Fine Dining in the Shenandoah Valley

Of course everyone has heard of the Inn at Little Washington.  Well, not everyone who has heard of the Inn can afford to eat there, so we are going to talk in this blog about some of the fine restaurants here in Front Royal that offer the quality without the price tag.

Anyone visiting the area from out of town is going to want to visit a restaurant and chain restaurants are all the same everywhere.

The first restaurants we'll review in this blog are Element and Apartment 2g.  Element is a bistro styled restaurant that offers modern American cuisine Tuesday through Saturday and Apartment 2g offers a fixed price dinner every Saturday night along with a Tapas menu the third Thursday of each month. 

David and Stacy Gedney are the chef/owners of Element and Apartment 2g who have worked at the Inn and Little Washington and Restaurant Nora in Washington, DC among several other fine restaurants.  Patrons at either of their two restaurants are treated to big-city quality at small-town prices.  Currently entrees at Element range from $14 to $21 and the Fixed Price dinner is $50 per person.  Of course, these prices do not include beverages, tax or gratuities, but at that, the value is spectacular.

The pan roasted chicken offered at Element may very well be the best chicken dish available anywhere.  I am a particular fan of David's seared scallops and when I visit Element, I have to tell David if I want something different.  When you sit down, you will be offered a dish of Stacy's home made focaccia still warm from the oven and served with olive oil and Balsamic Vinegar.  If you are planning on having their mussels as an appetizer, save the bread to sop up the wonderful sauce from the mussels.  If you can't stand to save the bread, order more.  You can't miss the sauce!

The prixe fixe dinner at Apartment 2g offers the diners a choice of three entrees and then a choice of dessert.  Take your pick.  You can't go wrong with any of them!

Stacy makes all her desserts and they are all outstanding. Her Mexican chocolate cake is not to be missed.  Pair dessert with coffee, espresso, or an aperitif and you can't help but go home happy!

Come back to this blog for more information on some of our other really wonderful restaurants!

Winter in the Shenandoah

Front Royal is becoming the home to several really fine restaurants.  We have everything from Thai to Sushi, Mexican to Italian, Soul Fusion to English Pub Food, and American cuisine ranging from ordinary to extraordinary.

Skyline Drive is one of the most popular destinations in Virginia and Killahevlin was the home of William Carson, the man credited its creation.

Christmas Snow Storm

Well, it's Christmas time in Front Royal. We had a record-breaking snowfall this past week , so we were out at night taking pictures. Here's an image of the front of the house with the Christmas lights aglow.

The day after the snow, we had the driveway cleared and people came to visit.

Winter in the valley is really beautiful. Skyline Drive may not be open all the time, but the wineries are always open and there are lots of quaint shops downtown Front Royal, so there's plenty to do. If you just need to recharge the batteries after the hectic Christmas season, come visit us and we'll see to it that you have lots of opportunities to relax!

Guest Reviews, new mattresses and Tea pots

We want to thank all of our guests for posting reviews. We promise that we read all of them and take them to heart. Some time ago a guest posted a review saying that the beds in the suites were worn out. Well, they were and this past week we replaced both of them. So ... if you've stayed in one of the suites, you'll find the mattresses are much nicer now.

In our last posting, we said that we had gotten a selection of loose teas and some nice teapots. We have really had good responses from our guests so we are going to broaden the selection of teas we offer. If you like a nice pot of tea and you are coming to visit, please be sure to let us know. If you have any ideas for the kinds of tea we should offer, please also let us know.

We know that there are a lot of nice places to stay out there and we really appreciate people choosing Killahevlin. We promise that we will do our utmost to ensure that you have a wonderful experience and we really hope that you'll want to come back time and time again.

Kathy and Tom

New Breakfast offering

It's finally summer and the flowers are in full bloom. Everything is green and the river is in really good shape because of all the rain we have had. We've had a really nice summer with mild temperatures so everyone has enjoyed sitting out in the gazebo. Killahevlin is a great base for exploring the Shenandoah Valley whether you are going to hike, canoe down the river, visit the wineries or just leave your cares back at home.

Here at the beginning of July we are starting to fill up on weekends in October but we still have lots of availability during the week. Skyline Drive is really best during the week anyway. Sometimes traffic backs up through town on weekends.

We are always trying to improve our breakfasts and have several scrumptious new fruit dishes. We've also gotten new tea pots and a nice selection of loose teas so you tea lovers can get a "proper" pot of tea for breakfast or any other time for that matter. Kathy has finished her quilted place mats and she just made a bunch of tea cozies so that the tea pots will stay ... well ... cozy.

Come visit and let us pamper you for a few days.

Kathy and Tom

Autumn in the Valley

10/08/08

Well, it's finally autumn here in the valley. The leaves are just starting to change and the weather has been wonderful.

Most of our weekends are already booked, but we do have rooms available during the week.

This summer and fall we have seen a nice number if honeymooners. We are just a bit over an hour from Washington, DC. If you live in the DC metropolitan area, we are an easy drive ... whether for a weekend or for a week. If you are flying in to Dulles or National Airport, we make a great base for visiting the Shenandoah Valley and we are close enough to take day trips into Washington without paying the high costs charged by the hotels in the city.

Give us a call and we'll help you find lots to do here in the valley ... one of the most beautiful parts of one of the most beautiful states in the country!

Vacation in the Shenandoah Valley

With the price of fuel rising and air travel getting more difficult and expensive, why not spend your vacation close to home? The Shenandoah Valley offers everything you can get somewhere more expensive an hour from Washington, DC.

Sure the beach is fun ... if you like sunburn and sand in your ... clothes.

We have restaurants galore, beautiful scenery, and lots to do. We have some of the country's finest wineries within 20 minutes. The best hiking on the East Coast is along Skyline Drive and we're minutes from there.

Canoeing and rafting?? Where better than the Shenandoah?

Civil War history? Right in the back yard! Literally!!

We have it all!

We'll pamper you and you won't even have to work very hard to get here! We have a nice breakfast every morning and a pub in the house so you can pour yourself a pint or a glass of wine. Your toughest decision is whether to have your drink sitting in one of our overstuffed leather chairs in our parlor, in the rocking chairs on our beautiful screened in porch, or out under the wonderful old gazebo where you can watch out for our local humming birds.

Come out and spend a week with us and ask us for our vacation discount.

We're here just waiting to pamper you. Come on out!