The Blackburn Inn

A Greek Revival building from 1828, designed by Thomas Blackburn in the Jeffersonian tradition, sitting on rolling grounds outside Staunton, Virginia. The Blackburn Inn occupies what was originally the main building of the Western State Hospital — a piece of early-19th-century institutional architecture that has been carefully restored rather than reinvented. Forty-nine rooms, minimal contemporary interiors inside the original shell, and a setting that's more pastoral than the Staunton location implies.

The architecture is the reason to come. The room rate reflects that, but only modestly.

The setting

Staunton is in the Shenandoah Valley, two and a half hours west of Washington, DC, and just off I-81. It's a small Virginia city with a serious downtown — the American Shakespeare Center's Blackfriars Playhouse is here, and the Frontier Culture Museum, and Mary Baldwin University. The Blackburn sits on a hilltop just outside the downtown core, on the historic Western State campus, with rolling grounds and views toward the Blue Ridge.

The drive from DC is two and a half hours; from Charlottesville about an hour. The Blue Ridge Parkway begins twenty minutes south.

The building

The 1828 Thomas Blackburn original — a three-story Greek Revival with classical proportions, a portico, and the long horizontal mass that early-19th-century institutional architecture often achieved better than residential. The restoration kept the bones, the windows, and the column work, and dropped a pared-back contemporary interior inside it. Lime-washed walls, oak floors, simple furniture. The result reads as a serious historic building, not a costume.

The grounds — landscaped, rolling, with lawn going to the tree line — are part of the experience.

The rooms

Forty-nine rooms across the main building, ranging from standard kings to suites in the larger original spaces. Ceilings are tall, windows are tall, and the layouts vary because the building wasn't built as a hotel. Beds are deep, baths properly finished, and the design restraint pays off — the rooms feel like rooms, not theme rooms.

Food & drink

A continental breakfast is included. There's no full restaurant on-site for dinner; for that, downtown Staunton — five minutes away — has Zynodoa, The Shack (which has been a James Beard finalist), and a half-dozen other serious places. The hotel runs a small bar program in the lobby.

On the property

A historic estate setting with grounds and walking paths.

• Walking trails on the grounds
• Continental breakfast included
• Lobby bar
• Concierge for Shakespeare Center, the Blue Ridge, and dinner reservations
• Open year-round

Who it's for

• Architecture readers — this is one of the best-preserved early-Republic buildings you can sleep in
• Theater-goers attending the American Shakespeare Center
• Couples doing a Shenandoah weekend on the way to or from the Parkway
• Anyone who finds the Greenbrier too much and a chain hotel too little

Who it's not for

• Travelers who need a full-service resort with a spa and three restaurants
• Families looking for a kids'-program property
• Anyone who finds historic buildings stiff — this one isn't, but it isn't a converted barn either

Nearby

Downtown Staunton for The Shack, Zynodoa, and the American Shakespeare Center's Blackfriars Playhouse. The Frontier Culture Museum for the open-air history. The Blue Ridge Parkway, twenty minutes south, for the drive and the overlooks. Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park, an hour north. Charlottesville and Monticello, an hour east. Wright's Dairy-Rite for a roadside lunch.