Historic Hotels of America has released its 2022 list of the Top 25 Historic Hotels of America with the Most Magnificent Gardens, and several are an easy drive from D.C.
The Inn at Perry Cabin in St. Michaels, Maryland, makes the list. It’s an inn on 26 acres on the Chesapeake Bay and dates back to 1816t. Historic Hotels of America said the Inn at Perry Cabin, which was inducted into Historic Hotels of America in 2018, has grounds and gardens designed by renowned architects of OEHME, VAN SWEDEN, that are tended year-round by a full-time staff of gardeners. Its Linden Lane has rows of linden trees, pines, crape myrtles, boxwoods and roses along the inn’s brick entryway. In the winter, the lane is illuminated with holiday lights.
The Inn at Perry Cabin’s orchards and cutting gardens supply the on-site restaurant and pub, and the spa uses botanical treatments from the gardens. Gardens also line the bocce and croquet courts. The Eastern Shore inn offers guided garden tours.
Antrim 1844, in Taneytown Maryland, makes the list. The Carroll County resort, which dates to 1844, includes a formal English tea rose garden with more than 50 varieties of English roses and spritzing bronze fountains. The 24-acre estate has a wide variety of boughs and bloom gardens. The main mansion was constructed by Maj. Andrew G. Ege, who oversaw the landscaping and gardens that are laid out into an intricate series of geometric shapes. More than 5,000 annuals and 2,000 perennials bloom at Antrim 1844 annually, and the gardens are popular settings for weddings and fundraising events.
Airlie, in Warrenton, Virginia, was established in 1899. Historic Hotels of America said its formal gardens are over 120 years old and have remained unchanged since their original plantings. Airlie was inducted into Historic Hotels of America in 2015. Airlie also has a butterfly garden with 46 varieties of butterfly-attracting plants. Airlie hosts an annual butterfly count with the North American Butterfly Association. Airlie also has a four-acre organic garden which produces vegetables and herbs for the hotel’s kitchens.
Other hotels on the list that are not far from D.C. include the Inn at Montchanin Village near Wilmington, Delaware, and the Hotel Hershey in Pennsylvania.
Historic Hotels of America is part of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Its 2022 list of the Top 25 Historic Hotels of America with the Most Magnificent Gardens is posted online.
