 1 (17:32):
You just said a keyword, multigenerational. Maybe that's two now
it's one word and multi generational. And I imagine that
is a big piece of the puzzle for you all
when it comes to visitors, Like I would imagine you
have a lot of folks that came when they were kids,
took their kids, and they got older. Maybe now they're
introducing it to their grandchildren, Like I would imagine that's
a big piece of your visitation.
Speaker 2 (17:52):
It really is. And we often say that you have
you know, you have the little girls who you know
and boys who had there maybe their first fancy dinner
in our dining room. The little girls may dream about
getting married someday at the homestead when they dance with
their daddy on the dance floor in the dining room.
Little boys, it's where you know, they've learned to tie
(18:14):
their tie for the first time and to really, you know,
feel sort of grown up, if you will, as they
enjoy this very traditional, very elegant dinner with their family.
Speaker 1 (18:27):
I love that so much. And she's trying to inspire
the tradition of doing something because again, going back to
like the homestead is in a place where there's not
a whole lot at like you're traveling there for that purpose, right,
like it is it is a place that I just
imagine people make the effort to go to, and it's
just like we're gonna go back next year, and we're
gonna go back next year, and we're going to keep
coming back. Speaking of where you're located, if somebody is
(18:49):
I mean from Baltimore, I looked it up, you're about
four and a half to five hours, depending on the
traffic and the route that you take. But for people
coming elsewhere, is driving the easiest way to get there?
Like or would they where would they fly? And if
they were coming from further away, like what's the best
place or the best way to get to the homestead.
Speaker 2 (19:04):
So driving, we are very accessible via car, whether you're
coming from the Baltimore, DC area, if you're coming from
the south, whether it's Roanoke or Charlotte, or from the west.
I mean really from any direction easily accessible via car.
You can take the train to Clifton Forge, which is
about forty five minutes away, and then have a car
(19:26):
service bring you up. If you're flying, if you are
flying on a private jet, you can actually land at Inglesfield,
which is about twenty minutes from the resort. Other regional
airports you have Roanoke, the Ronoke Blacksburg Regional Airport and Roanoke,
Virginia that's about an hour and a half away, and
Charlottesville's airport is really only about an hour and forty
(19:47):
five minutes away.
Speaker 1 (19:48):
Great, so it's really accessible. There's a lot of different
options to get in. Absolutely, yes, I always worry about that.
When you're talking about a place that's like in the
mountains and kind of tucked away, it's like, well, how
are we going to get there? But when I was
looking at the map, it was very for driving purposes
from here in the mid Atlantic along the coast, very accessible,
I mean, nice easy route to get over there.
Speaker 2 (20:07):
It really is an easy drive. I make the trip
to DC frequently and it's quite nice.
Speaker 1 (20:12):
Actually, well, landa what did we miss here? What didn't
we talk about yet with the Homestead that you're just like, wow,
we got to make sure we get this out there.
Speaker 2 (20:20):
We talked a little bit about wine. Yes, do you
want to talk about bourbon?
Speaker 1 (20:24):
Sure? I mean you don't have to ask me twice.
Speaker 2 (20:26):
The Homestead actually has a pretty remarkable collection of private
barrel selections of bourbon. Right now, we do a bourbon
tasting that includes angels Envy, Planton's Knob, Creek, and Maker's Mark,
and these are all bottles that are you know, selected
where we purchased the entire barrel. Soon we will have
(20:50):
a bespoke blend from Whistle Pig as well as a
barrel pick with Whistle Pig, and then we have another
one with Russell's Reserve, and we've teed up a few
others that we're waiting on, so that could be in
the next few months, probably mid July. We'll start to
see some of those newer barrels come to the resort,
(21:12):
so we often do have bourbon tastings on holiday weekends.
I actually lead those bourbon tastings in addition to my
day job. I am a certified bourbon steward. Is not
quite that level, but I'm working up to it. But
it's something that I wanted to do for myself and
(21:33):
I've really enjoyed it and and love leading the tastings
for our guests over the holiday weekends. So yeah, trying
to continue to grow my knowledge of bourbons. Our culinary
team is phenomenal. Whether you're having breakfast in the dining
room and Chef Roderick is making you an omelet made
(21:56):
to order, or you're enjoying one of our incredible steaks
in Jefferson's, there's just a lot of great opportunities for
very just very fantastic meals.
Speaker 1 (22:09):
I know people listening right now can't see you. This
is not a visual podcast, it's an audio podcast. But
you seem very passionate about the home set as a whole.
But your face lit up in a different way when
we were talking about bourbon, so I can tell I
can tell your passion there for that, and I wonder
like I'm looking at a map right now of where
the home set is located, and look, Kentucky's not next door,
but it's not terribly far away either. Is that kind
(22:31):
of why you tie in Bourbon there because of your proximity.
Speaker 2 (22:35):
Well, Bourbon is actually very popular across the country and
around the world. But what I like to tell people
when I'm leading the tastings is that you know, back
in seventeen sixty six when our resort was founded, Kentucky
was part of Virginia.
Speaker 1 (22:49):
Okay, all right, so you're taking it.
Speaker 2 (22:51):
Back and you can find Yes, there are a lot
of phenomenal bourbons being made in Kentucky, but there are
some great bourbons being made elsewhere in the country as well.
Speaker 1 (23:02):
We talked a little bit about what the kids can do,
what they can find entertaining. We've talked about some of
the things parents would like, like the wine tasting and
all that, But what other activities do you have there
at the homestead.
Speaker 2 (23:10):
We have two incredible golf courses. The Cascades is really
one of the top golf courses in the country year
after year. We also have a shooting club that has
trap skeet and sporting clays as well as five stand
We have a zip line, we have fly fishing, we
have falconry, mountain biking. Really, the list of activities here
(23:33):
is almost endless. And we did just open six brand
new pickleball courts a couple of weeks ago.
Speaker 1 (23:39):
Well, of course you have to have that at this point, right, Yes, absolutely,
any resort without pickleball can hardly call themselves a resort. Well, then, look,
I've already started looking at the website and thinking about
a weekend that I can take my family down there
and hang out, because it does just look like the
perfect place to get away for the three of us
to go just relax for a couple of days. So
that's on my list of things, he said, I'm going
(24:00):
to investigate more for this summer, maybe before we wrap
things up and my wife goes back to school, my
daughter goes back to school. But where do people go
if they want to find more info, if they want
to start planning their trip, Where's the best place for
them to go?
Speaker 2 (24:12):
So our website is quite easy. It's theomnihomestead dot com.
Speaker 1 (24:17):
The omnihomestead dot com that is very easy to remember.
Lind Swan, the director, of Marketing and Communications for the
Omni Homestead, Resort and Spot. Thank you so much for
your time. I really appreciate it and I hope that
our past cross soon.
Speaker 2 (24:29):
That would be fantastic. Thank you so much.
Speaker 1 (24:33):
Big thank you to lind Swan for her time. I
am really excited to try and get the family out
to the Omni Homestead and Resort. It just sounds and
looks remarkable. And thank you to all of you for
your time. I appreciate you listening to delightful destinations however
you found yourself here. Just thank you. Thank you for
sharing some of your day. Until next time, be well,
Popular Podcasts
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.