Salamander Resort in Middleburg

[Anonymous]

Was just there over the holidays. Don't plan on any spa services. It's ok in a horse pretty kind of way. The food is better in town than at the restaurants. And it's super boring. You can walk around or go into Middleburg but there is really nothing that makes this a destination.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s nice but way overpriced. We weren’t able to get spa services as they were full. The food is OK but nothing special and we usually left the resort for better offerings.
Not sure I’d agree it’s dated. Don’t know when it was built but it’s fairly new.
But my main thought is just extremely overpriced.

Can you schedule ahead for the spa?

Is it nice for just lounging around and eating and drinking?

Yes you can. We tried the week prior and had waited too long.
Yes I guess it’s nice for lounging and drinking without leaving the resort, but the restaurants are just ok. It’s very formal in a country horse kind of way. Our room was nice. Honestly I’d book a cute cabin that way and get lots of food deliveries. I just don’t get the appeal.
I just looked at prices and am shocked. I would pay max $350/night. I can’t believe it’s $650-900! Insane.

My friend and I are going to stay here for a girls only staycation type weekend and you’re making me nervous 😭 should we just get rooms at the Ritz Carlton?!

If all you want to do is drink and sleep in a profoundly overprices room (order pizza) then you'll be fine. The spa is so so.

[Anonymous]

Chiming in to agree with the above. We were there recently for a wedding. It was lovely, but there was really nothing to do other than go to Middleburg (maybe an 1 hour excursion, unless you stop for drinks). Couldn't get a spa appointment, and the food and drinks onsite were $$$.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s nice but way overpriced. We weren’t able to get spa services as they were full. The food is OK but nothing special and we usually left the resort for better offerings.
Not sure I’d agree it’s dated. Don’t know when it was built but it’s fairly new.
But my main thought is just extremely overpriced.

Yes to all of this.

It's about 15 years old so yea dated is an odd comment.

[Anonymous]

Salamander gets a lot of hate on this board. And I absolutely agree if you are comparing it to destination spots like Miraval or Homestead or Nemacolin, etc, it does not live up.

That being said, it is a close easy drive for a "getaway" to feel relaxed and luxurious. True that there is no much to do, but for some of us that is a feature not a bug. You need to be the type that enjoys solo wondering, reading a book, or sitting around with a glass of wine chatting with friends.

I think the spa is one of the best in a three-hour radius. The relaxation area is pretty and comfortable and I had excellent services. They do book up though.

[Anonymous]

I am one of the people who couldn't get spa service after trying to book the week before. How far out do you need to book them? At the time of reservation?
I mean it was just such a bummer since that's about all there is to do and a major draw. They should reserve some services for hotel guests.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’ve stayed at the Salamander a few times and I’ve always had a lovely stay, I’ve always booked spa appointments in advance and I don’t think the place is old and dated at all, and yes I have enjoyed the food and drinks

I think the facilities are fine not great. Booking spa appointments is a pain, food is mediocre on the high end to nasty on the low end. Service overall is pretty blah. I have never understood the appeal of the place. Plenty of places I would rather spend my money.

People need to give up on the idea of having a true 5 star resort in this region, the model just doesn't work here and doesn't make business sense.

[Anonymous]

The spa is very nice there. Other than that, it is insanely over priced and the food is not good. They nickel and dime you for every thing on top of the room rates and food.

For example, my kids wanted to do the zip line, they have done ropes courses before. I was told due to their ages (7 and 9) they would be not be able to do the full adult course and could only do a partial part, they said about half. I thought ok, let's do it. I didn't think it would be Sandy Springs, but they could have fun. It cost $75 per kid. So we have our appointment, we go to the meeting spot, the instructor gives them helmets and puts on their harness and said we would start with the zip line where you just zip from point A to B and it wasn't very long. So kid one goes on the platform, zips across, then my other kid does it. And then the instructor said, that's it. Hope you had fun.

$75 for each kid to go about 100 ft on a zip line. They were not transparent whatsoever with what they offered. I was livid. They refused to even let them go a second time. My younger kid started crying and the older one was upset. They refused to give me a refund and were super nasty about it (even though I remained calm).

It is a real shame because it is so beautiful out there. But treat people like trash and I won't go back. Ever. And if the facilities and service were up to the prices (I can pay) I wouldn't mind being a bit overcharged. But this isn't even by a little, it is grossly overcharged and their attitude sucks.

[Anonymous]

The last time I went, you couldn't make a spa appointment unless you were a guest until about a week out. That may have changed though.

When it first opened, it was absolutely perfect. Parts now are looking a little threadbare and as prior posters have mentioned, the prices of everything have skyrocketed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s nice but way overpriced. We weren’t able to get spa services as they were full. The food is OK but nothing special and we usually left the resort for better offerings.
Not sure I’d agree it’s dated. Don’t know when it was built but it’s fairly new.
But my main thought is just extremely overpriced.

For the prices they charge, unavailable services are unacceptable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The spa is very nice there. Other than that, it is insanely over priced and the food is not good. They nickel and dime you for every thing on top of the room rates and food.

For example, my kids wanted to do the zip line, they have done ropes courses before. I was told due to their ages (7 and 9) they would be not be able to do the full adult course and could only do a partial part, they said about half. I thought ok, let's do it. I didn't think it would be Sandy Springs, but they could have fun. It cost $75 per kid. So we have our appointment, we go to the meeting spot, the instructor gives them helmets and puts on their harness and said we would start with the zip line where you just zip from point A to B and it wasn't very long. So kid one goes on the platform, zips across, then my other kid does it. And then the instructor said, that's it. Hope you had fun.

$75 for each kid to go about 100 ft on a zip line. They were not transparent whatsoever with what they offered. I was livid. They refused to even let them go a second time. My younger kid started crying and the older one was upset. They refused to give me a refund and were super nasty about it (even though I remained calm).

It is a real shame because it is so beautiful out there. But treat people like trash and I won't go back. Ever. And if the facilities and service were up to the prices (I can pay) I wouldn't mind being a bit overcharged. But this isn't even by a little, it is grossly overcharged and their attitude sucks.

I'm not a fan of Salamander or anything, but it sounds like your attitude was what sucked? Teach your kids some grace -- they got to zipline and they are crying/"upset" over it not being good enough?

[Anonymous]

We've been twice. Once 4 years ago and once during COVID. The spa is great. The property is isolated but nice, rooms comfortable. Dining is not bad, not good, and is better offsite. Definitely overpriced. And we were underwhelmed by the pool (not spa) facility which felt like a plan generic community pool. For what you pay we expected more.

Only reason we went a second time was for a splurge girls overnight and spa getaway. The appeal for most it seems is as a quick getaway for parents (sans kids) or couples, and definitely for no more than 2 nights. The problem is that the costs have gone up way too much for what you are getting - and its kind of boring after 24hrs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The spa is very nice there. Other than that, it is insanely over priced and the food is not good. They nickel and dime you for every thing on top of the room rates and food.

For example, my kids wanted to do the zip line, they have done ropes courses before. I was told due to their ages (7 and 9) they would be not be able to do the full adult course and could only do a partial part, they said about half. I thought ok, let's do it. I didn't think it would be Sandy Springs, but they could have fun. It cost $75 per kid. So we have our appointment, we go to the meeting spot, the instructor gives them helmets and puts on their harness and said we would start with the zip line where you just zip from point A to B and it wasn't very long. So kid one goes on the platform, zips across, then my other kid does it. And then the instructor said, that's it. Hope you had fun.

$75 for each kid to go about 100 ft on a zip line. They were not transparent whatsoever with what they offered. I was livid. They refused to even let them go a second time. My younger kid started crying and the older one was upset. They refused to give me a refund and were super nasty about it (even though I remained calm).

It is a real shame because it is so beautiful out there. But treat people like trash and I won't go back. Ever. And if the facilities and service were up to the prices (I can pay) I wouldn't mind being a bit overcharged. But this isn't even by a little, it is grossly overcharged and their attitude sucks.

I'm not a fan of Salamander or anything, but it sounds like your attitude was what sucked? Teach your kids some grace -- they got to zipline and they are crying/"upset" over it not being good enough?

Grace? If I just paid $150 for a single ride on a zip line, I'd be furious. I think the lesson is stick with resorts under larger umbrellas that have to answer to corporate owners who care about customer service

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The spa is very nice there. Other than that, it is insanely over priced and the food is not good. They nickel and dime you for every thing on top of the room rates and food.

For example, my kids wanted to do the zip line, they have done ropes courses before. I was told due to their ages (7 and 9) they would be not be able to do the full adult course and could only do a partial part, they said about half. I thought ok, let's do it. I didn't think it would be Sandy Springs, but they could have fun. It cost $75 per kid. So we have our appointment, we go to the meeting spot, the instructor gives them helmets and puts on their harness and said we would start with the zip line where you just zip from point A to B and it wasn't very long. So kid one goes on the platform, zips across, then my other kid does it. And then the instructor said, that's it. Hope you had fun.

$75 for each kid to go about 100 ft on a zip line. They were not transparent whatsoever with what they offered. I was livid. They refused to even let them go a second time. My younger kid started crying and the older one was upset. They refused to give me a refund and were super nasty about it (even though I remained calm).

It is a real shame because it is so beautiful out there. But treat people like trash and I won't go back. Ever. And if the facilities and service were up to the prices (I can pay) I wouldn't mind being a bit overcharged. But this isn't even by a little, it is grossly overcharged and their attitude sucks.

I'm not a fan of Salamander or anything, but it sounds like your attitude was what sucked? Teach your kids some grace -- they got to zipline and they are crying/"upset" over it not being good enough?

Kick rocks. We were told that they would go on half of the ropes course. 10 seconds on a zip line, for $75, when that was not was described, when the kids were told by the instructor they were "doing the course", yeah, my 7 year old cried. You can cry about that if it makes you so upset. No it was not good enough, not for $75 per kid or $150. How does my attitude suck, because I spoke up and used my words?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The spa is very nice there. Other than that, it is insanely over priced and the food is not good. They nickel and dime you for every thing on top of the room rates and food.

For example, my kids wanted to do the zip line, they have done ropes courses before. I was told due to their ages (7 and 9) they would be not be able to do the full adult course and could only do a partial part, they said about half. I thought ok, let's do it. I didn't think it would be Sandy Springs, but they could have fun. It cost $75 per kid. So we have our appointment, we go to the meeting spot, the instructor gives them helmets and puts on their harness and said we would start with the zip line where you just zip from point A to B and it wasn't very long. So kid one goes on the platform, zips across, then my other kid does it. And then the instructor said, that's it. Hope you had fun.

$75 for each kid to go about 100 ft on a zip line. They were not transparent whatsoever with what they offered. I was livid. They refused to even let them go a second time. My younger kid started crying and the older one was upset. They refused to give me a refund and were super nasty about it (even though I remained calm).

It is a real shame because it is so beautiful out there. But treat people like trash and I won't go back. Ever. And if the facilities and service were up to the prices (I can pay) I wouldn't mind being a bit overcharged. But this isn't even by a little, it is grossly overcharged and their attitude sucks.

I'm not a fan of Salamander or anything, but it sounds like your attitude was what sucked? Teach your kids some grace -- they got to zipline and they are crying/"upset" over it not being good enough?

WTF? Who wants to pay $150 for one short zip line? That’s not ok if they aren’t upfront about what kids can and can’t do.
I gotta say their service was nothing special. When I complained about not being able to book spa services they were just kinda “so what?” No desire to go back.