Hidden luxuries in the Virginia highlands

In the mountains of Virginia near the Blue Ridge Parkway, what once was farmland and the nation’s largest producer of bundled firewood now is home to a luxury resort unlike any other. 

Primland is refined but far from stuffy—the kind of place where one can both relax and adventure, enjoy a romantic escape or explore with friends. Service is impeccable but comes with a smile, as European style meets Southern hospitality. 

Primland’s founder, Didier Primat developed the resort so that more people could enjoy the land, and followed eco-conscious practices to ensure its future. Reclaimed wood, rain basin integration, habitat creation, and user-friendly lighting features evidence Primland’s LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification and conservation-minded philosophy. The mountain resort also leads by example, employing local workers and educating visitors about the region’s history and wildlife. 

While Primland strives to cut its environmental impacts, it cuts no corners on amenities. From Bourbon tastings and PGA member-led golf clinics to a recreation room for kids complete with gaming systems and specialty spa treatments for teens, Primland offers a wide variety of diversions. Meeting and wedding facilities also are available.

Guests staying at the resort or those who wish to visit may take in Primland’s beauty through activities including Sunday brunch and monthly cooking classes, nightly stargazing and 18 holes on the Highlands Course, while exclusive packages offer once-in-a-lifetime opportunities such as driving Virginia International Raceway with nine-time Le Mans winner Tom Kristensen or guided hunts with Primland’s bird dogs.

Lodging

Most properties with 12,000 acres to develop would do so—houses, condos, townhouses, cabins, hotels, attractions. More is the American thing to do. Fortunately Primland is less about Disney-esque proportions and more about European elegance and conservation. 

The main lodge at Primland has 26 rooms, each with a king or two queen beds. Rooms are expansive, plush and comfortable, designed with space to entertain or simply separate living and sleeping. Thoughtful touches include button-operated window shades to provide varying levels of natural light and privacy, double sinks, stone tile floors and Bulgari toiletries, as well as energy conservation lighting. 

Airy and comfortable public spaces at the lodge include sitting areas with large fireplaces and an outdoor deck with fire pit and mountain views. Rates from June to October range from $370 to $1,200 per night. 

Scattered along the golf course’s fairways and across the property are 20 cottages and mountain homes, each with its own unique charm. Of particular note are the three tree houses—Barn Owl, Cooper’s Hawk and Golden Eagle—which offer extraordinary views and added privacy within walking distance of the main lodge. The resort’s dining and spa are easy to reach from these romantic escapes. Rates for non-lodge accommodations run from $370 to $1,800 from June to October. Look for lower rates for all accommodations November through May. 

Nightlife

As the sun sets, dinner is served at Elements, Primland’s main dining room in the lodge, the Stables Saloon, a more casual setting in a renovated barn, and at the 19th Pub, also in the lodge. 

Elements offers fine dining with a focus on local fare, while the Stables Saloon leans more toward steaks and American classics. At the pub, look for crawfish chowder, mountain trout and burgers, but don’t miss the Pig Candy—thick and crispy bacon basted with maple syrup and dusted with cayenne and raw sugar. 

Relax away the rest of the evening with a drink while sitting by the outdoor fireplace and enjoying the s’mores station until the sky is dark and the observatory opens. Nightly stargazing and more in-depth programs are held in the dome-topped barn silo adjacent to the lodge. The observatory, like other Primland facilities, welcomes visitors who are not staying at the resort to join with a program reservation. Each 30-minute nightly program costs $35 while the longer Tour of the Universe is $25 for children and $75 for adults. 

Explore the outdoors

Above and beyond any other activity, getting outside to explore Primland’s 12,000-acre property should be at the top of any visitor’s list—and with so many activities from which to choose, Primland makes it easy. 

Golf is perhaps the greatest draw, as the 18-hole links course earns marks for its true styling and sweeping mountain views. Former golfer, designer and sport correspondent Donald Steele, born in England, created a course by hewing the fairways and deep bunkers into land once farmed and forested. A par 72 with a course record of 64, Primland is one of only four courses Steel completed in the U.S. (the other three being Carnegie Abbey in Rhode Island, Cherokee Plantation in South Carolina, and The Vineyard Club in Massachusetts). 

“He still has a lot of the European characteristics here in the U.S.,” said resort vice president, Steve Helms. 

A course tour with head golf professional Brian Alley is pleasant enough to make even the most adamant anti-golfer think of taking a couple of clubs out for a swing, if for no other reason than to take in the views and resident wildlife, which ranges from songbirds to bears. 

Greens fees are $220 Sept. 4 to Oct. 31, 2014 and fall to $135 in November. 

In addition to golf, Primland offers unique opportunities to traverse its expanses on foot via hiking, a disc golf course, and educational geocaching courses. One relatively easy trail leads to a view of the Pinnacle of Dan thus named for its sharp peak above the Dan River, which also gives name to the tiny nearby town of Meadows of Dan that is close to the Blue Ridge Parkway. 

For a greater adventure, head out on horseback through the forest or rent an ATV to rumble up and down steep climbs and through small streams, covering the greatest amount of ground in the shortest amount of time. These thrills, along with sporting clays, hunting and fly fishing trips, set off from an outdoor center located nearly 30 minutes away from Primland’s lodge on the other end of the property. Mountain biking, kayaking, and tree climbing round out the resort’s activity offerings.