In the Press
Press coverage for our Chincoteague, Virginia hotel
“The Refuge Motor Inn … offers tasteful rooms with porches overlooking a small herd of the storied shaggy Chincoteague ponies that have roamed this corner of the Atlantic shore for more than three centuries.”
The New York Times — April 15, 1984
Featured Coverage
Condé Nast Traveler
from “These East Coast Beach Towns Are Even Better in the Fall” — published August 15, 2025.
Garden & Gun
from “Six Reasons Chincoteague Island Might Be Your New Favorite Getaway” — February 2024
As Seen In
National Travel & Lifestyle Press
You Can See Virginia’s Wild Ponies Swim From Island To Island During This 100-Year-Old Event — Southern Living, 2025 (updated 2026)
Cynthia Leonard is quoted throughout on the centennial Pony Swim. Southern Living has her likening the swim to Christmas morning, and describes how she and her mother watched from the fire company press barge while her father captained one of the boats following the herd across the channel.
A Century On, the Chincoteague Pony Swim Still Sparks Unbridled Joy — Garden & Gun, by Susan Orlean, July 2025
Orlean’s account of the centennial Pony Swim opens with Hunter Leonard’s son Brooks, not yet three, hollering from the saddle the way the grown cowboys do. The story is about the ponies and the families who ride them rather than the Inn itself, and four generations of Leonards appear in it.
The Best Things to Do in Assateague and Chincoteague, Virginia — Washingtonian, May 2023
"Refuge Inn, which also has a pool, offers a variety of room options as well as a corral with ponies."
Four more national features
This Delmarva Road Trip Connects 3 States, Wild Beaches, and Overlooked Coastal Towns — Yahoo Creators, July 2026
"Stay: Sea Shell Motel, Refuge Inn, or Comfort Suites."
Lakes vs. Beaches: Places near DC Where You Can Find Both — Washingtonian, June 2022
"For a less rustic experience, Refuge Inn, a nearby hotel with a pool, is home to several…"
The Foodie Travel Guide to Chincoteague: Where to Eat, Drink, and Stay — Washingtonian, May 2022
Featured with photography of the Inn in Washingtonian's guide to eating, drinking, and staying on Chincoteague.
Finding Winter's Refuge on Chincoteague — Baltimore Sun, January 2014
"The Refuge Inn, a locally owned hotel, offers a suite for $149 per night in the winter. The room includes a small wet bar/kitchen..."
Best-Of Lists
Top 200 Best Hotels for Sleep in the U.S. — Sleep Junkie, July 2025
The Refuge Inn placed 23rd in the country and second in Virginia, in a ranking built from sleep-related mentions in Tripadvisor reviews. We finished ahead of many better-known luxury properties, including Wynn Las Vegas, The Broadmoor, the Ritz-Carlton at Lake Tahoe, the Grand Hyatt Kauai, the Four Seasons in St. Louis and the Hotel Hershey.
11 Ideal Virginia Destinations for a 3-Day Weekend in 2026 — World Atlas, August 2026
"A long weekend stay at The Refuge Inn puts you next to a small herd of resident ponies grazing in the pasture."
4 Beautiful U.S. Barrier Islands You Don’t Need a Boat to Visit — Mental Floss, by Nitya Rao, July 2026
“The pine-shaded Refuge Inn overlooks the Assateague Channel and offers views of the iconic red-and-white lighthouse…”
7 Gorgeous East Coast Beach Towns That Are Even Better in the Fall — AFAR, September 2024
"Refuge Inn has 70 rooms and suites and includes a beach reads lending library. Each of its rooms has a private patio or balcony…"
The Best Destinations to Visit in 2025, According to Experts — The Everygirl, December 2024
"Where to stay: Refuge Inn (from $105 a night)."
Seven more best-of lists
The Best Small Towns on the Atlantic Coast for a Weekend Retreat — World Atlas, April 2026
"The Refuge Inn is the go-to family-owned stay."
7 Amazing Weekend Getaways in Virginia for 2026 — World Atlas, January 2026
"The family-owned Refuge Inn provides a warm welcome and a lovely assortment of cozy rooms and suites."
11 Serene Atlantic Coast Towns for a Weekend Retreat — World Atlas, June 2026
"Or, you can book a stay at the Refuge Inn, where the owners keep a few horses onsite for guests to enjoy."
8 of the Most Captivating Small Towns in Chesapeake Bay — World Atlas, August 2025
"Once you're ready to call it a night, Refuge Inn, a family-run boutique hotel, will make you feel right at home."
11 Quintessential Virginia Towns — World Atlas, January 2025
"Once you're done roaming around the islands, take refuge at the aptly named Refuge Inn."
7 Picturesque Towns in Atlantic Coast for a Weekend Retreat in 2024 — World Atlas, September 2024
"Chincoteague's accommodations range from hotels such as the Refuge Inn and the Waterside Inn to bed-and-breakfasts and Airbnbs."
The Most Charming Small Towns in Each U.S. State — AFAR, January 2024
"Stay here: The family-owned Refuge Inn has 70 rooms and suites, a pool, hibachi grills, and a beach reads lending library…"
Regional & Local Press
Boutique Hotels and More on the Shore — Coastal Virginia Magazine, September 2024
"This great, family-friendly boutique hotel sits less than a mile from the [wildlife refuge]…"
Szymanski: A Chance Meeting on a Rainy Weekend Helps a Father and Son Make a Memory — Carroll County Times, May 2018
"We checked into our room at the Refuge Inn and headed straight to the indoor pool. This pool is going to be a lifesaver, I thought…"
Rocket Launches Are Good for Business — 13News Now (WVEC), November 2018
"'We get a ton of business when a rocket is set to launch,' said Cynthia Wilder, marketing manager for Refuge Inn in Chincoteague."
Chincoteague Island Coverage
The South's Best 2024 — Chincoteague named Best Small Town in Virginia — Southern Living, April 2024
Saltwater Cowboys — Chesapeake Bay Magazine, by Marty LeGrand, July 2022
A long profile of the Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Company and the mounted brigade that cares for the herd, built around Denise Bowden and Hunter Leonard. Hunter on the swim: “We start hollering and cracking our whips. It’s just pure joy.” The piece notes in passing that his grandfather Donald “opened a Chincoteague landmark, the Refuge Inn.”
Beloved Chincoteague ponies’ mythical origins may be real — National Geographic, by Jack Tamisiea, July 2022
A fossilized horse tooth found in Haiti gave new weight to the Spanish shipwreck story the island has told for generations. The article also puts the Virginia herd at about 150 animals, the number the fire company’s grazing permit allows.
Ponies of Childhood’s Wonder — The New York Times, by Diane Ackerman, June 24, 1984
The poet and naturalist Diane Ackerman on Pony Penning, written the year her collection Lady Faustus appeared. It opens: “Only Fellini is missing from this scene of sun-drenched improbability, in which circus-colored horses and bearded white egrets blur into the stately disorder we call ‘wild.’” She is as good on the island as on the ponies: “If your father was born on Chincoteague, you are indelibly an islander.”
Three more on the island
Chincoteague’s Island Creamery Named America’s Best Ice Cream Shop — Chesapeake Bay Magazine, July 2023
Island Creamery, serving the island since 1975, was voted the best ice cream shop in America by USA Today readers. Owner Kelly Conklin on what the shop has become: “We became a part of the vacation experience.”
The True Story of Misty of Chincoteague, the Pony Who Stared Down a Devastating Nor’Easter — Smithsonian Magazine, by Eliza McGraw, October 2018
How Misty rode out the Ash Wednesday storm of 1962 in the Beebe family kitchen, and how a re-release of her film raised the money to rebuild a herd that had lost 145 ponies. It also confirms that Marguerite Henry returned Misty to the island in 1957, the year Don and Martha Leonard drove to Illinois to bring her home.
Inside the Famous Chincoteague Pony Swim — National Geographic, by Kristin Hugo, August 2016
A reporter’s account of the 91st swim, from the corral to the auction. It also sets out the criticism the roundup attracts, and the fire company’s answer: every pony is examined by a veterinarian beforehand, foals too young to swim are trucked across instead, and the crossing itself lasts about five minutes.
From the Archive
Chincoteague Roundup — Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom, NBC
Marlin Perkins and Jim Fowler rode the July roundup for NBC’s wildlife series, filming the drive, the swim and the auction. Don Leonard — then the Fire Company’s pony committee chairman, later the founder of this inn — appears on camera as roundup foreman, opening the sale. The episode aired on December 4, 1966.
Forget About the Ponies — The Washington Post, July 1980
“For lodging, we like the Refuge Motor Inn ($34 double in season), on Maddox overlooking the refuge. It’s a rustic retreat of weathered wood, where the snack machine sells food for the bird feeders found on each balcony. The pony family that lives next door will eat right out of your hand.” The Post also noted that ocean fishing charters could be arranged through the front desk — and, listing the alternatives, began: “If the Refuge is booked…”
Assateague: The Silence of the Dunes in a Place Away — The New York Times, by David Shribman, April 15, 1984
One of sixteen Times correspondents writing up their own regions for a Special Spring Survey. Shribman took Assateague, reached through Chincoteague, which he calls “far the more pleasant” of the island’s two approaches. On the Inn: “The Refuge Motor Inn (804-336-5511; double rooms at $44.72 in the spring months), on the beach road, offers tasteful rooms with porches overlooking a small herd of the storied shaggy Chincoteague ponies that have roamed this corner of the Atlantic shore for more than three centuries.” Shribman won the 1995 Pulitzer Prize for beat reporting, at the Boston Globe, and later edited the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Community Recognition
Independent Lodging Leader of the Year — Association of Lodging Professionals, March 2026
Cynthia Leonard was named the association’s 2026 Independent Lodging Leader of the Year at its awards ceremony in Cleveland. From the announcement: “Cynthia’s leadership has played a key role in strengthening operations, enhancing the guest experience, and supporting the continued success of Refuge Inn.” ALP lists past recipients on its awards page.
Virginia General Assembly, House Joint Resolution 590 — celebrating the life of Refuge Inn founder Donald J. Leonard. Agreed to by the House of Delegates on January 14, 2011 and by the Senate on January 20, 2011. The Commonwealth’s resolution calls him “a visionary man and practical entrepreneur” and credits his commitment to Chincoteague with helping the town “become a popular destination for visitors who wish to enjoy unspoiled scenery and island charm.” January 2011
Chincoteague Chamber of Commerce, Leonard “Buddy” Burton Outstanding Business Person — awarded to Refuge Inn founder Donald Leonard. Thirty years later the Chamber named his daughter Donna its John White Shields Outstanding Citizen. 1995
Three more recent honors
Chincoteague Chamber of Commerce, Emerging Business — Cowboy Cruise Company, run by Don Leonard’s grandsons Hunter and Ayden. 2025
Chincoteague Chamber of Commerce Beacon Award — recognized for 52 years in business alongside Island Creamery and Don's Seafood Restaurant. June 2025
Virginia Tourism Corporation marketing leverage grant — $4,760 awarded for destination promotion. June 2025
Writing About Chincoteague?
If you're a journalist, editor, or travel writer working on a story about Chincoteague Island, Assateague, or the Eastern Shore, we're happy to help with information, photography, or a place to stay while you're here.
Refuge Inn · 7058 Maddox Blvd, Chincoteague Island, VA 23336 · (757) 336-5511
Family-owned and operated since 1973.
Curious about the family behind the Inn? Read Our Family Legacy — three generations on Chincoteague Island.