by shari mycek
Only a half-hour outside Washington DC, the terrain was already beginning to feel like ‘home.’ The rolling hills, wooden-fence-remnants from the Civil War battlefields, the faint scent of honeysuckle, and the horses, one rolling joyously on its back, soaking up the first rays of summer, were infused-in-my-veins familiar. I grew up in these parts, not far from the Mason-Dixon line.
My driver, of course, has no idea (his assumption, I learn later, is that I’m from California), and so I revel in his tales of the area. “Jackie Kennedy had a horse farm (Glen Ora) here, and used to leave the White House to come out here and ride,” he tells me. “And of course, some of Virginia’s best wineries are right here. Be sure to try the sparkling wine. First Lady Michelle Obama loves it. She loves The Salamander too, she’s visited several times, comes for the spa.”
My plan exactly.
My plan exactly.
Despite my intense familiarity with this rolling-hill, horse-wine countryside, it is always spa – no matter where I am in the world – I feel truly ‘at home.’ And The Salamander Resort & Spa proves no exception. Immediately upon entering the hotel, amidst the cozy burning fireplaces, and women in slim jeans and high boots heading to brunch, I smell it. Sensually fragrant. The intoxicating blend of jasmine and citrus. Spa. And within minutes of checking into my room, I'm headed to the spa's Moroccan-inspired rasul, for a red flower treatment, in a ceramic-domed steam chamber.
At Salamander, the rasul is a translation of the traditional hammam experience, which has roots in northern Africa and is part of everyday life. A communal experience, the traditional hammam serves as a place where locals socialize, gossip and connect, while steaming, purifying, scrubbing and cleansing their bodies. Salamander’s version – completely private – is a self-applied treatment and my attendant carefully explains each ingredient and detail before quietly exiting. For the first few minutes, while the chamber is still cool, I slather onto arms, legs, torso, buttocks and back, the beautifully textured red flower clay, also fragrantly jasmine. I then sit, listening to the soft hissing of pipes, as the chamber fills with hot steam – opening pores, detoxifying, hydrating and remineralizing my skin.
Warmly cocooned from the steam and beautifully fragrant, I make my way next onto a massage table for an hour-long, deep-work-to-my-warmed muscles massage, before staggering to my room where I collapse onto a cloud or duvet softness. Opting out of a formal dinner, I instead order in room service – a kale salad, locally sourced, with a glass of sparkly white Virginia wine – staying blissfully in robe and slippers. Home again. South of the Mason-Dixon.
(Salamander Resort & Spa is located in Middleburg, Virginia - only 40 minutes from Washington DC).
Warmly cocooned from the steam and beautifully fragrant, I make my way next onto a massage table for an hour-long, deep-work-to-my-warmed muscles massage, before staggering to my room where I collapse onto a cloud or duvet softness. Opting out of a formal dinner, I instead order in room service – a kale salad, locally sourced, with a glass of sparkly white Virginia wine – staying blissfully in robe and slippers. Home again. South of the Mason-Dixon.
(Salamander Resort & Spa is located in Middleburg, Virginia - only 40 minutes from Washington DC).
ChatSnap: Sheila Johnson, Owner
Over tea and vegan sandwiches in the library of The Salamander Resort & Spa, founder and CEO Sheila Johnson, her skin glowing and eyes bright, shares her vision in creating the resort. During her marriage, she cofounded and helped build BET (Black Entertainment Television), but in the years following her divorce (and subsequent sale of BET), wanted to do ‘something meaningful.’ And all by herself.
In 2005, she founded Salamander Hotels & Resorts, which now includes properties in Florida, North Carolina and Virginia. It was her daughter, an accomplished equestrian, who led her to Middleburg. But it was Sheila’s own deep passion for healing that led her to create Salamander, which she says represents “fortitude, courage and perseverance.’
During the first days and months of her divorce, Johnson admits spending days ‘walking, crying, screaming. Trying to figure out who I was – as a woman, an individual. And what I was going to do now. I started moving forward by focusing on myself, what I wanted and needed. And I never looked back. Now, I’d like to help others find that same power within themselves – to come to a place where the stress evaporates and where they reconnect by themselves.”
Johnson identifies three core pieces of the Salamander experience – the spa, the horses and the cooking school – each connected one to the other.
In 2005, she founded Salamander Hotels & Resorts, which now includes properties in Florida, North Carolina and Virginia. It was her daughter, an accomplished equestrian, who led her to Middleburg. But it was Sheila’s own deep passion for healing that led her to create Salamander, which she says represents “fortitude, courage and perseverance.’
During the first days and months of her divorce, Johnson admits spending days ‘walking, crying, screaming. Trying to figure out who I was – as a woman, an individual. And what I was going to do now. I started moving forward by focusing on myself, what I wanted and needed. And I never looked back. Now, I’d like to help others find that same power within themselves – to come to a place where the stress evaporates and where they reconnect by themselves.”
Johnson identifies three core pieces of the Salamander experience – the spa, the horses and the cooking school – each connected one to the other.
“Horses can sense your fear, if you’re relaxed, if you want to be around them,” says Johnson. “They’re watching you and you can see your reflection through them. This is what our [horse program] takes you through. In working with the horses, you begin to understand what you’re all about.”
Inside the spa, Johnson says she personally is drawn to the ‘touch points’ – massage, heat, steam. But everyone’s connection is different. “Everyone comes out with different stories of what helped.”
The final piece, the cooking school, is a passion of Johnson’s – a vegan. Inside the open-kitchen, glassed area, guests can participate in healthy cooking demonstration, share in recipes and sample both local and international wines.
“Salamander is about connecting to one’s inner self – be it through the horses, the spa treatments, the cuisine or combinations of,” says Johnson. “There are some who will never go near the barn, want nothing to do with the horses, but will connect in the spa. While others find their connection in the horses and others, the kitchen. Salamander is not a hotel, it’s a place where people feel at home, however ‘home’ is defined.”
Inside the spa, Johnson says she personally is drawn to the ‘touch points’ – massage, heat, steam. But everyone’s connection is different. “Everyone comes out with different stories of what helped.”
The final piece, the cooking school, is a passion of Johnson’s – a vegan. Inside the open-kitchen, glassed area, guests can participate in healthy cooking demonstration, share in recipes and sample both local and international wines.
“Salamander is about connecting to one’s inner self – be it through the horses, the spa treatments, the cuisine or combinations of,” says Johnson. “There are some who will never go near the barn, want nothing to do with the horses, but will connect in the spa. While others find their connection in the horses and others, the kitchen. Salamander is not a hotel, it’s a place where people feel at home, however ‘home’ is defined.”