From the warm, paneled library and the comforter-covered beds to the sunny terrace and the languid lake, there are reasons aplenty to settle in here. One of the state’s top inns, Clifton stands in quiet Shadwell, a small corn-rnunity in Charlottesville, near Jefferson’s birthplace.
It’s no wonder the inn is a National Historic Landmark: The handsome white-frame, six-columned manse was once home to Thomas Mann Randolph, governor of Virginia, member of Congress and husband of Jefferson’s daughter, Martha. It’s now owned by a Washington attorney but ably administered by innkeeper Craig Hartman. As chef, Craig also oversees Clifton’s wonderful meals (the applewood-smoked loin of veal with Vidalia-onion marmalade has lots oftakers). Midweek dinners are $48; Saturday’s five-course, prix-fixe dinners ($58) include entertainment.
There are guest rooms in the manor house, the carriage house, the livery, and Randolph’s former law office. All have wood-burning fireplaces and antique or canopy beds. Six rooms have recently renovated large baths with multiple showerheads that grow vertically up the wall so no part of the body gets missed. French limestone floors were installed in all bathrooms. Some rooms have French windows, some have lake views, and there are plenty of antique bed-coverings. Rooms in the dependencies have a fresh, cottage like feel, with whitewashed walls, bright floral prints, and lots of windows. Manor House rooms are bright and airy with touches of the original woodwork and design still intact to remind guests of the history that surrounds them. Suites in the carriage house have windows, shutters, and other artifacts from the home of the explorer Meriwether Lewis.
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