Home Again — Sophisticated St. Louis

The Omni Homestead, America’s oldest resort, reasserts its prominence following a $150 million renovation.

My favorite activity while roaming the hallowed (and hopefully happily haunted) halls of a historic hotel is to imagine what the guest experience would have been like in a bygone era. It's an easy exercise at America's oldest resort—The Omni Homestead in Hot Springs, Virginia— founded ten years before the signing of the Declaration of Independence, where legacy and luxury receive equal billing, even fresh off a $150 million renovation. This star of the Shenandoah Valley sits amid 2,300 acres, offering guests abundant activities inside and out.

The sprawling 483-room resort has an interesting tie-in to my hometown of Louisville, as both can credit their origins to Captain Thomas Bullitt (1730-1778). In 1764, Bullitt, along with Charles and Andrew Lewis, paid 30 shillings to acquire 300 acres that included seven hot and warm springs, and within two years built the first Homestead, named in honor of the homesteaders who built the resort and bathhouses. The original wooden 18-room inn was destroyed in a fire and replaced with a brick structure that stands today. Less than a decade later, Bullitt led a 40-man surveying party into Kentucky, where he laid out a town site near the Falls of Ohio, which later became Louisville.

Twenty-four U.S. presidents, including Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and George W. Bush, have vacationed here. This National Historic Landmark enjoyed Gilded Age ownership by scions of industry and banking whose last names are synonymous with success. It's where a teenaged Jacqueline Bouvier learned to play golf on one of the first golf courses in America, The Old Course (built in 1892, its first tee is the oldest in continuous use in the U.S.). And it's where I was lucky enough to spend a few blissful days in early spring.

Our visit coincided with spring break, and while some fellow empty-nesters would be less-than-pleased, I loved seeing all the youthful energy. It reminded me of my last visit more than a decade ago with my daughter, who fondly remembers putting on her fanciest frocks for dinner each evening. I can't help but think that the place's grandeur fondly lingers in children's subconscious for a lifetime. My spacious room, which overlooked the resort's verdant" backyard," was buzzing with families playing badminton, croquet, catch, and more from early morning until the last rays of sunshine disappeared behind the Allegheny Mountains.

Immediately upon arrival at the recently renovated resort, I could sense a difference in the best way, akin to the work of a deft plastic surgeon. In the soaring colonnaded Great Hall, a long handmade carpet enlivened with a vibrant floral motif dotted with butterflies bisected comfortable seating areas where children squared off against a sibling or grandparent in a chess match. The room is the site of a daily afternoon tea and cookie social complemented by live music.

Once I put down my bags, I headed straight for the spa complex. The resort is so large that it was a workout on its own to reach the impressive 60,000-square-foot homage to wellness, which encompasses a stunning indoor pool (a suitable locale for a silver screen aqua musical starring Esther Williams); a vast fitness area with a boxing studio; men's and women's spa areas with an aqua thermal suite; and an adult's only Serenity Garden with a geothermal Octagon Pool, deluge shower and River Reflexology Walk fed by two hot springs rich in magnesium, potassium and calcium.

For an even more immersive healing water experience, make an appointment to "take the waters" at the historic Warm Springs Pools, a five-minute drive from the resort and recently reopened after a $ 4 million rehabilitation. While the healing properties of the waters were known to Native Americans thousands of years ago, the original octagonal stone basin that held the water for bathing was built in 1761, establishing it as the first spa structure in America. Our soak in relative silence was made even more magical via a gentle rain that fell through the oculus in the faceted roof.

Officially built in 1761, the Warm Spring Pools recently reopened following a $4 million rehabilitation.

Equally enchanting is the naturalist-guided Cascades Gorge hike. Rated as intermediate but easily accessible if you can handle short flights of stairs spread over 1.8 miles, the trail follows a deep gorge near the resort's Cascades Golf Course, where a natural spring feeds more than a dozen waterfalls and cascades. It's just one of scores of available year-round outdoor activities. In winter, the resort's ski area offers 45 acres of tubing, skiing, snowboarding, ice skating, and snowmobiling. More temperate weather pursuits include falconry, hiking, biking (or e-biking), kayaking, tennis, horseback riding, golf and mini-golf, zip-lining, a pool complex complete with a lazy river and waterslides, and a shooting club dramatically positioned on a mountaintop offering skeet, sporting clays, and a five-stand course (and where a patient instructor "fixed" my aim).

During a rainy afternoon back on property, we did a bit of shopping, followed by a unique Virginia Wine Experience, during which I was surprised to learn that winemaking in the Commonwealth predates Thomas Jefferson's formation of the Virginia Wine Company by 154 years. Quyhn Cohen, The Omni Homestead's sommelier, who is also a certified yoga instructor who leads a regular "poses and pairings" class, has assembled the best offerings from the more than 300 wineries operating in Virginia today, including unique blends and wines made from America's oldest grape, Norton, first cultivated in Richmond.

Our short stay afforded us a taste of two of the resort's signature dining experiences, the American Audubon Dining Room and Jefferson's Restaurant. At the former, the elegant environs, complete with crystal chandeliers and piano music, are a fitting backdrop for the equally elevated cuisine, served with gracious aplomb. In an era of increasing casualness regarding apparel, it was a nice change of pace to see families dressed for dinner. I continue to be amazed at how donning a blue blazer can somehow get even the most fidgety five-year-old to behave.

We ate heartily at Jefferson's, indulging in a juicy steak topped with truffle butter, with a side of honey-fried Brussels sprouts, and washed down with a pour of Blanton's bourbon from the resort's barrel pick. The clubby Presidential Lounge is an ideal spot for a nightcap and a game of pool. Martha's Market, the resort's popular, all-day outlet, was our go-to for a mid-day sweet treat, and where I enjoyed roaming the room to read anecdotes about past guests of note, including the Duke and Duchess of Windsor who scoffed when receiving a bill at the end of their stay. "What do I do with this? I'm not used to paying bills," the Duke purportedly remarked (while tempting, I did not employ this tactic at checkout).

During our exploration, we wandered into the courtly Crystal Room, empty save for a grand piano in one corner, upon which a teenager wearing basketball shorts was playing "Something Like This" by Coldplay. How fitting, I thought, that this space, which hosted fêtes with ladies in hoopskirts in the 1800s, was now holding the attention of a boy attired for an entirely different hoops game.