Inn at Little Washington plans five-star upgrades

After more than 40 years of growing his three-Michelin-star restaurant, Inn at Little Washington chef and owner Patrick O’Connell is nearing his wish of offering guests “all the amenities of great hotels in Europe with the warmth of visiting a private home.”

Expansion plans include adding a reception building, two new buildings with 10 guest suites and a service building. Two other buildings within the inn’s existing 22 acres will be renovated and expanded to add a spa and pool. Some functions, such as guest check-in, will be relocated to provide better flow and “concentrate all of our key service activities under one roof.” Currently, the inn has 23 guest rooms, including a few suites.

The Town of Washington’s Architectural Review Board approved the preliminary plan in May 2023 after O’Connell led members and residents on a tour around the property, showing how new facilities would relate to existing structures. “In the end, it will look as if it’s always been here,” and fit in with other town buildings, he says. Agencies such as the soil and water district must review plans before a final site plan is submitted, a process that O’Connell says could take about nine months.

Until plans are finalized, O’Connell won’t disclose added square footage, saying only that it will be “quite a bit.” He also won’t discuss cost estimates, although he says industry standards indicate “a five-star establishment has to consider investing about $1 million” per guest room or suite. He’s less precise about the spa price tag, saying it will depend on convincing a lender about potential return on investment.

The inn, already Rappahannock County’s largest private employer with more than 200 workers, will hire spa staff and increase housekeeping, room service and valet staff, O’Connell says.

The inn “is an enormous driver of economic activity,” says Washington Mayor Joe Whited. The county receives about $200,000 to $400,000 in annual tax revenue from the inn, which also generates town meals and lodging taxes.

Sales taxes from the inn diversify county revenue streams and reduce dependence on property taxes, says county Supervisor Keir Whitson, who believes the expansion is “good news for local people.”

O’Connell says the project will “bring us full circle from what was once a small regional restaurant” to “finding ourselves in a league of competition with the top 20 hotels in the world.”