Hot Springs, Virginia

Hotels in the Go and Do Good® directory may be sponsored.

I was thrilled to begin the process of adding all of the Omni Hotels and Resorts into the directory this past week. Omni Hotels and Resorts does so much good by having donated 18 million meals to help Feeding America^® provide nutritious meals for food banks to feed children, families and seniors in communities across the United States.

We started our tour de Omni Hotels and Resorts by meeting up with friends at the beautiful The Omni Homestead Resort. I knew it was going to be a wonderful resort but I didn’t realize just how many activities would be available for our boys. What a special President’s Day/Valentine’s Day weekend in Virginia!

First Impressions: 

We were swept off our feet as we approached the entrance circle of The Omni Homestead Resort and its vastness. The snow-covered buildings and lawns shone off the brick buildings and we felt as if we were entering a winter wonderland. Being President’s Day weekend, it was extra great to see all of the references to past U.S. Presidents and First Ladies as educational opportunities for the boys. We were ready for the fun to begin!

Snow Much Fun:

Our boys have become quite the snowboarders, so we were anxious to get outside and hit the slopes. It was so convenient to have The Omni Homestead Resort shuttle available every few minutes to take the three-minute trip from the resort to the slopes. We approached the mountain and enrolled our youngest in a private snowboard lesson while the rest of us headed right for the slopes. Our visiting friends had never skied before and super enjoyed the private ski lessons and spending the morning learning to navigate the slopes. It was a day we’ll never forget! Kober’s was a great option for a quick lunch before a round of mini, kid-sized snowmobiling, one of the sweetest activities for the boys that I’ve experienced at a resort.

Kids’ Winter Wonderland Activities:

If you have young kids, run, don’t walk, to The Omni Homestead Resort! This resort has incredible activities available for kids year-round, with our focus having been on all things in the winter.

Indoor and outdoor heated pools are available for children while a parent soaks in and enjoys the amazing hot spring pool for adults only. Kids menus are offered in all dining locations and post-dinner, the kids loved the historically-inspired Theatre playing various children’s movies.

Tubing was a family-favorite and once we returned from the slopes, the kids loved lounging by the fireplace in the regal lobby, brownies in hand from the free afternoon social hour. The warm environment of the lobby was the perfect place to spend evenings with new friends and old, playing card games and enjoying fellowship with others.

We enjoyed hopping back on the shuttle and heading to the local Homestead Equestrian Center and having the opportunity to ride horses in the snow. The S’mores Express was our next stop, taking a tractor ride from the resort up the mountain to Kober’s. The tractor ride views provided a picturesque backdrop of The Omni Homestead Resort which helped capture a special family photo memory.

Playing in the snow was gleeful enough, so our boys frequently snuck out the doors of the resort to make snowballs and engage in a snowball fight with their friends. The Omni Homestead Resort had plentiful hills for sledding and making angels in the snow. Ice skating was one of the favorite activities of our eight-year old who swooshed on his own skates and did laps on the ice. We ended our final evening at the resort at the Arcade, which was the icing on the cake for our boys. They could have played games and done miniature bowling for hours and it was a great way to end busy days full of activities.

The Omni Homestead Resort offered an impressive schedule of complimentary and additional cost kids activities such as bird house making, painting and more. We ran out of time to explore all of the numerous activities available!

Just Take a Walk:

If you prefer to kick back and relax while on vacation, don’t choose any activities at all! Take a walk around the expansive property boasting so much natural beauty or spend time reviewing the impressive, historical collection of books in the library on-site.

Soak in the art and history of past presidents or take a stroll along the avenue of shoppes offering confectionary goodies, kids’ stuffed animals, women’s gear, men’s attire and more. Book an appointment at the spa or take a dip in the hot springs pool.

Grab a Bite, for Here or to Go:

If you’re heading to The Omni Homestead Resort for the food, I wanted to provide some recommendations for dining. We enjoyed a sit-down meal at Jefferson’s Restaurant with one meal as the stand-out: Crispy Fried Chicken. This spicy honey-glazed “fried” chicken was a crowd favorite and we ordered it several times afterwards as well.

We enjoyed the ease of ordering our food to-go and dined with our friends in the comfort of the hotel lobby. The kids’ cheeseburgers were the boys favorite and at Kober’s I really enjoyed the venison chili in a bread bowl. Cocktails from the lobby bar and Jefferson’s were delicious as well, from an old-fashioned bourbon drink to a glass of bubbly.

And Do Good: 

Since launching Say Goodnight to Hunger in June 2016, Omni Hotels & Resorts has made a donation to Feeding America^® that helps provide one meal for every completed stay. To date, nearly 18 million meals have been donated to help Feeding America^® provide nutritious meals for food banks to feed children, families and seniors in communities across the United States. All of 60 Omni properties are actively participating by supporting food banks and pantries in their local communities where they live, work and play. 

More than 42 million Americans live with limited or uncertain availability of nutritionally adequate and safe food, including 13 million children. One in seven Americans relies on food banks to feed themselves and their families. To help combat this national problem, Omni Hotels & Resorts is partnering with Feeding America^®, a nationwide network of 200 food banks that provides food and services to more than 42 million people annually, to make a meaningful impact in communities across the country.

Additionally, as the Official Hotel of the PGA TOUR^®, Omni Hotels & Resorts will help provide four meals for a family in need for every birdie-or-better made during each PGA TOUR event. This past season we’ve donated over 222,000 meals through the local Feeding America^® food bank in each tournament’s home city.

Omni is committed to helping the local communities in which they are located, so these donations will directly benefit food banks in the 42 communities where Omni Hotels & Resorts’ 60 properties operate. For each completed stay at any participating Omni, regardless of how the reservation is made, Omni will donate one meal to a family in need.

Through this program, Omni hopes to Say Goodnight to Hunger for good.