In 1849 John Hampden Randolph, an extremely prosperous sugar planter, commissioned one of the largest and finest homes in the South to be built. Nottoway is an American Castle, a gem of Italianate and Greek revival style, the epitome of luxury and magnificence. Boasting sixty-four rooms - 53,000 square feet - Nottoway brought innovative and unique features to the South. Indoor plumbing, gas lighting and coal fireplaces marked the historical importance of this home.

Nottoway was completed ten years later to accommodate Mr. Randolph's eleven children and to afford all the wants and needs of a 7,000 acre sugar plantation. Saved from total destruction during the Civil War by a Northern gunboat officer, a former guest of the Randolphs, the fabled home has withstood the test of time. The intricate lacy plaster friezework, hand-painted Dresden porcelain doorknobs, hand-carved marble mantels, Corinthian columns and a sixty-five foot Grand White Ballroom are all part of this monument to a bygone era.

The six guestrooms in the mansion are furnished accordingly, with rosewood and mahogany four-posters and half-testers. The scale of the four rooms in the overseer's cottage is more moderate, but even here the rooms are furnished with antique brass and rosewood beds.

Even food at Nottoway comes on a grand scale. Guests have a wake-up call in the morning that includes sweet potato muffins, coffee and juice. Later, a full plantation breakfast is served on the veranda.

Elegant dinners are served in the restaurant at Randolph Hall. You might want to sample chef Johnny's special "Jambalaya" or numerous other innovative creations!

Service at the Nottoway is impeccable and you will most certainly find the entire experience a very special occasion.