After the vivid colors of fall are gone, and days have grown short, it’s not time to hibernate. No, it is time to recreate. And nowhere is more cheering than heading to the mountains, where snow makes a welcome appearance. So bundle up and visit two resorts where winter may be the best season of all.

Primland: Embrace Nature

Primland is a Forbes Five Star resort that honors tradition and nature while celebrating luxury and innovation. The resort is located in a rugged, mountainous region of untouched wilderness deep into southern Virginia.

Driving down the scenic Blue Ridge Parkway, you’ll pass charming Appalachian towns, until you reach Primland Lodge, a rustic architectural masterpiece with a lustrous silo that sparkles in the sunshine. The 26 rooms in Primland’s Lodge are enormous, with fireplaces, large living rooms, and floor-to-ceiling windows. For families and groups, Primland also features the roomy Fairway Cottages and Mountain Homes—all pinnacles of elegant craftsmanship.

Primland was originally founded as a sporting lodge by Didier Primat, a French businessman who relished the wide-open spaces he found in Virginia. His deep respect for the environment led him to choose eco-conscious building materials and sustainable resources. Primland’s farm-to-table restaurants showcase ingredients like fish from their streams, grains from local mills, and vegetables from their organic gardens.

Voted a top ten resort in the world by CondeNast Traveler in 2015, Primland’s staff stands ready to facilitate every guest’s desire. Whether that’s a multicourse meal served in the treehouse suites, personalized instruction in off-road driving, or demonstrating the artistry of skeet shooting, Primland staff makes the utmost effort to satisfy their guests.

Along with performances by local bands and instruction into Native American culture, Primland offers yoga, afternoon tea, as well as distillery tastings. And while it’s tempting to indulge in creature comforts, the ravishing vistas beckon you outdoors to explore.

So along with hiking, mountain biking and carriage rides around the 12,000 acres of wilderness, guests can make s’mores by the fire pits and participate in stargazing. Most evenings, Primland’s visitors huddle in the Observatory under wooly blankets as the silo’s roof slides open, and a telescope reveals the mysteries of the Milky Way. With Primland’s altitude and unusually clear skies, the stargazing experience allows guests to see celestial bodies millions of miles away.

The resort also nourishes you. Primland’s tranquil spa is an uplifting, soothing space with hydrospa, steam room and sauna used by guests enjoying signature treatments. Primland’s Spa is distinctive for the spiritual teachings provided by American Indian advisors. At the end of your massage, while luxuriating on a lounge sipping tea, your therapist hands you a book. You are told how to find your spirit animal, and to embrace and incorporate nature into your daily life. Good lessons to live by, even when it’s cold outside.

Primland
2000 Busted Rock Rd, Meadows of Dan, VA
Five hours from Tysons Corner
(866) 960-7746 | www.primland.com

Nemacolin Resort: Treat Yourself to Fun

Nemacolin Woodlands Resort is located on 2,000 panoramic acres in the rolling mountains of the Laurel Highlands in West Central Pennsylvania. In 2015, CondeNast readers ranked Nemacolin one of the top three resorts in the Mid-Atlantic. While the whole of the resort is a wonderland, Falling Rock, Nemacolin’s posh boutique hotel, also holds the prestigious AAA Five Diamond Award.

Falling Rock’s unique design elements pay tribute to Frank Lloyd Wright’s organic architecture. The American architect designed three nearby homes including his legendary Falling Water, which is just minutes from Nemacolin. Both interior and exterior landscapes of Falling Rock are stunningly beautiful, and the pampering starts from the time you arrive, with champagne, cookies at turndown, as well as aromatic baths drawn by your personal butler.

The original hotel at Nemacolin Woodland Resort was the handsome Bavarian-style Lodge built in 1970 for the Hardy family’s first visitors. The Hardy family founded this exclusive property and continuously adds new attractions and activities. The Lodge is connected to Chateau Lafayette, a sumptuous hotel inspired by the Ritz in Paris. The hallway that connects the two properties contains a notable collection of fine art and upscale shops.

With a commitment to promoting wellness, Nemacolin opened the Holistic Healing Center, which offers acupuncture and yoga sessions. The Asian-themed Woodland Spa and Fitness Center features natural and state-of-the-art exercises and treatments that leave guests transformed, detoxed and glowing. Even children and teens can luxuriate here at Nemacolin’s kids’ spa, The Grove.

You could just relax in all this comfort, but you would miss so much. Thrill seekers will adore Nemacolin’s dog sledding experience, where a team of Alaskan huskies pulls you across the snow at high speed. There’s also skiing and snowboarding, snowshoeing, snow tubing, cross country skiing, horseback riding, sledding and skeet shooting.

Rather stay indoors? Then try paintball, bowling and arcade games at Nemacolin’s Adventure Center. For something equally engaging, sign up for the Paint & Sip art class, or The Wildlife Academy to meet Nemacolin’s incredible menagerie of animals.

Along with discriminating accommodations and an abundance of entertaining activities, what stands out about Nemacolin is its staff. They are hospitable, warm and without pretension. Each person seems genuinely dedicated to making guests happy. And that may be the perfect cure for the wintertime blues.

Nemacolin
1001 Lafayette Dr, Farmington, PA
Three hours from Tysons Corner
(724) 329-8555 | www.nemacolin.com