Need to know
Rooms
51, including 30 suites and three Tree Houses.
Check–Out
12 noon. Earliest check-in, 4pm.
More details
Breakfast isn't usually included in the room rate (from $38 a person).
Also
Primland is big: it takes close to half an hour just to drive across the estate. As you make your way through the main gates, you’ll see signs that introduce you to the natives: whitetail deer, wild turkeys and berry-seeking bears. There are some adapted rooms for guests with mobility issues and staff to help, but this expanse might make the trip a little more challenging.
At the hotel
Spa with Jacuzzi, indoor pool, sauna and steam room; alfresco yoga and meditation decks; guided hikes; indoor and outdoor gyms; golf course and pro shop; disc-golf course; two tennis courts; complimentary valet parking; wine room; kitchen gardens and trout-filled ponds; free WiFi. In rooms: TV, minibar, Nespresso coffee machine, tea-making facilities, and Bulgari bath products; some have a Tennessee-fieldstone fireplace, microwave or Lutron shade; and rooms in the Lodge have Dornbracht bathroom fittings. The fairway Cottages have a kitchenette.
Our favourite rooms
There are several cottages and lodges spread across the estate, all brimming with country charm, but we just can’t resist a tree house. The hotel has three – all impressively settled sturdy in the arms of strong old oaks without hammering in a single nail – made of fragrant cedar wood, placed to enjoy the most picturesque aspects of the Dan River Gorge, Roaring Creek and North Carolina’s Pilot Mountains – not to mention a multitude of stars – from expansive decks. And, they’re not for kids, made just for two and secluded away. Otherwise, we’d probably choose the Celestial Suite for starry, starry nights plus enough space to swing a horse, strokable custom Frette linens and sleek Dornbracht fittings in the bathroom. Note that, while sweetly styled to look like a traditional red barn or woodland cabin, the Fairway Suites were the first built on the estate and have slightly more retro decor than other accommodations.
Poolside
There’s a large serene chlorine-free pool in the spa, and there’s a bank of sunloungers to one side, and on the other, doors leading out to a view-blessed terrace with a Tennessee-fieldstone fire pit.
Spa
You might not be smudging out impurities or drumming away tension, but Native American wisdom has strongly informed the Auberge spa’s treatments, mixing their healing rituals and natural oils with modern techniques; try a Dragonfly anti-ageing facial, blue corn and honey scrub or seaweed body wrap, or a couples’ experience in the spa’s Unity suite (which has its own Jacuzzi) inspired by Cherokee hunter Kanati and Corn Mother Selu. Oh, and you’ll learn your spirit animal too. All treatments start with a steam and hydrotherapy shower, and there’s also a range of massages, combined detoxes and beauty treatments in the salon. More mindfulness comes in the form of yoga and moonlight meditation, strolls with a herbalist and healthful cooking lessons. The hotel has a fully-equipped indoor gym, and the Bootleggers outdoor gym and fitness trail too.
Packing tips
Those in thrall to the sporting life will need a trailer rather than a suitcase. Of course, all gear (and assorted animals) can be hired, bought or arranged on site, but if you have your own, bring rackets for the tennis court, sturdy hiking shoes and poles, golf clubs, a kayak, yoga gear, and even hunting dogs and guns. There’s storage for everything at the hotel.
Also
If you plan on returning – and we’re sure you’ll want to – you can get an annual membership for the spa.
Pet‐friendly
Four legs are equally good at Primland, and up to two pooches can stay in some Lodge rooms or the Fairway Cottages for $150 a stay. See more pet-friendly hotels in Blue Ridge Mountains.
Children
This is basically your chance to become The Wild Thornberrys (albeit without leaving rural Virginia). Whole cottages can be booked to sleep families, extra beds and cots are free, there’s a kids’ club and tailored activities.
Best for
A lot of activities onsite are for children over eight; tweens and teens will have the most fun.
Recommended rooms
The Fairway Cottages can be booked as a whole to sleep four. And, we’re sorry kids, but the treehouses are adults-only.
Activities
Over the spring school break (11 to 14 and 18 to 21 April 2022), there’s a packed free programme for kids under 11. Gentle hikes, archery, nature-themed art classes, fishing, movie nights, kite-flying, and stargazing with s’mores will keep your little wildlings busy. And, year round, staff can arrange pine-scented family treks, fishing trips, golf lessons, stable visits (riding lessons for over-12s only), archery and air-rifle shooting (for over-6s), kayaking (for over-8s over 50 pounds) and spells at the on-site observatory. Over-16s can book a Teen Facial in the spa.
Swimming pool
Kids are welcome to use the spa pool.
Meals
Little ones get their very own menu at Elements, a simplified version of the grown-up one with pancakes and berry bowls for breakfast and PB&Js, chicken tenders, simple pastas and salads and the like for dinner. They’re welcome at Stables Saloon too (under-12s dine for $25).
Sustainability efforts
Rooms have eco-friendly lighting and water-efficient bathroom fixtures; many of the restaurants’ ingredients are grown on Primland’s vast tract of land; and there are water stations in the lobby. Plus its treehouses were ingeniously built without hammering one nail into wood and the wild animals here roam with abandon.