CLIFTON FORGE, Va. – It’s time for tea. A Clifton Forge bed and breakfast was spotlighted in a national publication, Tea Time Magazine.
The owner said her goal is to take you back to the ways of old. Perched at the top of McCormick Avenue in Clifton Forge is the Hillcrest Mansion, a century-old mansion, waiting for you to step back in time. The view from the porch is enough to sell just about anyone on a visit, but inside you’ll find a bed and breakfast ready to serve up a slow-paced life.
“The house was built in 1910, and I want people to feel the nostalgic feeling of what people used to do,” said Hillcrest Mansion owner Martha Crawford.
Crawford bought Hillcrest almost 10 years ago after her husband found it in an article on Bargain Homes.
“I said, ‘Ohhh I love it.’ I could not get this house out of my head for two nights straight, and I was arranging the furniture as if I was living here,” she said.
Despite living in Colorado at the time, they decided to buy.
“One thing lead to another and 60 days later we had moved in sight unseen.”
Since then, this one-time personal chef turned Hillcrest into a charming place to stay and eat.
“In the morning, what makes us a little more unique is we do a three to five-course, candlelight silver service breakfast, and we have a butler and our server and they’re dressed in a black bow tie and white glove. It’s all candlelight during the day, it’s all awesome.”
It’s this kind of service that has landed Hillcrest in the pages of Tea Time Magazine.
“I was totally shocked because I thought, ‘Wow they’ve chosen us here in little Clifton Forge.’ I was honored. It is a big deal, and it’s international, it’s not just national.”
Crawford has welcomed people from 50 different countries into this inn, treating each of them with small-town hospitality.
“I want people to feel welcomed. I want people to feel loved and I want them to step back in time. I want them to slow down.”
With incredible garden and mountain views, there’s no doubt guests will stop to take it all in. To help folks slow down, Hillcrest doesn’t display TVs in rooms.