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Hot Springs The
Springs. As did their forefathers, today’s
visitors can take part in the ritual of the baths. The Homestead’s
Warm Springs Pools remain as they were upon opening, the men’s pool in
1761 and the ladies’ pool in 1836. Thomas Jefferson took the waters
here for his health. He is credited with designing the octagonal
bathhouse that surrounds the men’s pool, which has been in continuous
use longer than any of its kind in the country. The crude device that
lowered the ailing widow of Robert E. Lee into the restorative waters is
still on view in the circular women’s bathhouse. The waters, a
constant 98 degrees, contain a greater variety of minerals than others
in the valley. Visitors pay $12 for a towel, a very basic changing room
and an hour’s communal soak (generally in the nude for men) in a
six-foot-deep pool that’s 40 feet across and so clear that you can
distinguish the stones on the bottom. The water has a gentle fizz of
tickling bubbles. Bathers lie back against steps or float along ropes,
but “this is not for swimming, it’s for bathing,” Steve the
attendant advised at the men’s bath. Shirdell Pryor, the women’s
attendant, makes the brightly colored calico bathing shifts trimmed with
rickrack rack during the winter when the pools are closed. Women can
bring a bathing suit, wear one of the shifts or bathe as the men do.
Springs open daily 10 to 6, $12 per session. The Hot Springs at The
Homestead are warmer, averaging 104 degrees. Attendants in the bathhouse
built in 1892 follow practices of traditional European spas in offering
mineral baths, sauna, steam room, massages and hydrotherapies
year-round. The
Spa. The Greenbrier’s $7 million Spa, Mineral Baths and Salon
occupies a full wing of the legendary resort begun 217 years ago because
of its healing waters. This is another of the few American spas to
follow the European treatment of using fresh, natural mineral waters.
The spa’s bath facilities include walk-in whirlpool baths, Swiss
showers, Scotch spray, steam, sauna and therapy rooms for massage and
body wraps. Countless treatments are available, varying from 25 to 80
minutes in length. We tried the basic Greenbrier treatment ($97). The
hour-long assault and battery by showers and massages, combined with
relaxing baths and body wraps, left one of us so relaxed he literally
could not walk his normal double-time pace back to the hotel room. It
took an hour’s nap to revive him for dinner. Golf.
World-renowned for golf, the Homestead and the Greenbrier resorts
each boast three eighteen-hole championship courses, and the
Homestead’s new management is putting even greater emphasis on golf (a
new teaching facility, putting green and driving range). Built in 1892,
the first tee of the Homestead Golf Course is the oldest in continuous
use in the country. The Homestead’s Cascades course, known for its
tight fairways and undulating greens, is considered the most testing
mountain course in North America. Slammin’ Sam Snead, who grew up here
(his father worked in the resort’s powerhouse) and went on to become
the winningest golf pro in the country, rated the Cascades “the finest
course in the South.” He often played the local courses and showed up
at Sam Snead’s Tavern, and wowed the golfers in our group at a
cocktail reception and golf-putting tournament at the Casino shortly
before his death in 2002. The newly improved, year-round Homestead
layout is a short course with few hazards, ideal for those who enjoy
leisurely golf in a beautiful setting. The Lower Cascades Course,
designed by Robert Trent Jones and the longest of the three, is noted
for long tees, large well-trapped greens and water hazards. The
Greenbrier courses also are highly rated, particularly the Greenbrier
(the only resort course to have hosted both the Ryder and Solheim Cups)
and the Old White. The Lakeside Course is open year-round. All courses
begin and end at the Golf Club. Garth
Newel Music Center, Route 220, Hot Springs. The
hillside estate of a former dean of the Yale School of Fine Arts is a
destination for chamber music lovers. Called the Marlboro of the South,
it’s run by directors Arlene and Luca DiCecco, who double as violinist
and cellist with the Garth Newel Chamber Players. Weekend concerts
feature the Chamber Players and guest artists Saturday evenings and
Sunday afternoons, early July through Labor Day. The architecture and
acoustics of air-conditioned Herter Hall are perfect for chamber music,
and the mountain setting is unsurpassed. In summer, four-course prix-fixe
gourmet dinners following the Saturday concerts are prepared by chef Ed
McArdle, a Culinary Institute of America graduate who recently returned
to the rural quiet of this area after a sojourn in urban Ohio. In the
off-season, the center offers special Music Holiday Weekends. Up to
twenty guests enjoy overnight accommodations and gourmet meals, wine and
nightly concerts. (540)
839-5018 or (877) 558-1689. www.garthnewel.org. Concerts generally
Saturday at 5 and Sunday at 3, late June through Labor Day. Tickets,
$15. George
Washington National Forest. About half of Bath County lies in the
George Washington National Forest, which encompasses numerous recreation
areas, trails and campgrounds. Surrounded by the national forest, Lake
Moomaw extends twelve miles along the Jackson River and offers boating,
swimming and fishing.
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