As we wrapped up our over-nighter to Lancaster last month, we had one more stop to make. We had the opportunity to check out a Lancaster attraction that offers the chance to really see how the Amish people live their daily lives.

The Amish Village is spread out over a lovely piece of farmland. The experience began inside the farmhouse as a tour guide introduced us to some of the basic Amish traditions and practices. We sat in a room set up for a church gathering and listened to various bits of information, including a brief overview of what a typical day of church is like for Amish.

From this room we worked our way through the rest of the farmhouse. Each room was decorated to resemble a typical Amish setting – including everyday artifacts – everything from a sewing machine to the Amish wardrobe. Our tour guide covered a variety of topics – from how to tell if an Amish man/woman is married to the reason that Amish do not have electricity or pictures in their homes.

After the guided farmhouse tour, guests are set loose to visit the rest of the property on their own, at their own pace. We wandered across the covered bridge and began to explore.

The Amish Village has several buildings that you can explore – including a one room schoolhouse and a blacksmith shop. There were so many different farm tools and buggies on display. The barn had some animals to say hi to and there was a neat water pump churning away outside the barn.

Lily Bean LOVED the Amish schoolhouse!

We had so much fun at The Amish Village! As you can see from the pictures, we had a beautiful, sunny summer day to visit this attraction. As half of the experience includes walking around outside, I would recommend saving this for a nice weather day during your visit to Lancaster.

Outside the farmhouse, you will also find the Smokehouse Market – which sells all sorts Amish-made treats (jams, apple butter, whoopie pie, etc). Biker Bob popped in there to pick up a birch beer before we headed back to our car.

You can find The Amish Village on Facebook as well.

Disclosure: We were provided with complimentary admission to The Amish Village in exchange for a candid review of our experience. All opinions are 100% our own.

Last month we had the opportunity to spend a night at this hotel and see for ourselves whether or not it was brag worthy. We go on so many road trips – usually with hours upon hours in the car. It’s always a nice change when you can trade the super long car ride for one that’s under two hours long… you arrive feeling fresh and ready to take in some sites.

We passed several notable Lancaster area attractions just minutes before pulling into the DoubleTree (Strasburg Railroad, Railroad Museum of PA and the Choo Choo Barn, to name a few!) After a smooth check-in experience, we were each handed a WARM and DELICIOUS cookie to enjoy!

Oh, deLISH!

Now, I want to make note of something that struck us as interesting… from the outside, the DoubleTree looks like your average hotel. Its grounds are well-kept, the exterior is in nice shape – but there is nothing earth-shattering about the overall appearance. Then you walk inside… to find a sweeping main lobby and lounge area. There is a full service restaurant and if you walk a little farther past the front desk you can look over a railing into the most lovely space down on the ground floor. When we arrived at the hotel, we noticed that the space below was set up for a wedding. I wish that I had been able to snag a better picture than with my cheesy cell phone camera – this area was GORGEOUS.

We proceeded to our room up on the top floor and found a clean, spacious room all nice and ready for us. We had two beds (seriously, don’t you just LOVE hotel rooms that have a gabillion pillows on each bed??), a sitting area, a desk and then the other usual amenities: television, bathroom, kitchenette (refrigerator, coffee maker) and plenty of plush towels.

Our hotel looked like it was pretty full during the weekend we visited – what with the wedding downstairs, prime Lancaster tourism season, etc. However it didn’t feel full. Our room was nice and quiet – which is saying a lot because sometimes it seems like no matter where we stay, we get parties of people Zumba-ing above us at 3 am. None of that this time – it was delightfully quiet.

The DoubleTree Resort in Lancaster offers a boatload of amenities including (but not limited to):

:: Restaurants (including room service)

:: Outdoor pool

:: Indoor pool and water playground

:: 24 hour fitness center

:: Complimentary 3 hour bus tour of Amish Country (look for our review of that tour in days to come!)

Our favorite amenity? I guess I should say Lily Bean’s favorite, though we certainly had a great time watching her… the indoor water playground! How amazing!

There is one other highlight that I am kicking myself for failing to photograph – but it was late at night and I was beat. We rarely order room service when traveling – we save it for special occasions because it can be so pricey. When we returned to our hotel room that night, after a full day of touring and exploring, we were super tired. We were a little hungry and in the mood for a tasty snack so we started to flip through the room service menu.

Oh.

We got a plate of the most delicious, warm, sticky, sweet and succulent donut holes with a piping hot side of hot chocolate. The donuts were un.be.lievable and the staff was so sweet to put several extra packets of hot chocolate on our tray. Talk about sweet dreams – it was the cherry on top for sure! (Also worth noting – our total for that dessert including tip came to about $18. Not bad for 3 people who didn’t have to leave their room!)

Check-out in the morning was painless. We were on our way within minutes, full of new memories of Lancaster County. So much to do and see – and it was such a treat to spend the night in such inviting accommodations.

Be sure to take a look a DoubleTree Resort’s website and see what they are up to on Facebook.

Disclosure: We were provided with a complimentary stay at DoubleTree Resort in Lancaster, PA in exchange for an honest, candid review of our hotel experience. All opinions are 100% our own. No, I do not share my donuts with anyone. MINE!

We had the opportunity to end a recent weekend stay in Manhattan, NY with an incredible treat. Guests at The Kimberly Hotel have the opportunity to take a sail around the NY harbor in their private yacht. For $25/person, you can choose between two sails – sunset cruise (18+) or the cruise that we enjoyed – a Sunday brunch cruise (ages 3 and up). Both options provide a complimentary buffet meal and a cash bar.

Having been on our share of ferries, cruise ships and other tour boats, this was something different. It wasn’t so much a tour boat ride, but instead a relax-and-enjoy-the-sites leisure sail.

Our daughter was so excited to board the yacht – she loves anything that has to do with boats. We were greeted on the dock by the crew and joined the other 50 or so passengers on board. The yacht itself gives you several options for seating. You can sit outside in the front, back or on either side outside the main cabin. There are a few tables with chairs inside the main cabin as well – a great option if you prefer to stay out of the sun. Bathrooms and the food buffet are also located in the main cabin.

The weather on our sail date was a BEAUTIFUL summer day – warm and sunny. We opted to spend the entire cruise up on the top deck. The top deck offers panoramic views of the entire cruise – it was wonderful.

Sun alert: If you choose to enjoy the cruise from the top deck BE SURE to slather on the sunscreen, bring hats, etc. I would even suggest reapplying the sunscreen midway through the cruise. We were covered in sunscreen and still got a tad crispy.

Parking: Street parking is available at the marina for $30. Unfortunately it was only after paying this parking fee that we noticed the streets nearby that offered tons of metered parking ($3/hour). Parking on the street would have saved us about 2/3 of what we paid.

Cruise length: Our Sunday brunch cruise was 2 hours long. We left the dock at precisely 12 pm and arrived back at just about 2 pm.

Staff: The staff was great. They were friendly, helpful and really appeared as if they were enjoying themselves. The captain was nice enough to come on the loudspeaker when the waves were about to get a little rough – caused by sailing through the wake from a larger boat.

Food/Drink: Our Sunday buffet offered some tasty options: granola/fruit/yogurt, quiche, muffins, bagels, sandwiches, wraps and probably a couple of other things I am forgetting. The cash bar offered water, soda and alcohol – beer, wine and mixed drinks.

Route: While the route can change slightly depending on the captain’s preference, the cruise always involves a sail by the Statue of Liberty. We enjoyed watching mid-town Manhattan as we began our cruise, and got to see lower Manhattan, Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty on the way back. The captain slowed the boat as we got right in front of the statue, giving us ample opportunity to snap some amazing pictures. I have been to the statue several times before – always by ferry from either NJ or NY… and this was by far the best way that I have ever experienced it. It was a peaceful, non-crowded sail and we were really able to take it all in and enjoy.

We thought that this cruise was FANTASTIC. It was family friendly and there were a bunch of kids (toddler through teen) on our boat. Like any other moving vessel, you will obviously need to watch kids (especially the youngest ones) at all times. The boat does rock quite a bit and you need to hold onto a railing while standing to make sure you don’t topple over.

If you’re looking to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city, consider this cruise. It was different, didn’t ooze “TOURIST” and was such a pleasant way to spend some family time!

Disclosure: The Kimberly Hotel provided our family with complimentary travel on the Sunday brunch cruise in order to facilitate this review. All opinions are 100% our own.

When it comes to staying in New York City (Manhattan, to be exact) the closer you are to the sites, the better.

Location is key in NYC – and we were certainly treated to prime location during a recent weekend stay at The Kimberly Hotel, located at 145 E. West 50th Street in Manhattan. A short walk away from the shopping wonders of 5th Ave (Tiffany, Saks, FAO Schwartz, etc) and Rockefeller Center, the Kimberly Hotel worked great for us as home base.

This all-suite hotel features well-appointed rooms; rooms that, in my experience, are pretty spacious for NYC. Our suite had a separate living room (with balcony) and a small dining area/kitchenette. The kitchenette had everything but a stove – there was a sink, microwave, small refrigerator, dishwasher, toaster and coffee maker (coffee was provided). The cabinets were stocked with plates, water and wine glasses, bowls and silverware.

The bathroom had a standard tub/shower and some complimentary toiletries (shampoo, conditioner, lotion, Q-Tips, cotton balls, makeup remover cloths, bars of soap, etc). We would have loved a little more counter space in the bathroom, but there were some shelves under the sink area that helped to make up for that.

Our family of two adults and one 3 year old had plenty of room to unwind and relax after a long day of sightseeing around the city. Our daughter slept on her portable tot cot (though a crib was available had we requested one) in the living room while my husband and I slept in the bedroom. The balcony turned out to be such a nice amenity as we were able to sit out there and chat/watch the city after our daughter went to bed.

Parking – Valet parking is available for $30 a night – $40 a night for oversized cars (which our SUV ended up being).

Staff – We really enjoyed the staff – especially the doormen and bellhops. They were so friendly and funny. One of them referred to our daughter as “princess” whenever he talked to her, and she LOVED that. Concierge was able to help us find a restaurant that delivered – we called out for dinner on Saturday night after a long day of touring the city.

On-site amenities – At the actual hotel you will find a fitness room, restaurant and a rooftop lounge. In-room room service is also offered, though we did not partake.

Off-site amenities – All guests staying at this hotel get complimentary entrance into the New York Health and Racquet Club a few blocks down the street. The club has a full gym and pool. You are also invited to enjoy a harbor brunch or sunset dinner cruise on the club’s private yacht (note: additional fee applies to go sailing and you must make reservations).

We spent our time in the city walking all over the place – over to Central Park and then up to Times Square with a bunch of shops in between. Sunday we enjoyed the Brunch Cruise (look for a separate review on that).

Recommendations: Check –in took a bit longer than we anticipated. After a long (4 hour) drive in rush hour traffic, we arrived tired and ready to relax in our room at 8:30 pm. We were told that our room wasn’t ready yet due to some maintenance work and we could go take a walk/get dinner/etc until it was ready. It was thankfully ready when we returned about an hour later. Normal check-in time at the hotel is 3 pm, so it would have been great if the issues with our room had been resolved prior to our arrival at 8:30.

When we arrived in our room around 10 pm Friday night we found that the rugs in the bedroom and hallway were pretty wet – as if they had just been shampooed. A minor annoyance that we remedied by throwing towels on the floor to walk on.

Final thoughts: While my husband and I frequently visit New York City for both business and leisure, this was our daughter’s very first visit. We were thrilled that The Kimberly Hotel’s location was so central to everything we wanted to do. It was very easy to reach everything on foot thanks to the close proximity of the hotel to so many popular NYC attractions. We also noted the quiet nature of the street and surrounding area where the hotel sat. It was a much more peaceful atmosphere than many other tourist-clogged parts of the city.

We would recommend this hotel for a city stay – especially to families who want some space to stretch out and feel comfortable. The spacious suites provided more than enough room for us. We left the city feeling like we saw so much, yet were reasonably well-rested thanks to the comfort level of the room!

Disclosure: The Kimberly Hotel provided our family with a complimentary stay at their hotel in order to facilitate this review. All opinions are 100% our own.

This museum was great. Located right off the main drag in Nantucket, it is very easy to walk to from the port.

Be sure to head up to the 3rd floor - you will find an outdoor panoramic view of the island.

The Whaling Museum has more than whaling info - it provides a very concise overview of the history of Nantucket in general. From the Native Americans to the early settlers and yes, the whalers, there is ample information on everything.

Wind your way through interesting displays and artifacts. We found several museum employees on hand throughout the building who were ready to answer any questions that we had. There were also several movies and talks held at designated times/places throughout the day. We did not sit in on any of these - Lily was a bit cranky and past her nap time at that point.

The true saving grace to this museum (if you're there with children) is the Discovery Room. WOW!! Books, drawing supplies, crafts, puppets, murals, exploration stations - UNBELIEVABLE resource. Lily acted like she was in heaven and, to be honest, my husband and I really enjoyed a few minutes to relax while she was kept completely engaged by the activities in that room. It was bright, cheery and extremely well thought out - a definite treasure!