In a lovely cemetery on the grounds of stately Monticello, Thomas Mann Randolph Jr. lies buried near his wife, Martha Washington Jefferson, the eldest daughter of Thomas Jefferson.
The dead, as they say, lie in peace. And yet, in life, relations got so bad after TJ’s death in 1826— upon which Randolph discovered he had not been named executor of his father-in-law’s will— that Randolph renounced his family and spent his final two years at Clifton, the tobacco warehouse he owned on the banks of the Rivanna River. There the onetime Virginia governor and U.S. congressman drank, brooded and lived out his life as a hermit.
Nearly two centuries later, Clifton is still a great place to hermit away, though you can do so in far greater luxury than in Randolph’s day. The original 1799 warehouse serves as the foundation of what is today The Clifton Inn, an elegant yet understated country inn set on 100 acres of lush Virginia countryside outside the college town of Charlottesville, Va.
After Randolph died in 1828— leaving his estate almost as much in arrears as Jefferson had two years earlier— the warehouse and surrounding acreage was sold out of the Jefferson family and a house was built on the property. That house remained a private home until 1985, when Mitch Willey, a University of Virginia graduate, and his wife, Emily, bought it and began slowly transforming it into an inn. The Willeys completed the most recent transformation in Feburary 2005 in the wake of a 2003 fire that claimed the lives of two guests and damaged much of the interior.
Instead of restoring the inn to its pre-fire traditional decor, the owners seized the opportunity to re-imagine the look, feel and spirit of the place, aiming for an airy, modern-meets-historic look. They widened doorways, added windows and downplayed antiques. “Before the fire, there were a lot more things around, more antiques in the main house,” says marketing and sales director Jessica Sheffield. “Afterward, they were going for a more comfortable elegance.” Walking in the front door and stepping onto the Hart pine floor scattered with Oriental rugs, you immediately sense that comfortable elegance. The inn’s historic character and charm is atmospheric rather than front and center; it doesn’t constantly club you over the head with ye olde this and that.
The 15-month renovation also included drastic structural changes designed to make the inn’s public spaces more suited to most visitors’ main goal: relaxing. The owners doubled the inn’s dining capacity, expanding the glassed-in veranda across the entire back of the inn and added a circular staircase that descends to the wine cellar where monthly tastings and wine dinners are held. They jettisoned the tearoom, creating in its place a casual bar adjacent to the dining area. And, in what is perhaps the best-bang-for-the-buck addition, they built a spacious back deck for outdoor dining and drinking that overlooks the wooded downslope leading to the Rivanna River. (The back of the current inn was actually the front in Randolph’s day, given that the warehouse was oriented toward the river.) Earlier this year, the inn was granted membership in the elite Relais & Chateaux association, becoming the first U.S. hotel in three years to garner such an honor. For those seeking a summer getaway, a few days at The Clifton Inn offers a fine alternative to a trip to the beach— who wants to scald their feet on hot, dry sand when you can nuzzle them in cool, green Virginia grass? And, unlike Rehoboth Beach in July, with only 14 guest rooms, a stay at Clifton is an intimate experience. The only crowds you’ll contend with will be up the road at Jefferson’s digs— if you decide to leave the inn property at all. Like Randolph, you might find you don’t want to.
After breakfast on the veranda or deck, stroll across the sweeping front lawn and mosey down to the private lake. Plop down on the dock and dangle your feet in the water or walk the lake trail then ease onto one of the benches thoughtfully perched at scenic spots. If you’re game for more rigorous hiking, follow the trail from the rear of the inn down to the Rivanna River, where you can wade in the shallows. The concierge will give you a map, but you don’t really need one— the trails are well-marked and fairly short. (As of yet, no trails lead along the river, but there are plans for that in the future.)
Neither the lake nor river is suitable for swimming, but that’s not too disappointing since the inn has a beautifully landscaped swimming pool with a waterfall and Jacuzzi. Poolside, there’s lots of shade under which to recline on a chaise and while away the hours until it’s time to enjoy afternoon tea complete with a delectable array of homemade sweets. Or why not try a lazy game of croquet, tennis or horseshoes? That’s the great thing about a place like Clifton; there’s plenty to do, but no pressure to do it. In other words, perhaps a nap between luxurious Egyptian linens is more in order. Or a soak in a clawfoot tub that’s nearly as deep as the swimming pool.
Though the inn’s bathrooms weren’t damaged in the fire, the owners used the renovation as an opportunity to transform them into positively luxurious sites of ablution. Treated as genuine rooms, they’re furnished with pedestal sinks and armoires as well as powerful multi-head showers. After a bath, wrap yourself in a plush terrycloth robe, pour a glass of sherry from the bottle in your room and rest up for dinner.
As with many destination inns, dinner at the restaurant at Clifton Inn is a highlight of the day, especially if you opt to sit at the chef’s table, a down-home farmhouse table located far enough from the fray to minimize the chance you’ll get splattered with au jus, but close enough to let you witness what the inn dubs its “culinary cabaret.” (The chef’s table can be reserved in advance for groups of six or more, and smaller groups can request the table. There is no extra charge and you can order either a la carte or the seven-course tasting menu.)
If you’re interested in cooking— or simply curious about how a fine dining kitchen works its magic— it’s worth forgoing the ambience of the dining room for eating “with the help.” And if it’s a slow night, all’s the better. As the courses trickle out, from the amuse bouche to the asparagus soup to the lamb carpaccio to the truffles, you can chat with executive chef Dean Maupin or sous chef Tucker Yoder about the local farmers who supply the cheese, vegetables and meat that serve as the cornerstone for the restaurant’s seasonal menu. You can inquire about the technique used in the house-smoked trout or the soft crab served with grilled Meyer lemon. You can ask pastry chef Erin Souder about her inspiration for the dessert that features icy coffee granita and piping hot homemade donuts. And you can chat about the irony that veal is not outlawed in Chicago, while foie gras is (the Clifton Inn serves both). You can, in other words, have as much contact with the kitchen staff as you like—don’t be shy. “We’ve had diners bring a glass of wine and come back and stand next to us at the stove,” says Yoder. “It’s great.”
And don’t be surprised if other diners sneak into the kitchen during your meal to have a little look-see and convey their compliments to the chef. The inn encourages it, also inviting guests to make late-night trips to the kitchen to steal from the cookie jar— which is how the owners got the idea for the chef’s table in the first place. If guests liked visiting the kitchen so much, they concluded, perhaps they’d want to dine in there.
It’s touches like the cookie jar— along with fresh flowers, high speed internet access and Bose stereos in every guestroom— that lodge the inn in a much-needed middle ground between the familiarity of a bed and breakfast, the anonymity of a hip boutique hotel and the fanciness of a larger resort like nearby Keswick Hall (which Style reported on in June 2003).
Before tucking in for the night, why not take another stroll around the property? In the garden, the roses and crepe myrtle are blooming. Above, the stars are shining brightly. Down the hill, the river rushes along.
It just goes to show that, when it comes to getting away from it all, you can trust a hermit to pick a good spot.
Details
The Clifton Inn, 1296 Clifton Inn Drive, Charlottesville, Va. 22911, 434-971-1800; http://www.cliftoninn.net
Getting there: It’s an easy and scenic three-hour drive from Baltimore to The Clifton Inn. Just be sure to avoid rush-hour traffic on the Washington Beltway.
Rates: Summer rates range from $255 to $395 on weekdays and $295 to $495 on weekends and include a full breakfast and afternoon tea. In the main house, the corner suites on the second floor offer the best views and most spacious quarters. In the former stables, three new guest suites offer a view of the private lake— but you might be dismayed by the lack of privacy on the shared deck. More quaint are the garden rooms, also housed in historic outbuildings.
Play
Shops, galleries, restaurants and independent movie theaters are located roughly 15 minutes away in Charlottesville (http://www.charlottesville.org, http://www.charlottesvilletourism.org). The Clifton Inn will gladly pack you a picnic lunch to enjoy at one of the surrounding vineyards (http://www.virginiawines.org) or at one of the area’s historic homes, Montpelier (http://www.montpelier.org) and Ashlawn-Highland (http://www.avenue.org/ ashlawn). Monticello is always worth a visit, especially for its new Montalto tour (1 p.m. and 3 p.m. daily; $14), which offers a view of Jefferson’s plantation and environs from the neighboring mountaintop. A combination ticket for the Montalto and House and Garden tours costs $24. You can now buy tickets in advance at http://www.monticello.org, 434-984-9822. On July 4th, artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude will be speaking at festivities that start at 10 a.m.
