Gari Melchers Home and Studio — Attraction in Virginia

3/22-I’ve toured the home, the studio, and have been to events in the pavilion. All have been wonderful, but today I showed up for the Guided Woodland Hike. It is free and led by volunteer Virginia Master Naturalists and is held every last Sunday of the month. Check their website for confirmation. We had three volunteers that led a group of about 10 participants along the wooded trails. They filled us in on some history of the property, of which they were very knowledgeable, and pointed out plants, flowers and trees, animal tracks, the gravesites, pump house, natural springs and the water system designed for the home. They discussed native and invasive species as well as the transition of the forest as it moves from pines and cedars to mature hardwoods. The river is a beautiful part of the hike with a site of one of Gari Melcher’s paintings. This time of year is great for sightings of Bald Eagles, Hawks and Osprey. Plenty of wildflowers in the woods and manicured gardens by the house. The gift shop is...

I wish I had something better to say, the property is very beautiful and the lady inside was helpful! We told her we just wanted to walk around the grounds, snap a few pics and she was fine with that as it was a Wednesday at 1pm we were the only ones there. All was well until the grounds woman (who was very rude and snarky) walked up to us and told us if we wanted to take pictures even with our iPhones we had to pay a $50 photography fee (assuming we did not pay). I even explained to her that the lady inside said it was okay and she exclaims “okay to walk the ground or ok to take pictures” as I responded “both”.Although I do understand the rules, I would have understood more if it was busy/prom season or if we were in the way. After my experience today I understand why it...

The staff was the worst. Lady at the front desk was nice, it’s the others that are the problem. A sibling of mine was getting married and having a photo shoot after trying over and over to get details about whether there was some kind of procedure for getting married. Kept getting referred to other irrelevant people until the manager gave the ok over an email that said they could do it for free. Right before the wedding they appeared and made a big stink about not being contacted/procedures not being followed, wanted nothing to do with the email from the manager we offered. Kept insisting we owed them money and that we shouldn’t start the marriage “with a lie”.

The grounds were nice and well cared for. Most of the staff...