// February 16, 2015//
Keswick Hall and Golf Club, a 600-acre resort in Charlottesville, has been recognized with a Forbes Five-Star Award.
In Forbes’ 57th annual list of its Travel Guide’s Star Rating winners, Keswick is one of only 115 properties worldwide to achieve the honor, the highest travel accolade bestowed by the publication.
The award is based on visits by expert, anonymous inspectors who go to thousands of properties annually to evaluate standards, quality, value and overall experience.
Keswick Hall and Golf Club is one of three in Virginia including its sister property, The Jefferson Hotel in Richmond, and the Inn at Little Washington in Washington. Little Washington’s restaurant also made the list, the only restaurant in Virginia to make what is an elite group of 55 Forbes’ five-star rated restaurants.
Last fall Keswick opened a new Pete Dye-designed golf course, Full Cry, at its Keswick Golf Club. Its 48 guestrooms also were recently renovated.
“This award confirms Keswick Hall’s combination of superior service, modern amenities and gracious Southern hospitality is hitting the mark,” Greg Sligh, the resort’s president and managing director, said in a statement.
The property is home to the Keswick Club, a members club introduced in 1948 when architect Fred Findlay added its first nine holes of golf. The course expanded to 18 holes in the mid-1950s and was renovated in 1992 by Arnold Palmer. In 2013, Pete Dye was commissioned to create its new Full Cry layout, named in Golf Digest’s “2014 Best New Courses” list.
Richmond-based Riverstone Group owns Keswick Hall and Golf Club under its Historic Hotels of Albemarle division. Riverstone also owns and manages The Sanctuary at Kiawah Island Resort and The Sea Pines Resort in South Carolina, The Jefferson Hotel and The Hermitage Hotel in Tennessee.