A one-night getaway can make all the difference this holiday season
Despite the obligatory stories about “surviving” the holiday season, research shows that the number one activity that people enjoy this time of year is gathering with extended family or friends.
Still, the frenzy that begins with Thanksgiving and keeps going until December’s end is so much better managed with even a momentary break for the two of you to enjoy each other, all stress aside.
With Thanksgiving over, but Christmas coming at them headlong, Phaedra Hise and her husband decided to grab a romantic holiday getaway package at The Williamsburg Winery. The one-night escape is made to make every moment a relaxing reconnection before the next wave hits full gear.
“One night felt like a whole weekend,” Phaedra told us. “it was a quiet and peaceful retreat where we enjoyed Williamsburg, the Winery and our posh room at Wedmore Place.
Going to Wedmore Place, The Williamsburg Winery’s 28 room boutique hotel, is like taking a short drive and arriving in Europe. Each room represents a different province, has a real, wood-burning fireplace and the true, cozy feeling of being in the “old world.”
After checking in, Phaedra and her husband enjoyed a tour of the Winery and then traveled down to Colonial Williamsburg’s Merchants Square for a little ice skating at Liberty’s Ice Skating Pavilion.
“It was like experiencing a weekend of holiday cheer,” she says. “Included in our package was ice skating in Colonial Williamsburg. It was warm, but once I put on my skates it felt like the holidays. After that we went to the winery’s new Merchant Square Tasting Room & Wine Bar for some amazing warm Settlers’ Spiced Wine,” said Phaedra.
“It wasn’t so ‘scheduled’ as some holiday activities can become, where you have to get the tree, then shop, see Santa with the kids, which is fun, but often filled with time constraints,” explained Phaedra.
“It truly felt like an escape, being a world away but in reality, we were less than an hour from home.”
The couple returned to Wedmore Place to enjoy a candle lit dinner at Café Provencal, an intimate fine dining restaurant located inside the boutique hotel.
“We started at the Gabriel Archer Tavern [the Winery’s lunch restaurant] with oysters and a glass of Wedmore Place Cremant de Loire sparkling wine.
“At Café Provencal, we shared an Autumn Olive Farm pork chop, rockfish on a polenta cake and oxtail soup, with an olive polenta cake for dessert with candied pumpkin brittle on top of pumpkin ice cream!”
After dinner, Phaedra and her husband returned to their room for wine by the fire.
“They come in and build the fire for you!” she smiled. “We just called down to the front desk and they were up at our room in five minutes with logs and built a beautiful, crackling fire. When the fire died down, they came back and built it up again. Talk about relaxing.”
They headed home the next day after a relaxing breakfast in a great mood.
“It was so elegant and pampered, like I was in a holiday movie,” said Phaedra. “I came home and said, “ok, now it’s Christmas!”
If you’re looking for a relaxing escape after the holiday season is over, from January through March, the Winery offers a Romantic Winter Escape package which provides guests the opportunity to reconnect and indulge their senses after the holiday rush.
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