The Omni Homestead Resort

The highlight of our stay at the Homestead was the Cascades Gorge tour with Brian as our master naturalist tour guide. I learned so much about the local plants, pointing out some rare ones I've never seen before the history of the gorge and Appalachian mountains, and he was just an amazing tour guide making the whole hike fun and informational. If you're looking for an activity to do, this hike was worth every penny! You'll see a ton of birds, flowers, scenery, waterfalls, and hear a ton of fun facts and a sprinkling of dad jokes to keep you laughing and enjoying nature.

Loved our time at The Homestead. It’s been years since we got away from the kids since they are very young, but while grandparents held the for we go get away for a magical getaway and the Homestead made our trip truly memorable.

The location is picturesque. The service was stellar in every way. Our favorite dinner was at Audubon. What a stunning room! Lovely piano played, service again superior, food was gorgeous, and so flavorful. The amuse bouche was a delight. The indoor pool is a must and the outdoor pool/hot tub were delightful. Enjoyed the yellow hiking trail.

There is a lot to love about the Omni Homestead, but also some things that are important to take note of before you go. I'll start out by what was wonderful - the staff. Everyone at this property is amazingly kind and knowledgable about the resort and its history. We took a history tour with a gentleman who was like a walking encyclopedia of the Homestead and it was the highlight of our entire trip. He knew so many fun facts and made the entire tour (about 1 hour) so much fun. The property itself is huge and walking around it is very relaxing. They also offer a birthday celebration each day at 2:50 to celebrate America's 250th, which includes cake, tea, and lemonade, and frequent trips out to the warm springs which are worth doing! Just note that they are not free and require an advanced reservation. We also loved the evening movie experience and seeing all the beautiful architecture at every turn. Now I'll share some things that really need work to take this to a 5-star experience. The Old Course is beautiful, but there are no concessions available (not throughout the course, or even at the end) and also no warning of this, so 18 holes in 90-degree heat becomes a bit of an Olympic experience with no access to water, let alone anything else. We were there before they opened their main pool so we ventured to the spa pool, where we grabbed two chairs (it was empty) and ordered food. No one stopped us or said anything until we had already settled in and they told us it was $75 per person. At that point we were already sitting down so we were paying regardless, but it seems really weird to not have any signage saying that it is paid only, especially when that was the only pool open. Service at restaurants is painfully slow, the rooms are pretty dated (ours had a ton of caked-on dust in the bathroom air vent), and the elevators in our wing (South) weren't working properly. Again, none of it was horrible, just not what I'd consider 5 stars.

We loved our stay. The staff did everything to make my birthday celebration feel special. I was even serenaded by Kenroy in the Audubon dining room. The food was fantastic and we loved all the games available. The Warm Springs hot springs were a highlight but we would have loved access without paying a spa fee to the Homestead hot spring. Thank you for a fabulous stay!