The simplicity of colonial style-pure, austere, and elegant-permeates the public spaces of the inn, and a stay there starts with settling into cozy renovated quarters. These include a romantic two-story retreat that once was the summer kitchen and a secluded beamed-ceiling Groom's Cottage. The grounds include working stables.

After a day of riding, relaxing, or touring-the inn staff will arrange for tours of Montpelier or Monticello and send explorers off with a picnic lunch-guests gather for drinks and hors d'oeuvres in the drawing room or on the wraparound porch. Then, they'll enjoy a prix-fixe dinner in the salon or dining room. Friends are made, conversation is lively, and a meal perfected by innkeepers Suzie Blanchard and Suzanne Thomas is shared. Small-batch wines from Virginia vineyards complement dinner.

Recipes begin here.