Andy and I took our last romantic vacation together (for what will be a long, long time I’m sure) a few weeks ago.  It wasn’t exactly a vacation though, as we only stayed away one night and only went about 40 minutes away, but it was still an enjoyable escape.  We went to Chateau Elan, a winery and resort roughly 45 minutes outside Atlanta.  We had a wonderful, relaxed time while we were there and the trip was completely worth it, even though it was so short.

We drove up on a Saturday afternoon, arriving just past lunch time.  First, we went to the resistance pool for some laps and swimming.  It must be noted that this pool was like bath water – it had to be 90 degrees.  It was very comfortable to swim around in it and know that no one would be butting in and telling me I wasn’t allowed to be in the water, as so often happens when you’re pregnant.  It’s like people feel like they can tell you what to do when you’re pregnant, like you’re incapable of making your own educated decisions… but I digress.  After a little time in the pool, we went over to their spa facility, which is one of the things they are most known for.  I had an appointment for a manicure and pedicure and Andy just wanted to take advantage of all the amenities they had to offer.  They had their own gym facility, another resistance pool, jacuzzi, saunas, steam rooms, steam showers, TVs (with football on in the men’s locker room and some chick flick on in the women’s locker room), and an afternoon tea service.  I enjoyed my treatment and dangled my legs in the jacuzzi, but had to skip out on the other amenities because of doctor’s orders (no overheating for the preggo).  In total though, we spent about three and a half hours at the spa and reentered the world very relaxed… and very clean.

From there we changed and went to dinner, eating at one of the restaurants they had on the property, called Versailles (do you detect their attempt at a French theme in Georgia?).  With the package we had with the hotel, we both were able to order appetizers, entrees, and desserts (and not have to worry about costs of individual items).  We started with a caesar salad and a lentil soup.  Then, Andy had lamb wellington and I had a filet mignon with bearnaise sauce and roasted veggies.  It was pretty good, though they added tarragon or something to my vegetables and it tasted off… like they were trying too hard to be French and got tangled up in the seasonings along the way.  But it was still quite good.  Dessert was excellent with creme brulee and a warm chocolate cake.  After such a “busy” day we went back to our room to relax, and I have to say, the room was lovely.  The bed was a little too high for me, but if I weren’t 9 months pregnant, I’m sure I would have liked it.  They stuck to their French theme, using a lot of gold and aqua colors, with great linens and draperies.  The furniture was excellent and I had read that they had recently remodeled (it seems to have been a success for them).  The bathroom was great with a big tub and a separate standing shower and lots of marble and tile.  It was a very comfortable room.

The next morning we had breakfast at their buffet (also included in our package) and it was excellent.  I have to say it was one of the better breakfast buffets I’ve had (assuming you aren’t including a really high end brunch like at the Wynn or Top of the Mark).  There were lots of things Andy and I liked to eat and there was no line at the omelet station (big surprise).  We lingered over our brunch, which was surprisingly uncrowded, despite going on a Sunday at 9:00.  After spending a bit more time in the room, we checked out and headed home (not wanting to miss the football games).  All in all, it was a great weekend for us, despite only being about 24 hours of vacationing.  We ate well, slept well, swam around, and relaxed – something we won’t immediately have time for in the near future.  We’d like to plan a trip back there this summer as they had a huge outdoor pool and beautiful walking trails, not to mention the entire winery, which we were unable to visit due to cold, rainy weather, but it is definitely a vacation low-key enough to bring a baby along.  Chateau Elan hasn’t seen the last of us!