Deepfrieddiamonds

For my Diamonds who have been with me through thick and thin now, where else would you have expected me to celebrate myself being a Gemini baby? I love serene sceneries, pretty private gyms with elite classes offered to help with everything wellness, a magical market to get a morning latte in after a long walk and a stop at the sports complex, mid-morning spa sessions, luxurious lunches, dips in perfectly chilled pools, and ending my days with divine dinners and exceptional night life. For me, I can fulfill all of those desires at The Hotel Hershey, and there’s no better person for me to have my side to indulge in those activities with than my mother who blessed me with this lovely life that I am so grateful to live. We enjoy the exact same things, we’re both morning birds, and we both fancy the finer things in life when given the opportunity.

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Before heading on the road, I placed an order at Sugar & Loaf in Sugarloaf, PA. If you know, you know. It is our place for sure!

• A caramel almond oat milk iced latte with extra ice. I always gotta have that extra ice!
• Two egg and cheese sandwiches on homemade sourdough bagels.
• Strawberry kombucha donuts because Phill’s pastries are phenomenal and necessary for a mini road-trip while you we make our way to the hotel.

CHECK-IN Time:

When you check into the hotel you always get complimentary candy bars, and tickets to The Hershey Story Museum as well as The Hershey Gardens. We are so taken by the gardens, even though we’ve been there time and time again through-out all four seasons. However, it never gets old. Therefore, we figured that this was the best possible way to kick off my birthday trip, so we took a stroll over after checking into our room. It was a perfectly gorgeous day and every parking lot was packed the entire weekend, so driving was just off limits.

My mother looking ravishing inside the rose garden.

My mom was dressed in her resort attire. Which for us means putting on cozy, yet chic clothing to trot around in as if we quite literally owned the place. There’s nothing better than throwing your Lily Pulitzer pull over on, sliding your sunglasses over your eyes, and hiding the sun from your face with your brand new straw hat while you slowly make your way into the gardens to see nature at it’s most stunning peak.

Take a walk with us!

The trees, plants, flowers, and all around luxurious landscaping is just breath taking. You can really learn about plants and the growing process if that’s what you’re looking for, you can take in the beauty of the gardeners work, or read in nature on one of their many benches you can find as you walk through all 23 acres of its botanical beauty.

The name of this rose bush had to be documented!

Due to my love of food & fun, there was no doubt that the name of this particular part of the garden caught my eye! My mom and I always have such an elite experience walking through the gardens, no matter what time of year it is, no matter what day it is, and no matter what the weather is. Nevertheless, it was an exceptionally fabulous experience on this fine Friday afternoon.

Let’s make our way to The POOL:

After hiking around the garden grounds, we decided that it was time to head to the outdoor pool complex. An incredible activity to immerse ourselves in after being outdoors in nature while we allow a couple hours to pass by until it’s time to get ready for our dinner reservations.

1933 Restaurant & Tavern:

We got sat at a hightop table next to the floor-to-ceiling windows in the bar area facing the 18 hole putting course. They also have a huge fire pit right below their outside patio where we witnessed the staff fire it up to kick off the s’mores roasting hour! I would have loved to partake in that myself. However, we were so content from this impeccable meal we just enjoyed that there was not one ounce of room for any sort of dessert in either of our stomachs.

The marvelous menu items we chose:

• First, we ordered drinks of course! Our waters were filled and I had to get a Diet Coke because it was much deserved after a day of go, go, go. My mom ordered a mocktail for us to sip on while we wait for our courses to come out. The golden hour was fruity, bright, and slightly sweet. The mouth feel was fabulous as well. It reminded me of mixing passionfruit puree and agave nectar with hard cider. Except, it was alcohol free, certainly.
• Bread service was the first course to be set upon our table. The presence of it was intoxicating, especially since we had not eaten since being in the car on the way to our destination. The brioche pull apart rolls paired with their savory salted whipped butter, along with cloves of garlic confit are insanely addicting. We could have made a meal out of that alone, but there were so many other incredible items to taste.
• Next came our appetizer. The chocolate barbecue boneless wings served with house-made blue cheese, ranch, celery and carrot sticks . I swear, their veggies are the freshest I’ve tasted from a restaurant! These were down right glistening and gorgeous with that glorious sauce dripping through the cracks of each one of our wings. The flavor was divine and delicious! That chocolate really came through, but did not overpower the traditional taste of a classic barbecue sauce and that’s really the most important aspect of combining flavor profiles! You must do it just right, and the 1933 knows how it’s done.
• Our stunning, spectacular salad was almost too pretty to dig into! However, we definitely dug into that and ate every single bite! There is truly nothing better than a Cobb salad in the summertime, specifically when they’re topped with chunks of fresh cold lobster!

The Iberian lounge:

It is time for happy hour after dinner hour! We made our way from the formal gardens right up the steps from the 1933 and walked right into the lovely, luxurious lounge located off the fountain lobby. We sat down at a cozy table and a wonderful waitress brought us some sweet and salty bites to start us off with. We knew immediately what we wanted. The peanut butter cup martini is my absolute favorite cocktail at the hotel, so we both went with that. They were kind enough to make ours alcohol free as well. That could definitely be done upon request!

We chatted, laughed, and lounged until we finished our dessert-like drinks, and made our way back up to room 205 for the night where we got ready for bed around 11pm. I turned a movie on, read a bit, and closed my eyes until that strong, dawn sun awoke me from a restful slumber.

Saying good morning to our first full day at the resort!

Both of us rose before 6:30am. I brewed some espresso to sip while we got ready to head over to the fitness center for a workout and sauna session before our spa services commenced.

The Spa At The Hotel Hershey:

We checked into the spa around 9:30am, so that we had enough time to change into our robes and get cozy for a few minutes inside one of their lounge rooms. I always bring a book with me and sometimes notebooks, or a journal to get some writing done when I am at my most relaxed state. I am now reading The Friendship List by Susan Mallory that I received for my birthday from one of my best friends. It was wrapped beautifully and decorated according to the theme of the book itself. It was one of the most thoughtful gifts! Our pedicure appointments were at 10:00am, and ending around 11am. Then we each had about an hour wait until my high point garden facial and my mom’s reflexology session which were each an hour long. Afterwards, we met up in the locker room to grab our pool bags to walk over to the outdoor pool complex for a poolside lunch and all of the festivities until our late night dinner reservations at the Circular.

Our Poolside Lunch:

The pool was packed, but after some searching, we finally found a nice patio table with an umbrella to eat at right in front of the adult pool. Lunch was so good and just the right pick me up we needed after being half asleep from our spa services. Mom and I shared a three cheese chicken quesadilla stuffed with chicken Tinga, pico de gallo, corn and black beans, with a tang from some roasted red peppers which I adore when added to any of my dishes. This quesadilla was served with cool sour cream, and a deliciously chunky guacamole. Anyone who knows me knows I either have to have sliced avocado or guac with most of my meals. It’s pretty much a necessity when it comes to how I do my dinning experiences! For our side, we chose their French fries with herbed ranch and ketchup; which were perfect in every way! I have been visiting this hotel for just a hair over a decade and this was my very first experience dining poolside. As I stated, it was so crowded, but I always enjoy eating in the sun next to a pool no matter who’s in the surrounding area. I would definitely come back to try more items off the poolside menu. It was delicious, as the hotel food always is.

Saturday Night At The Circular:

We were able to get seated 15 minutes earlier than scheduled. Normally, I don’t eat dinner at sunset, but for a special occasion while on vacation, it’s necessary! You have to make it happen for memory sake at least once while you’re away. For an appetizer, we chose to have bread service just like the night prior at 1933 because you can’t start off a fine dining experience without it.

The fabulous first course:

The bread service.

When I tell you diamonds that the whipped brown butter they serve with their brioche pull apart rolls with salt & pepper lavash crisps is so outstanding, that’s an understatement! The butter is soft, salted to absolute perfection and garnished with what I believe to be a seasoned cocoa powder? I truly wish I knew all the secrets, but it’s something I think about often because bread and butter is so very near and dear to my heart.

An hors d’oeuvre on the house: A small bite of their cilantro shrimp ceviche.

This was fantastically fresh! I’m so glad this was offered to us while choosing all of our courses. A lovely touch for guests remember their stunning service experience.

Soup Service:

We found that the fennel and potato bisque was the best choice for ur soup course because we felt that it really complimented our other dinner choices exceptionally. Besides, I’ve tasted their luxurious lobster bisque before and even though it was wonderful, we went with our servers suggestion. As you can see, the soup gets poured right at your seat over the garnishes, which to me, is such a staple in fine dining. It’s something extra that you get to observe and appreciate, that you normally don’t get to when dining out.

Salad service:

We chose the beautiful blueberry and goat cheese salad. Even though it was my birthday, I like to accommodate my loved ones when eating out, especially if one of their favorite foods listed as an option. My mom adores blueberries, so I knew that this was the salad we had to sample!

My main course:

My moms main course:

The dessert course:

A slow Sunday before checking out for the weekend:

Ball Class at 7:30am.

When I tell you that this was an experience of a lifetime in the world of fitness, it is not an exaggeration. I am someone who appreciates all aspects of wellness because I fully believe that health is wealth. I know it’s a saying we’ve all “heard” before, but we need to start fully believing it as a society! It is 100% the truest thing you could ever know. Without health, we have nothing. We’re not able to live the life we deserve to its fullest capacity. The classes the are offered at the fitness center are never ending. There is always something new that can be taught and learned. This particular class however, was my first at the Hotel! I ate up every second of it. It wasn’t a workout, it wasn’t stretching, it was something so much more. Something most of you Diamonds, I’m sure, have never done yourselves before. You started standing, while rolling tennis balls on the sole of each foot to stretch the muscles, then you held a pilates ball in-between your shoulder blades and rolled that around to self massage your entire back, stopping and starting in different sections that need more attention than others. Once you get on all fours on the mat, you’ll use multiple different balls along with the foam roller to roll out and massage the hip flexers, thighs, hamstrings, and calves. The class was an hour long, the instructor couldn’t have been more awesome, the ambiance was dimmed, and the music was calming. Afterwards, I felt indescribable. I ended my morning at the gym with a stop at the sauna.

A coffee walk before checkout:

After leaving the gym, we made our way to the Chef’s market for coffee to join us on our walk outside around the fountains and sports complex. I ordered a toasted peanut butter oat milk latte. After leisurely walking, talking, and taking in the last few sites of our trip, we stopped to play some one-on-one pickleball for the first time ever, and we legitimately had a ball. No pun intended.

Stopping by the shops!

It’s a ritual for us to get some shopping in at the hotel boutiques before saying goodbye to that specific trip.

The Hershey Pantry:

We absolutely adore the pantry. It is one of the best diners I have ever visited, and every menu item is magic! For our drinks, we ordered the campfire cold brew and an iced honey-salted latte. I have really been enjoying salt in my coffee. If you’ve never had it, you should give it a shot. We sipped our beverages and carefully studied the menu, even though we’ve seen it time and time again.

Our brunch order:

I, of course, had to order the special because for whatever reason, I always gravitate towards something that’s never going to be on the menu ever again. At least for some time, anyway. Something I’ll probably think about forever, especially if it’s from a place like this. It’s borderline tortuous, LOL. With that being said, this Cuban Eggs Benedict was one of the best eggs Benedict I have ever had. Buttered and toasted ciabatta buns laid opened faced, smothered in dijon mustard, layered with stringy and slightly sweet Swiss cheese, smoked ham, pulled pork, and perfectly poached eggs, then finally the creme da la creme of the entire eggs Benedict experience- the hollandaise sauce. One of my favorite sauces of all time! All of that deliciousness was served with their house made home fries. Certainly, being the sauce girl that I am, I needed my ranch on the side for dipping! My mom ordered The Pantry Sampler. Two eggs- any style, your choice of bacon, ham, sausage, or chicken sausage, which was what she went with! For the grand finale, that whole platter was served with two flapjacks filled with whatever you would like. Plain was preferred for my mom. This photo that’s pictured, does not do justice to the size of these! They are truly massive and even more delicious!! Some of the most flavorful pancakes we have ever tasted. After enjoying our brunch and reflecting on my entire birthday weekend together, we packed up our leftovers and headed on the highway for home.

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All I could hope for is that you Diamonds enjoyed coming along for my 32nd birthday celebration as much as I enjoyed sharing it with all of you!

Comment down below everything summer themed that you would want to see from me before September, and I will fulfill your wishes! I always have a few things up my sleeve to show you as well.

Let’s have some summer fun before it’s over because it is truly flying by faster than I can even blink.

xoxo