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Construction on Track for an August 2013 Opening of the 168-room Salamander
Resort & Spa Under Development in Middleburg, Virginia

December 21, 2012 - The internal makeup of the state-of-the-art Salamander Resort and Spa is beginning to take shape with just less than eight months remaining before its highly anticipated grand opening.

As part of its holiday celebration Salamander Hotels and Resorts Owner Sheila Johnson and her team gave tours of the 340-acre site in Middleburg, which will be home to the resort, followed by a party at Johnson’s home.

The design of the 168-room resort is intended to replicate a grand home built 100 years ago, with many of the details resembling her own home.

The resort will contain a lavish 23,000-square-foot spa, a full-service equestrian center with a 22-stall stable, 12,000 square feet of conference space and a 5,000-square-foot grand ballroom.

“When you enter through the front door, there is a magnificent two-story foyer with a big chandelier and the blue stone from outside continues into the space giving it a very rustic feel as you enter,” Prem Devadas, president of Salamander Resort said. “Once inside it becomes a wide-plank antique oak floor that runs throughout the space. Then, your looking into this grand living room with gas fireplaces on each side.”

While work is far from complete in the living room area, the framework of the room as well as most of the site has been completed and drywall is being hung.

Each room is in the process of being readied to start the final detailing process which includes furniture and other details for the 168 rooms.

Adjacent to the living room space, is the wine bar and then the billiards room, followed by a cooking studio and the grand restaurant.

While most hotels amenities are only accessible to guests, the staff of Salamander want to incorporate the entire community into the experience.


  

Times-Mirror Staff Photo/Beverly Denny Prem Devadas, president of Salamander Hotels & Resorts, gives a tour of the updates in construction of the Salamander Resort & Spa in Middleburg that is under construction and scheduled to open August 2013. He holds up the design planned for the living room.
Times-Mirror Staff Photo/Beverly Denny The Salamander Resort & Spa in Middleburg can be seen from the driveway leading to the resort Dec. 14. Horse-drawn carriages will shuttle guests and visitors to and from downtown Middleburg.

“Unlike a lot of resorts this is not going to be a gated private resort. People can come enjoy billiards, the wine bar, terrace seating, bonfires with s’mores or horseback riding,” Devadas said. “It is very, very public and that is why we sized the restaurants and why we have so many dining options, because we want to be a part of the community.”

“This will be open to the public and so first it will become a Middleburg community destination, then a Loudoun and Fauquier County destination and, ultimately, a Washington D.C. destination,” Devadas said.

According to Devadas, the wine bar will be frequented by tastings from local winemakers, an aspect they really wanted to feature.

Once you step out back of the resort you’re greeted by a stone terrace, which leads down to a roughly 200 yard long grand lawn. Devadas is expecting games of croquet, bocci and badminton as well as two fire pits with seating for about 20 people at each.

The Barn at the resort will hold both riding horses for guests as well as any guests horses who need to be boarded.

Salamander’s signature restaurant resembles an old barn standing 42 feet high, complete with rough sod timber.

The resort kitchen is already tiled and will serve all food for the restaurant, wine bar and banquet facilities. According to Devadas, workers will begin and finish installing kitchen equipment before the end of this year.

Banquet facilities will feature executive board and conference rooms as well as grand ballroom seating for 320 guests.

Devadas noted weddings will be one of the major activities for the banquet hall. Every Saturday in October 2013 as well as two weekends in December 2013 have already been booked without promotion, he said.

One of the most unique amenities featured at the resort is a Culinary Teaching Institute for guests to enjoy.

The idea has been one of Johnson’s dreams.

“We want to invite some of the top chefs from all over the country to come and hold cooking classes complete with a teaching kitchen,” Johnson said. “We are also wiring them for television so guests who take the classes can take a tape home to remember what they cooked during their classes. That also gives us the opportunity to potentially get on to the Food Network eventually.

“It can be for leisure guests or corporate team building opportunities,” Johnson said.

The Institute will also have a culinary garden on the grounds, where the cooking class students will begin by picking their own vegetables and food. This program will also be available to the general public.

In the spa, there will be men and women’s sides as well as a pool area outdoors in the courtyard and an indoor pool for water aerobics. An extensive fitness area is also available for guests.

Also as part of the spa are two “tree house” treatment rooms available for guests with scenic views of the surrounding woods and streams.

Users of the spa will enjoy deluxe locker rooms with whirlpools, steam rooms, saunas and experimental treatment facilities.

Fourteen deluxe treatment rooms will be available.

Salamander Hotels and Resorts also owns several luxury properties in Florida, including Innisbrook Resort in Tampa, Reunion Resort in Orlando and Hammock Beach Resort in Palm Coast.

In addition to owning the Salamander Resort in Middleburg, the company owns the Market Salamander and Salamander Touch.

While owning Salamander Hotels and Resorts, Johnson also is an accomplished entrepreneur and philanthropist that has mastered hospitality, sports, fashion, television and film, the arts, education, women’s empowerment and community development.

She is part owner of the NBA’s Washington Wizards, WNBA’s Washington Mystics and NHL’s Washington Capitals. She is also the co-founder of Black Entertainment Television.

Devadas noted that construction has brought 400 jobs to Middleburg and once the resort is up and running he expects approximately 300 full-time and part-time positions making up the resorts day-to-day operations.

Devadas expects approximately 200 employees to be working at a time.

Salamander Resort and Spa is scheduled to open in late August 2013. A model room is also available for viewing at the Salamander Touch gift shop.

About Salamander Hotels & Resorts

Salamander Hotels & Resorts is a privately owned and operated company based in Middleburg, VA, just outside Washington, D.C. Founded by entrepreneur Sheila C. Johnson in 2005, the company has a portfolio that features the Grand Golf Resorts of Florida, a collection of three stellar golf resorts including the recently renovated Innisbrook Resort in Tampa Bay, Reunion Resort in Orlando and the oceanfront Hammock Beach Resort in Palm Coast; Grand Resorts at Cap Cana, a collection of luxurious properties in the Dominican Republic including the oceanfront Sanctuary Cap Cana, the new marina-inspired Fishing Lodge Cap Cana, and the future Ocean Club Cap Cana; the Forbes Five-Star- and AAA Five Diamond-rated Woodlands Inn near Charleston, SC; and the eagerly anticipated Salamander Resort & Spa in Middleburg, a 340-acre equestrian-themed, ultra-luxury resort located near Washington, D.C. opening in 2013. For additional information, call (540) 687-3710 or visit www.salamanderhotels.com.

Reprinted with permission by Loudoun Times-Mirror. Original article may be found here:
http://www.loudountimes.com/index.php/news/article/salamander_resort_celebrates_holidays999/
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Contact:

Matt Owen
Salamander Hotels & Resorts
[email protected]
843-573-2062 (office)
843-991-0213 (mobile)

 


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Also See: Salamander Hotels & Resorts Plans August 2013 Opening for the 168-room Salamander Resort & Spa Under Development in Middleburg, Virginia / June 2012

Salamander Hotels & Resorts' CEO and Founder Sheila C. Johnson recognized among Washington, D.C.'s 10 Most Powerful Women by ELLE magazine; According to industry survey, Johnson's D.C. area-based Salamander group also ranked as the third fastest-growing hotel management company in the country / March 2012

Salamander Hotels & Resorts Appoints Mary Hutchcraft as Director of Sales and Marketing at Reunion Resort, Part of Orlando's Grand Golf Resorts of Florida / March 2012

Salamander Hotels & Resorts Partners with Lubert-Adler, L.P Assuming Management of Reunion Wyndham Grand Resort and Hammock Beach Resort; Launches Grand Golf Resorts of Florida / October 2011

Salamander Hotels & Resorts Chosen to Manage the 176-suite Sanctuary Cap Cana in the Dominican Republic Adding the Property to its Grand Resorts of Cap Cana Collection / October 2011

Salamander Hotels & Resorts Chosen to Manage 302-villa Fishing Lodge Cap Cana in the Dominican Republic / June 2011

Salamander Hospitality Retained to Manage South Carolina’s First Five Star and Five Diamond-rated Woodlands Inn; Johnny Linton and Family Buy Acclaimed Property from Sheila C. Johnson / September 2010

Salamander Resort & Spa, Opening in March 2011, Continually Looking for Innovative Ways to Enhance Guest Experience, While Maintaining Sensitivity to the Environment / August 2009

Salamander Hospitality to Expand Management Services Division; Sheila C. Johnson’s Company to Focus Growth on Four- and Five-Star Level Properties / March 2009

Construction at Salamander Resort & Spa, Middleburg, Virginia, the Signature Project from Sheila C. Johnson’s Salamander Hospitality, On Track for a 2010 Opening / October 2008
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