The Omni Bedford Springs Resort is less than three hours from
Washington, but it’s one of the lesser-known luxury resorts in the
region.
Two big reasons to go to Bedford Springs are golf and food. It
has one of the country’s first golf courses, now restored and rated one of
the best in America by Zagat.
There’s also the typical array of resort activities, including
biking, tennis, a kids’ clubhouse, and–naturally for a resort originally
set up beside a mineral spring–a full-service spa. An indoor swimming
pool, built in 1905, is beautiful and warm. An outdoor swing, hung high
from a crooked tree branch on the front lawn, was quite romantic–when we
could get our kids off. Tours of the original buildings, built in 1806,
are interesting, if a bit long. Hiking offers one-to-four-mile wooded
trails past the original springs–more like trickles these
days.
Food abounds–from breakfast in the Crystal Room to a daily dose
of s’mores around the outdoor fire pit to traditional afternoon tea in the
Pink Room.
The best part of our trip was dining in the resort’s 1796 Room
restaurant. The food was delicious, the service impeccable. The
fennel-crusted sea bass was one of the most succulent I’ve tasted, and I’m
a picky eater. My red-blooded husband was equally happy with his veal
chop.
For an unusual pleasure, do the driving tour of covered bridges
from the 1880s. A dozen or more are strewn throughout Bedford County,
often on roads to nowhere, having been moved from their original
locations. There’s even Gravity Hill–where your car appears to roll
uphill, say the guidebooks. We were skeptical, but I can report that it’s
true.
After a weekend of good food, what could be more perfect than
rolling home uphill?
Omni Bedford Springs Resort, Bedford, Pa.;
814-623-8100. Rooms from $149 a
night; golf packages from $499 a night.
This article appears in the April 2012 issue of The Washingtonian.
