Primland Resort, Auberge Resorts Collection, Virginia

Cloaked by dense woodland and rolling wildflowers by day and a galaxy of stars by night, Primland Resort, Auberge Resorts Collection, is a showcase of Virginia’s natural bounty. At home in the Blue Ridge Mountains, your days here are spent exploring with there seemingly no end to what you can do. Paddleboard alongside playful river otters, join a naturalist guide on a hike along the Old Appalachian Trail or tee off on the most scenic 18-hole golf course we’ve ever seen. With all this and so much more, this is a place to take to the outdoors. The 51 rooms, suites and treehouses, fine dining cuisine of Elements, spa and observatory will all be there to welcome you back inside when you’re done.

Location

Spread across 12,000 acres of wilderness, there’s little Primland’s setting doesn’t offer. Forested peaks, mirror lakes, valleys that absorb the sun – and a myriad of trails from which to explore it all. Whether you take to your explorations on foot, by mountain bike or on horseback, there is so much to do here that the hardest question becomes where to start. Fortunately, the road here is beyond scenic and provides the perfect setting to contemplate that question as you make the hour and a half’s drive from either Greensboro or Roanoke airport. If you’re ready to skip to the good part however, there’s also an on-property helipad as well as private airports located within an hour of the resort.

Your Room

There may only be 51 rooms at Primland but with so much variety between them, there’s a perfect space for everyone. Choose between the lofty suites of the main lodge, looking out over the horizon, the spacious surrounds of the Fairway and Pinnacle Cottages, or the romantic seclusion of the Treehouses. All are united by a modern alpine decor with plenty of wood and leather accents as well as ochre tones that catch the rising and setting sun perfectly. For families, we loved the Cottages where you have the option of taking them by the room or in their entirety with each offering between two and four bedrooms. Meanwhile, couples will love the isolation of the Treehouses. Perched high up in the canopy, these traditionally built outposts promise Primland’s best views – and no-one to disturb you.

Why we like it

There’s no doubt that there’s plenty of activity at Primland but what caught our attention most was the way that, perhaps counter-intuitively, our overall sensation of a stay here was one of total relaxation. Whilst there is of course a spa, wellness at Primland extends far beyond the treatment list (though we’ll admit, the marriage of Native American healing rituals and modern techniques was very effective indeed), and is instead derived from the great outdoors. So go hike, cycle, fish, ride, anything you want that puts your soul at rest – this is a natural reset.