On Feb. 20, Forbes Travel Guide released its 2019 Star Award winners, with a local Northern Virginia resort topping the list.
Salamander Resort & Spa, located in Middleburg, earned a five-star rating, which is the first five-star hotel ranking for the resort.
Forbes’ five-star ratings have been the gold standard in the hospitality industry since 1958. Evaluations are based on professional and anonymous inspections. A total of 210 properties worldwide achieved the five-star rating this year, with 79 recognized in the United States.
Only two properties in the nation received the award for their first times this year: Salamander Resort & Spa and Four Seasons Resort Lanai in Hawaii.
The award also makes Salamander Resort & Spa the only Forbes Five-Star destination resort in the DC and Northern Virginia regions.
Further, the ranking is also the first five-star award for founder and CEO Sheila Johnson’s Salamander Hotels & Resorts collection. She is the only African-American woman to wholly own a five-star resort. // Salamander Resort & Spa: 500 N. Pendleton St., Middleburg
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