New general manager transforming Inn at Little Washington into resort spa

Ed Gannon, The Inn at Little Washington’s new general manager, is taking on the storied enterprise’s most ambitious reinvention to date: transforming a restaurant and inn into a small resort that promises visitors not just rest, but restoration.

The plans the Inn unveiled last May call for three overlapping expansions: more guests, more that they can do and more days they’ll spend in Little Washington. They will eat well and sleep deeply, but also visit treatment rooms in a fully-equipped spa on Gay Street, absorb centuries of wine culture in a cellar and tasting room, swim in the pool, stroll along meticulously landscaped paths and shop in the Inn’s shops.  

Gannon, 58, knows all about wine and wellness, and the ways well-heeled travelers tend to use their leisure time. From 2021 till his move to The Inn at Little Washington, he’s been the general manager of Auberge Resorts’ newly opened Stanly Ranch, a 700-acre Napa Valley resort described by Forbes Magazine as a “next-generation well-being destination.” 

Patrick O’Connell, the Inn’s proprietor chef, pored over stacks of candidate credentials from around the world after his former general manager Robert Fasce departed in the spring to become chief operating officer at the Rolling Rock Club in Pennsylvania. O’Connell said he chose Gannon because “he gained extensive knowledge in creating and managing destination spas and new construction projects” — which precisely describes what the inn currently needs its new manager to do. 

The Inn’s expansion agenda is daunting: a pool, treatment rooms, a wine cellar, 10 new guest rooms, a reception hall and courtyard. An existing building will get moved to a new location. Regulatory hurdles, public hearings, supply-chain challenges, labor availability will compete for the general manager’s attention. Meanwhile, the meals that earned the inn its three Michelin stars must continue to flow from kitchen to table, and staff must be recruited, trained and encouraged to embrace the inn’s distinct ethos, mixing perfectionism with a touch of whimsy. 

“I’ll be leaning into the experience of running spas,” Gannon said. Before overseeing the completion and opening of Stanly Ranch, he managed Four Seasons’ resorts in Jackson Hole, Wyo., and the Caribbean island of Nevis, and worked in senior management at Rosewood Hotels.

Auberge Resorts employs language that resonates with phrases O’Connell uses to explain the enterprise he created from a gas station and a mix of mostly neglected buildings in Little Washington. More than meals and rooms, the Inn aims to offer experiences people can’t forget, while Auberge Resorts promises “curated experiences” in 31 hotels and spas across the United States, Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean and Europe. 

Auberge doesn’t impose a brand on the hotels and spas it manages, but it infuses a shared philosophy, with each resort offering a special geography and a distinct personality that fits  the locale. The Auberge website splashes up images of both adventurous recreation and deep serenity at its various locations. The formula seems to be working. Auberge has five new resorts on the way — in Italy, South Carolina, San Francisco, Florida and Texas. 

Making the Inn a “well-being designation” like the ones in the Auberge empire will be Gannon’s new focus, though the Little Washington campus is far smaller than the typical Auberge resort, with more sedate forms of recreation than destinations bordering oceans or ski slopes.   

Inn inspired him 30 years ago

Gannon absorbed something of the inn’s personality at the start of his long career in hospitality. Three decades back, starting work as an executive chef in Kennebunkport, Maine, Gannon took on a “stage,” (pronounced as a French word), or an immersion learning exercise, at The Inn at Little Washington. The experience was formative. 

“This was an inspiration for my whole career,” Gannon said. He explained that most large hospitality businesses aim to be cost effective in delivering good service, while at the inn, cost effectiveness wasn’t mentioned. The goal of “creating an excellent experience” was the mantra.  

During his “stage,” Gannon worked with various teams in the kitchen and came to understand the workflow and the understanding that meals were part nourishment, part art. He remembered training sessions where aspiring waitstaff parried questions about everything from sauces to wall hangings. Answers needed to be graceful and accurate.  

O’Connell and Gannon probably crossed paths in the intervening years, but neither remembers the specifics of where. However, phone contacts began last June and continued through July. A subsequent visit to Little Washington confirmed Gannon’s keen interest in the job, and after he returned to California, the Inn put together the terms of an offer. A privately-held enterprise, the Inn never shares financial details about income, expenses, debt and executive contracts.

Recognizing that the Inn is Rappahannock County’s largest private enterprise, and is knit into the life of a town that shares its Little Washington identity, Gannon is making the rounds to meet neighbors and influencers, including the rector of Trinity Episcopal Church, Elizabeth Keeler. (The church is essentially surrounded by Inn properties, with a shared parking lot, and has historically enjoyed friendly relations with the enterprise.)

Gannon and his wife, Michelle, looked for a home in Washington, but because offerings in the hamlet were limited, they bought a house in Warrenton. 

Regulatory hurdles 

Lessons in local geography and sociology will unfold as Gannon steers the Inn through a  succession of regulatory hurdles associated with the planned expansion. The Inn’s plan has been deemed consistent with the town’s Comprehensive Plan, and it falls within the existing zoning framework. Washington’s Architectural Review Board has agreed that the designs revealed last May are harmonious with the town’s present architecture and character. But the zoning ordinance requires a fully detailed site plan, addressing all aspects of site development. This is still in the works. 

An array of outside agencies will review the plan: Rappahannock County authorities for building, fire and rescue, erosion and settlement control; the Virginia Department of Health, responsible for sewer and water features; the Virginia Department of Historic Resources; the Virginia Department of Transportation, which will scrutinize drainage issues; and the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, which will study provisions for stormwater. 

The town will review any easements, utility details and traffic impact. Citizens will be concerned about disruption and traffic during the construction phase, and a host of other details, including the risk that additional lighting will compromise the area’s status as one of Virginia’s prized dark-sky environments.  

Building the new identity as a “well-being destination,” while significant, doesn’t represent  a massive enlargement. The Inn’s footprint remains unchanged under the plan, and Gannon points out that the 10 new rooms will bring about 20 new people to Washington at any one time.

 “It’s an incremental lift that hopefully all will feel,” he said, pointing to more visitors to local galleries, shops and eateries, more tax revenue for the town, and to a lesser degree the county, and more fees for Washington’s costly water and sewer system. A year from now, he added, “I’d like to be well settled into my role and a contributing member of the community.”

Foothills Forum is an independent, community-supported nonprofit tackling the need for in-depth research and reporting on Rappahannock County issues.

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