In August 2013, Sheila Johnson, co-founder of Black Entertainment Television and the first African American woman billionaire, introduced Salamander Resort & Spa in Middleburg, Virginia, as the flagship of her new hospitality company, Salamander Hotels & Resorts. Named by Johnson in homage to the WWII code name of the property’s former owner, the five-star, 168-room escape has been a planner favorite ever since.