Extraordinary! That is probably the best word to describe our experience. Visited The Inn for wife's birthday.

Arrival - Our sense of arrival was similar to any Relais&Chateaux property. We received a property tour and welcome cocktails.

Room - We stayed in the Julia Childs room. (Junior Suite) Tastefully decorated - full attention to details - all possible amenities - beautiful bathroom.

Tea - Included with your stay. Perfect!

Breakfast - The House breakfast is included and actually is enough for a healthy start. But I strongly encourage the $25 upgrade to hot breakfast. The entree items were delicious.

Service - Five Star by all standards.

and the BEST ...

Dinner - The best we have ever had. This property is the French Laundry of the East Coast. I dined at other Relais & Chateaux restaurants such as Daniel and Patrick's is by far a different level. We did the Chef's Table which is well worth the surcharge. We also decided on the Tasting Menu. From the Popcorn to the very last desert of chocolate we were in heaven. The staff (honorable mentions to John, Sommelier and James, Director) was knowledgeable and sincere. The food... (words cant express how amazing it was)

Come and Discover! Even if it's for that very special occasion and you plan to only visit once it should be on everyone's bucket list.

OK, so if you stay here as well as enjoy the stunning food, you are going to be looking at a four figure bill but this is somewhere to go where cost is not the concern. In a location that kisses the edge of the blue ridge and sits in a delightfully peaceful village amongst gently rolling countryside, this is a stay of wonderfully relaxing solitude and indulgent pleasure

The rooms are memorably opulent. Go for one of the split level rooms - enjoy the lounge area or balcony and then step up to the raised area with wonderfully comfortable bed.

The restaurant is famous and rightfully so. You cannot fail to enjoy its various delights. Still one of my favorite meals ever!

Oh - if you want to stay in touch with the outside world (can't put that blackberry down?) go somewhere else. Almost no cellphone reception and snail paced wifi. But that's not why you stay at places like this.........is it!

Will be back again.

My wife and I have been long wishing to visit Inn at Little Washington for a meal, and in September 2011 we were finally able to make this happen. I’ll freely admit that our expectations were pretty high upon our arrival; if for no other reason that the place is pretty remote and driving here is a minor adventure in itself. Combine that with the hefty price tag for a meal there (we’re talking least $200-300 per person after tip, more if you order drinks or the tasting menu) and you can see where this place has a very heavy lift to live up the all the absolutely glowing reviews and accolades the restaurant has received.

First impressions upon arrival were fairly positive; the building itself is fairly low-key and not immediately recognizable to us in the evening darkness and after a long drive. Once inside, the entrance foyer was nicely appointed and we were quickly greeted by the hostess with only a few minutes delay before being seated. Our table was located on the threshold between the inside dining area and a semi-enclosed patio area outside and worked well for us. We received personalized menus which were encouraged to take home with us as souvenirs, admittedly a nice touch that other high-end restaurants might do well to adopt.

Service was good while still having some room for improvement in some areas; the bus persons did a good job keeping us in silverware and water, while our server might have needed a bit more seasoning in the craft. For example a couple seated near us wished to order the tasting menu plus matched wines/champagnes, plus an order of foie gras in addition to that. Instead of graciously accommodating what was an up sell, the server instead advised them the chef didn’t like to vary from the tasting menu and refused the foie gras. Fortunately, the Maître d'hôtel must have overheard and corrected this issue (shortly thereafter bringing some courtesy of the house to the couple, with a complementary order of scallops for us as well); it was still surprising to see at a restaurant of this caliber.

Our food was quite good; it’s probably fair to say it met our expectations but did not exceed them. Many items on the menu seemed to make liberal use of some of today’s trendy cooking techniques and ingredients, and your impressions of the meal will likely depend greatly on whether you like these trends or not. For example, one perfect example of this is the starter that is the opening salvo on the tasting menu; a box of popcorn (similar to what you would get in a movie theater) with shaved white truffle. My wife and I had differing opinions on this; I found it a bit pretentious (almost to the point of being twee) while she found it creative and playful. The apple-rutabaga soup was quite well done although it exhibited a bit less seasoning than I would have preferred (which was a trend I felt carried over to the other items I tried also). I had two seafood courses for starters and mains, and IIRC my wife had some lamb and squab for appetizers and mains respectively. All four items were well-done and presentation was top-notch (my wife was taking photos of everything for posterity). Taste was good without being overwhelming – all were obviously expertly prepared, although I’d be hard pressed likewise to say any stand out in my memory either. Portion sizes were reasonable, although I’m also quite glad we had snacked before getting in the car to drive here.

All in all, we enjoyed the experience, although it needs to be put into the context of a super-high end dining experience. We’ve been rather fortunate in that we’ve been able to enjoy some other restaurants which could be considered peers of the Inn at Little Washington. Among that rather exclusive club, I’d say that the Inn was pretty much middle of the pack. But likewise, there’s absolutely no shame to the Inn in saying I’d recommend somewhere like Alinea or French Laundry over them.

We spent two nights at The Inn at Little Washington to celebrate our 10th anniversary. It was a great experience. Service was prompt and friendly. The room was immaculate. I read another review that complained the view was of the parking lot. I'm pretty sure we had the same room, and if you choose to look past the end of your nose, the view included the parking lot, but also the Town of Washington, with the Blue Ridge Mountains in the not too far distance.

The room was immaculate, and housekeeping service wonderful and discreet. I'd love to see the behind-the-scenes communications that let the staff know when you're out of the room for them to service it! Turn down service the first night had a special little touch - a little story book called The Secret Ingredient. It was a charming story, and came with a sample of the secret ingredient. The second night, the turn down service included a little souvenir magnet. In the afternoon, there were some fresh-baked cookies left in our room for us. The service was equal to other 5-star hotels I've stayed in. Nowhere did I get the sense of staff seeming mocking or obsequious, as stated in other reviews.

For dinner the first night, we had the a la carte dining menu. Everything was very good, but my favorite was the Black Cod in a Lemon Vodka sauce. Cooked perfectly, with a well blended sauce that nicely complemented the fish. I never think about mushrooms and fish going together, but I was pleasantly surprised how well they went together.

We asked for assistance in choosing a wine. We have been very interested in trying local wines here in MD lately, so we decided to try a local wine this night. My husband requested a chardonnay. We were directed to the house chardonnay, which was also quite reasonable priced, but still very good.

There was a little bit of a lag at times between some courses. But since the dining there WAS the evening's activity, that was fine - we were in no hurry. Only between one or two courses did it seem a little more than leisurely.

The second night, we had the tasting menu with the paired wines. Not only was all the food very good, the paired wines were well thought out. The sommelier was well versed - as you would expect - and not only explained why each wine was chosen, but also discussed the region the wines were produced in. As pretenders to knowing a bit about wine, but always willing to learn more, it was one of the best parts of the evening. I am not very familiar with chardonnays, having been raised in a family that usually appreciates the crisper wines. I was able to ask John the sommelier a few questions, and he even brought over another chardonnay for me to try so I could understand better the answer to my questions.

The pacing this night was better, with no lags. We had the Black Cod again as part of the tasting menu, and it remained my favorite. It was as well done the second night as the first. A close second for me was the chocolate bread pudding. The funny thing about these choices is that in general, I care neither for cod nor bread pudding. These two courses may well change my mind - but only if I can get them as well prepared as they were here.

A word about the portions - a number of people have talked about leaving the table still hungry, or being disappointed with the size of the portions. Neither my husband nor I were anything but full after leaving the table on both nights. My husband is a big eater with a fast metabolism, and he was more than satisfied.

Both mornings, I was more than happy with the house breakfast. Greek-style yogurt with fresh berries and house-made granola, a selection of juices, and fresh-baked breads with house or local made jams provided plenty of food. My husband opted for the cooked breakfast on the first day, and had the eggs benedict, which were quite tasty. The sausage and the bacon was also very good. The second morning, he was satisfied with just the house breakfast.

We took the full day of our stay to wander around the town. We took a walk down the Field of Dreams Path. It was a lovely walk combining nature with good bird-watching opportunities with domesticated farm animals - chickens, sheep, and a llama.

We look forward to coming back for another stay.