Salamander Resort in Middleburg

[Anonymous]

My friend from Georgia said she thought the entire atmosphere, attitude and service level of the Salamander reminded her of the same issues with super trendy brunch/restaurants in Atlanta. Very, very expensive that in no way matches the quality received with unapologetic poor customer service. As in you should be apologizing for ever complaining, about anything. They don’t care if you come back, no they won’t right that wrong or ever admit that mistake because they’re luxe and you’re just lucky they let you in.

[Anonymous]

Ugh all of our resorts around here suck. I've done Nemencolin , Salamander, all of them. I get it - proximity works but quite honestly unless you really have that disposable income it's really not all that.

I would actually fly out and do a longer stay somewhere or do a quaint little inn on Eastern Shore or Shenandoah. There's a few B&Bs that are really beautiful not as pricey that I think are really nice. Go horseback ride, they have pools and spa and tubing for kids off site. The places that I'd want to go to are in PA so further out but the VA resorts just suck.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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.

Nemacolin!? GTFO. Salamander is way nicer than that cruise ship that ran aground in central PA.

[Anonymous]

Go to Keswick instead. You won’t regret it. Apples and oranges and, somehow, about the same price.

[Anonymous]

Stay away from the horses, even when behind the fence. I know someone who was basically attacked when her friend was trying to take a picture of her with one of their horses. In PT for 2 different injuries. Did they care at all? Absolutely not. Lawyers involved.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Stay away from the horses, even when behind the fence. I know someone who was basically attacked when her friend was trying to take a picture of her with one of their horses. In PT for 2 different injuries. Did they care at all? Absolutely not. Lawyers involved.

Good rule of thumb is to stay the f away from other people’s horses.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Stay away from the horses, even when behind the fence. I know someone who was basically attacked when her friend was trying to take a picture of her with one of their horses. In PT for 2 different injuries. Did they care at all? Absolutely not. Lawyers involved.

This requires so much more detail.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

The Salamander is a rich woman's hobby and it shows.

[Anonymous]

Seconding the earlier suggestion for Keswick. Overpriced like Salamander but property is beautiful and there is a lot more to do there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Seconding the earlier suggestion for Keswick. Overpriced like Salamander but property is beautiful and there is a lot more to do there.

+100

[Anonymous]

Salamander is BORING!

[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.

Can you schedule ahead for the spa?

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

Yes you can schedule ahead and I can’t imagine showing up expecting to schedule when you arrive. Given this I still didn’t like the place. Overrated. Food mediocre. Trying to be something it’s not really. And I loved the spa and the treatments that I had while there for 3 nights (they had a July 4th special—3 nights for the price of 2. Service average.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Stay away from the horses, even when behind the fence. I know someone who was basically attacked when her friend was trying to take a picture of her with one of their horses. In PT for 2 different injuries. Did they care at all? Absolutely not. Lawyers involved.

This requires so much more detail.

Indeed. Sounds like someone was where they shouldn’t have been.

[Anonymous]

We’ve gone a few times because we can take our dogs and it’s nice to getaway. I agree that the prices have gotten too high. I did get a same day spa service, so I guess I was lucky.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My friend from Georgia said she thought the entire atmosphere, attitude and service level of the Salamander reminded her of the same issues with super trendy brunch/restaurants in Atlanta. Very, very expensive that in no way matches the quality received with unapologetic poor customer service. As in you should be apologizing for ever complaining, about anything. They don’t care if you come back, no they won’t right that wrong or ever admit that mistake because they’re luxe and you’re just lucky they let you in.

+1