Nemacolin has upped the ante on mountain luxe in Pennsylvania’s Laurel Highlands.
The resort’s springtime programs begin in March and roll through Memorial Day.
After more than a year of hunkering down, masking up and generally hoping against hope we’ll emerge from all of this stronger, we’ve likely forgotten one crucial human trait: how to play. Sure, we’ve watched professional athletes do their thing, and we’ve likely shuffled more poker cards and rolled more game-board dice than we’ve done in the past two decades, but we have, collectively, not let loose with any level of abandon. Nemacolin, recipient of numerous Forbes Travel Guide Awards, has playtime in its property DNA—especially this spring.
Guests use rakes and stones to create a peaceful landscape and increase mindfulness and meditation at Nemacolin’s Japanese Zen garden
The 2,200-acre resort in the Laurel Highlands (roughly four hours from downtown DC) holds two award-winning Pete Dye-designed golf courses. Mystic Rock is a PGA Tour-tested, par-72 course with a rating of 77 and slope of 149 from the tee—one of the highest ratings in the country. The perfect companion course, Shepherd’s Rock, which opened several years ago, measures 7,151 yards and boasts a USGA slope rating of 74.7 to 138 from the championship tees. Either before or after rounds on these exceptional courses, consider a session at the resort’s Golf Academy, where you’ll find talented instructors and cutting-edge tech to improve time spent on the links. Golf instruction, privately or in groups, is offered as half days and from one to three days—and corporate groups can book lessons for team-building experiences.
Beginning in March and rolling through the mountain summer, the resort offers horseback riding, Jeep off-roading, zip lining, fly-fishing, indoor ax throwing (not only downtown hipsters are enjoying this pastime) and even the adrenaline rush of ropes courses. For the artistically inclined, Nemacolin also showcases hundreds of pieces of fine art and sculpture—part of the Hardy Family Art Collection—throughout the resort; guests may take art classes and guided tours of the collection.
The resort’s 2,200 acres support a range of outdoor activities, including fly-fishing.
For recovery, head to the Woodlands Spa and Holistic Healing Center, featuring 40 rooms for rejuvenating treatments, including massages, body scrubs, wraps and facials. Guests also can book a weekend beauty and wellness retreat, which includes yoga workshops and the spring equinox yoga flow. For Mother’s Day weekend, the spa offers a chocolate massage to complement its full-service salon, sauna and steam room. The staff at the state-of-the-art Healing Center is big on bespoke treatments and creating a plan for each guest. The impressive lineup of options includes acupuncture, float therapy, infrared sauna, cryotherapy and NovoThor PBM—light therapy to help the body heal. Accommodations at Nemacolin fit every weekend whim, with rooms and suites at The Chateau and Falling Rock. Guests who want even more privacy—or who want to play as part of a larger group—can book stays in The Homes and The Estates. Rooms and suites, price upon request, 1001 Lafayette Drive, Farmington, Pa., 866.344.6957, nemacolin.com
Photography by: Jordan Millington
