Shepherd’s Run

The Staff

The location was great near alot of fine restaurants and shops

We had my son's wedding at Shepherd's Run and our entire family on both sides stayed for the weekend. I can't say enough about how wonderful the staff was, how beautiful the garden for the ceremony and reception room were, how great the SR vendor recommendations turned out. Everything was amazing! I highly recommend!!!

They do 3 weddings a day here, open to the public, spa & pool that the public use with a reservation, newly planted vineyard with wine tasting (coming soon?), a bar with light tappas, communal dinners from time to time. Lots of revenue streams coexisting at the same time. If you have your wedding here, you need to know that you will not have the place to yourself. Make sure you lock your rooms because the public wanders about.
ROOMS: The rooms are newly renovated. They are attractive. We were told that room service is not provided unless you ask for something specific. If you're here on vacation going out and about during the day, that's probably not an issue. If you're here as a wedding party getting ready on site you might want to consider asking for more towels and trash being emptied ahead of time. No fridges in the room.
LOCATION: The property is attractive and the layout is quirky what with all the roles it has played in its history and the plans for the future. Walled garden is gorgeous. When there is a wedding inside or outside in the tent, there is a lot of noise that travels to guest rooms so don't plan on going to bed before 10:30pm. Ear plugs and sound machine help.
SERVICE: The concensus of people I talked to in my group, people I know who have had used the venue in the past, and those from the public, is that customer service would be improved if management had a more friendly hospitality-first approach. Don't get me wrong, things get done but the vibe is not friendly and approachable. The public facing management came across as very serious, intense and off putting. Again, this was voiced by many people. The worker bees do a good job but there is not a sense of gracious hospitality from public facing upper management. This culture trickles down to the staff.
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Nice decor, newly renovated. No elevators. Lots of walking to get around. There are two disjointed wings so if you are in a group, you may be split up. Meeting in downstairs rooms with your group means sitting among the public.
Safety
Open to the public so don't leave your room or belongings as you would in any public hotel.
Walkability
You can walk to DMV and Judicial Building Complex and the private catholic school.
Food & drinks
There is a bar with small menu of tappas. The breakfast is modest but fabulous.
Noteworthy details
If you are staying overnight, you have to leave to get food which you can bring back on site but you cannot have it delivered to the front door. Have it delivered to adjacent judicial complex/ DMV to save time. When you drive in, you see the parking lot first. It may be confusing where to go to check in or where to drop off your belongings. The answer depends of which wing you are in. If you are in the wing near the tent and pool then park in the first lot you see. If you are in the wing of the manor, then continue past the parking lot to the main brick manor, into the circle driveway to drop off your stuff they go park, come back for your stuff to check in and then carry it upstairs (no elevators). No trolly to help bring stuff from parking lot. There is no clear place to check in like a front desk. You do that at the bar or online. This is adjacent to the water but the water is not part of the view due to trees in between.

Location was good.
Staff was friendly. Lobby was pleasant

Fantastic hidden gem! Stayed at the historical section and loved it!

It was beautiful grounds.

Good - breakfast had high quality pastry, fruit, yoghurt. Bed linens, room, bathroom. Location convenient but nowhere to walk to for dinner

Bad - lack of coffee making in the room, lack of signage makes it tough to navigate on arrival. No staff around to ask. Swimming pool says only open 10-4pm and need to book a lane…guess it’s something to do with not disturbing the spa guests. No restaurant

Ugly - noise in the room especially if close to staircase esp at breakfast or from the wine events 7pm onwards, heavy loud doors, bad acoustics, very loud wedding party early mornings - so may want to check if there is one when you are booking

2/5 given this place is for a fist full of dollars. My wife wanted a holiday inn and was proved right once again ;(

Shepherd’s Run has a great gym and pool area, and the rooms are fine but small. What surprised us is that it is essentially a wedding venue rather than a true hotel. Much of the property is devoted to wedding reception areas and a tent. We were told the nearby nature reserve was not accessible by foot and that it was filled with bugs. The winery is not yet open because the vines are so new, so they serve Long Island wines at reception. Our room had one tiny wastebasket next to the toilet, no bottled water, and we were told we could have maid service once during our four night stay. Our stay was fine, but it does feel like you’re in a conference center or wedding venue.

Very very nice

Great property either beautiful outdoor space . Nice pool, conveniently located . Great breakfast