How does a resort in the middle of Virginia’s horse and wine country end up being called the Salamander? For owner Sheila Johnson, it’s a little bit of fate and serendipity. When the former co-founder of BET purchased a farm in Middleburg, Virginia, she learned that one of the property’s previous owners was WWII pilot and former Rhode Island governor Bruce Sundlun. He was given the code name “Salamander” after he was shot down over Nazi-occupied Belgium and managed to escape, and he gave that name to his farm. Johnson, who wrote about overcoming adversity in her memoir “Walk Through Fire,” identified with the salamander, which, in myth, can walk through fire and survive.
Johnson reinstated the Salamander Farm name and gave the same moniker to the hotel she opened in Middleburg in 2013, after purchasing the land from legendary Washington, D.C. diplomat and society doyenne Pamela Harriman. The hotel represents her third act. Johnson has been a professional violinist and became the first Black female billionaire after selling BET to Viacom. She owns a stake in three U.S. sports teams and has built an extensive hotel portfolio.
“The resort was inspired by the warmth and authenticity of Salamander Farm, my own home nearby, so the feeling has always been one of being welcomed rather than impressed,” says Johnson.
Guests arrive at the resort via a long, winding road lined with trees and flanked by pastures. Inside the hotel, the first glimpse is not a lobby but two inviting spaces: a gracious living room overlooking the fields, and a wood-paneled library. The requisite check-in desks are tucked off to the side.
Middleburg is home to the oldest continuously organized fox hunt in the United States, and equestrian life is at the heart of the hotel. The equestrian center is aimed at entry-level riders, but there’s plenty to do for non-riders as well, from archery to relaxing at the newly revamped Champions Pool.
Throughout the hotel, subtle equestrian details are woven into the design. “Everything you see and touch is derived from Ms. Johnson’s taste,” says the hotel’s managing director Scott Little. The carpet pattern includes interlocking horse bits, which also appear on the hem of the bed linens. Room numbers are displayed on plaques in the shape of riding helmets, and at the sprawling spa, the changing area takes its shape from historic octagonal barns.
Equally important to the design was restraint. “One of the most important decisions we made was not to over-design the property,” says Johnson. “There can be a temptation in luxury hospitality to fill every space with grand statements and elaborate details. We chose a different path. We wanted elegance to come from quality, craftsmanship, comfort, and a sense of authenticity.”
While Salamander may be in horse country, it is also just an hour outside of Washington, D.C., and there are visual nods to politics and power. A current photography exhibit, on loan from Ted Leonsis (a sports business partner of Johnson’s), features Harry Benson’s presidential portraits. The resort’s fine-dining venue, Harrimans, is named after Pamela Harriman. In her honor, staff uniforms are based on her hunting vest, incorporating the same collar and exact number of buttons.
The connection to history is also evident in the hotel’s art collection, which was personally selected by Johnson. A mural of a horse jumper in the Gold Cup restaurant was painted by a friend of Johnson’s who is also a server at the hotel. One piece that stood out was a collage of civil rights icon Ruby Bridges by Reggie “Art” Gillumo, who used fragments of African textiles, epoxy, and clothespins, along with pieces of the demolished Black Lives Matter plaza in D.C.
Whether it’s a major work of art or the shape of a room-number plaque, few details at Salamander feel accidental. Together, they reflect Johnson’s personal approach to hospitality.
“Luxury, to me, isn’t about extravagance,” says Johnson. “It’s about feeling cared for, inspired, and restored. If guests depart with wonderful memories, a sense of calm, and a desire to return, then we’ve succeeded.”
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