I got a call from The Primetimers, a senior adult group at Mount Vernon Baptist Church, asking me to speak this month on “Romantic Places to Stay in Virginia.”
Now I may look like an unlikely expert on romance, but—thanks to 22 of the past 23 Valentine’s Days—I’m totally an expert on romantic places to stay.
Each of those Valentine’s Days, my sweet wife has taken me off on an overnight outing to a surprise destination, usually a bed-and-breakfast somewhere in the general proximity of Richmond. We couldn’t go too far, since many of those years one or both of us had to report back to work early on Feb. 15.
I was primed for the Primetimers’ topic and with Valentine’s Day coming up (and likely to come around again next year), I thought I share some of my speech with you.
Last Valentine’s, we stayed at Wolf Trap Farm near Gordonsville, a bed-and-breakfast catering to the horsy crowd—those who come for races or just folks traveling with horses overnight. Wolf Trap provides a full-equipped stable, but it accommodates ordinary folk as well. I fit in nicely until, getting out of bed in the wee hours and thinking I’d quietly strum my banjo a bit, I succeeded in locking my pajama-clad self (and my banjo) out at 3 a.m. If you know B&Bs, you understand that not only is there no one at the front desk at that hour, but there’s not even a front desk. It was an interesting 20 minutes.
I think it was 2002 when Barb made Valentine’s reservations for us at a brothel in Charlottesville. Actually, the 200 South Street Inn, a B & B two blocks off the downtown mall, was a brothel somewhere in its storied past—as well as a girls’ school and a boarding house. It’s a beautiful place—a bit more costly than our usual fare, but who wants to go to a cheap brothel?
For Valentine’s Day 2000 we went to jail. The Warm Springs Inn has its own colorful history, having served as the courthouse, clerk’s office and jail for Bath County at various times. The Warm Springs Inn actually offered us one of the most reasonably priced Valentine’s rooms we’ve ever had—as well as one of the most elaborate and tasty breakfasts. The place was high on kitsch—including a lobby with a stunningly eclectic collection of things you’ve never seen before and never will again. Our morning coffeepot was a huge black and white penguin with a screw-off head—a bit of a shock early in the a.m.
I have two favorite places on the romance front. One is The Hope and Glory Inn in Irvington, which has been called “one of the 101 best hotels in the world.” It certainly is, though I wouldn’t call it a hotel. Definitely an inn, and an incredibly beautiful, whimsical, romantic, inspired inn it is. Be sure to ask if you can look into all the unoccupied rooms if you go there, because each one is so unique and delightful. I remember that Barb and I danced alone in their lobby to “Tangerine,” and we slept in a room full of pink flowers.
My second most romantic spot, and one we’ve been back to several times at other times of the year, is High Meadows in Scottsville. High Meadows is also a winery, which is only part of the reason it’s such a convivial and colorful place. The grounds, the gardens, the 14 rooms all come with important little touches, like love poems at bedside and picnic lunches on request. On one of our Valentine’s trips, we were snowed in there for two and a half days—the best Valentine’s I can ever remember.
I don’t have room here to tell you about the ghost at the Sleepy Hollow Farm Bed and Breakfast near Gordonsville, or the 18th-century mill wheel turning outside our room at the Roxbury Mill Inn near Thornburg, or Gloucester’s Warner Hall, with a bed so high I had to get a running start, or Powhatan’s Inn at Three Bridges, which presented us with luscious homemade fudge. Remember, I have 22 of these places in my memory bank.
My all-time favorite Valentine’s? The year Barbara, short on cash, had enough chutzpah to rent us a room at the Jefferson for the afternoon. You’d have to hear my speech to learn about that one.

Randy Fitzgerald teaches modern American literature at Virginia Union University. He is a former Richmond Times-Dispatch columnists and University of Richmond administrator.