HOW HAS COVID-19 IMPACTED THIS PROJECT?
How has COVID-19 impacted our project?
The hospitality industry was devastated by the economic standstill caused by the COVID health pandemic. Our funding was negatively impacted and delayed our previous opening date. However, as we shared in our recent blogs, we now have amazing partners and a clear path to success. We believe that our location will enable people to have healthy and fulfilling retreats for decades to come. This can serve as an antidote during the “new normal” as we get through this COVID crisis and deal with future social challenges.
The resort will operate year-round and we plan to open in 2027. We have partnered with a hospitality company who will manage and operate the guest experience, marketing, and maintenance activities. We have an amazing ownership group who will control and manage the resorts strategic direction.
The resort will create over 250 full and part-time jobs. We plan to create economically sustainable career paths where individuals can align with their innate talents and calling.
The types of roles will include spa and healing professionals, activity guides/instructors, guest services, maintenance/housekeeping, food service, marketing, management and forestry, just to name a few.
We will start HR planning in 2026 and will aggressively start hiring in early 2027 . We will keep you informed as we progress through the hiring process.
Guests will be regular people who love nature and are interested in growth and personal development. We will not serve guests that have serious medical, mental or addiction issues needing professional intervention. We will have a 3-night minimum and guests will typically stay 4-5 nights.
Mike Marburg is the founder and creative vision behind the project. He lives in Aldie, VA with Jennifer and three children. He is a former investor and grew up in Maryland. He plans to live in the area when the resort opens. His primary partner is Omani and Jeannie Carson, an avid hunter, farmer, and entrepreneur described more in this blog.
There are other aligned partners from Virginia and various parts of the country who are part of the ownership team. The ownership team is committed to wellness, regenerative development, and preserving the regions natural heritage.
On the North side of the property, we are planning a campus area that will include an arrival space, a spa, a food and beverage building, a meeting facility, and a fitness/yoga building -- as depicted on the home page. All buildings will be placed within the forest and cannot be seen from the road.
A short walk from the campus are the guest cabins on a separate ridge lines. There will be 6 modern cabins, each with roughly 16 guest bedrooms and private bathrooms. We will also have 4 treehouses tucked into the side of a third ridge.
We will also have an area for a private group to stay on the South side of the property, along with a vast array of trails and outdoor destinations (e.g., hammocks, ropes course, meditation platform, etc.).
We are focused on minimizing noise and light pollution. Outside of a few community events per year, we will not host events involving non-guests like festivals and concerts. There will be no outdoor speakers or bright lighting on the campus affecting the beautiful Star Tannery sky.
We will have a neighborhood membership program giving access to certain amenities like trails, dining and meeting space as well as services like massage and acupuncture.
This project will also diversify the tax base away from property tax revenue by adding sales and occupancy tax dollars from tourists without further burdening the education system.
Finally, in addition to creating over 250 full and part-time jobs, we will co-promote other local tourist attractions. See the Community tab for more information.
Protecting the current Shenandoah way of life is very important to us. We will take many steps to preserve this, like limiting commercial traffic through consolidation efforts and requiring that guests stay on-site to restrict car traffic.
One of our major activities is silence, something we will practice multiple times every day and in many different types of activities, so maintaining a peaceful environment is in our best interest as well.
No. We support the hunting and fishing heritage of the surrounding lands and will provide a buffer on our property to ensure safety. We plan on offering wilderness survival skills and bow training workshops on the site to reflect this heritage.
No! Mother Nature is the only “guru” for our retreat, and all of our activities are based on things that are obviously healthy (e.g., eating well, hiking, yoga, swimming, etc) or areas that have recently been proven by western science as being very helpful for leading a healthy and balanced life (e.g., yoga, meditation, myofascial release massage, breathwork, etc). The resort has no religious affiliation.
Regardless of Mike Marburg's ongoing involvement, the special use permit limits any future owners from meaningfully changing the wellness and nature resort concept. It also limits growth and creates boundaries around what can and cannot happen in the future, regardless of new ownership or management.
If you are interested in working at the resort either during construction or afterwards, please feel free to send Greg McCarley an email with your contact information and background. We will not open until 2027, so our hiring process does not start in earnest until early that year. Thank you for your patience!