Keswick Hall and Golf Club

Keswick Hall and Golf Club....  reminiscent of European countryside

Looking for a golf resort with all the comforts of home? Then look no further than Keswick Hall and Golf Club outside Charlottesville, Virginia.   

Set on 600 rolling and wooded acres in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Keswick Hall is rated among the top small golf resorts of the world. It features a European-style guest house, a well conditioned and challenging Arnold Palmer golf course, and such other amenities as tennis, fitness and massage facilities, an Olympic size outdoor pool, an indoor-outdoor pool, saunas and spas, and a candlelit dining room fit for royalty that includes a world-class wine cellar.

The Virginia countryside around Keswick is a virtual Eastman Johnson landscape. The main guest house offers spectacular views of the forested foothills and is on a hilltop directly overlooking the golf course and croquet lawn.

The house is designed in Tuscan architectural style, complete with arches leading out to wide patios, columns in the main hall, large sash windows, and French doors -- all under a barrel-tile roof. Landscaped with Japanese holly hedges, salvia, myrtle and other colorful flora, the estate is reminiscent of the finest European style country estates.

This is not surprising since Keswick Hall is one of three Ashley Houses owned by Englishman Sir Bernard Ashley that also include The Inn at Perry Cabin in St. Michaels, Maryland, and Llangoed Hall in Wales. Sir Bernard's primary aim with these estates is to make each guest feel completely at home. With only 48 rooms at Keswick, friendly personal service from a staff of 100 is assured. Sir Bernard quadrupled the size of the original house which was originally owned by a prominent Virginia family in the early 1900's before it was converted to a private golf clubhouse. The club went into receivership before Sir Bernard bought the property in 1989.

Each of the guest rooms is individually decorated from the finest of the famed Laura Ashley collection. Tapestries, fine paintings and other art collections, and Queen Anne furniture grace these rooms, many of which have balconies overlooking the patio and golf course. The public rooms, including the morning room where afternoon tea is served daily, the library and the snooker room, offer a decidedly home-like atmosphere where guests are encouraged to browse the expansive book collection, play snooker, or relax over tea or cordials.

At Keswick, the service is impeccable but informal. There is a definitely unhurried atmosphere here where the only interruption to the peace and tranquility is the periodic whistle of a nearby train, a charming and romantic interlude to the quiet.

As for golf, guests have complete access to the Keswick Golf Club, a private 600-member club located a short chip-shot from the main guest house. A fine bar and dining room offering a gourmet menu to rival that of the main house dining room complements the golf facility -- an 18-hole Arnold Palmer redesign of a Fred Findlay layout. Findlay designed the nearby Farmington County Club course as well as other popular Virginia courses.

The Palmer team retained all the natural features of the land but tweaked the original design with new bent grass greens, additional bunkers, Bermuda fairways and more pronounced elevation changes. The course is one of the best conditioned courses you will ever play. It is only 6300 yards from the back tees but it has a relatively high slope of 126, largely because the greens slope precipitously. Yet, the course was designed to be enjoyed by golfers of all skill levels and is, in fact, ideal for the casual golfer or golfing couple not interested in a treacherous, gargantuan layout aimed at exhausting players.

Like Keswick Hall itself, the golf club is managed to give guests an unhurried, entirely easy golfing experience. The staff are lead by General Manager Adrian Morris and Head Pro Mark Marshall who are among the finest gentlemen you will ever meet. For reservations at Keswick Hall, call 1-800-ASHLEY1.

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