I have a confession to make. Thanksgiving is one of my least favorite holidays. I don’t even like turkey. (GASP!) So sometimes the idea of spending Thanksgiving away is very appealing. Cue the Boston Marriott Newton. A perfect place, close to home, where you don’t have to worry about making your bed or cleaning up the kitchen. I recently had the opportunity to check out their recently renovated rooms with my family. The views of the river from our room were amazing – while beautiful all year round, I was just imagining what fall foliage season would be like out this window! The hotel is easy to get to, with easy access to Route 128 and the Mass Pike. It’s close to Boston College and Brandeis University. The rooms have these amazing showers that are so much nicer than the one I have at home. And when traveling with a family, having a fridge in the room is such a pleasure. The kids can come back to a snack later in the day – perhaps a little something to refuel with after an afternoon of swimming in the heated pool. My kids are water babies, they love the pool. The pool at the Boston Marriott Newton is WARM, like amazingly warm that you never want to get out. We were in there for over and hour. There were some other families that were there so it was fun to play with other kids. The second day, we even met some kooky friends and had a Billy Joel sing along while swimming!

While there are some restaurants in the area, if you’re like us and having a staycation, why bother leaving the property? The Riverbend Bar and Grill was a perfect place for our family to catch an early dinner. We had the same great view from our room at dinner, overlooking the river. In the warmer weather, you can rent a canoe or a kayak and take in the scenery from a different viewpoint. The restaurant was super kid friendly, with coloring pages and stickers for the kids. The portion size for the kid’s meals were huge, we had leftovers – thank goodness for that in room fridge! It was a little chilly outside, so I was in the mood for some comfort food. I started with the Portuguese Mussels with chorizo sausage, peppers and onions in a spicy tomato broth. Such a good combination. Give me all of that Italian ciabatta bread to soak up every last bit of that sauce!! For my main meal I had the braised short rib ragu, served over orecchiette pasta. Again, huge portions and it was so stick to your ribs tasty. What other items can you find on the menu? Pollo Arrosto, a boneless chicken breast with roasted garlic mashed potatoes and sautéed spinach; Roasted Atlantic Sea Scallops with grilled rainbow swiss chard; Grilled Australian Lamb Sirloin with mascarpone cheese polenta and roasted seasonal vegetables; and a Grass Fed Beef Ternderloin with fresh locally made herb butter. Many of the items on the menu can be made gluten free. Desserts were equally tasty, I finished my meal with a sweet and tart key lime pie – one of my favorites!

The lobby has a Starbucks kiosk, because mama needs her caffeine (am i right?). They have coffee, tea and snacks all day long. Need a snack to go? The lobby has you covered with sweet and salty snacks, cold drinks and fun souvenirs. Looking for something to do for the day? My kids liked checking out all the area had to offer. Additionally, they have a business center if you need to hop on a computer or print something out.

Breakfast the next morning was at the Riverbend Bar and Grill and we were enticed by the buffet (they also offer an a la carte menu). I’m a sucker for an omelette. The spread was so impressive that I almost missed the omelette station tucked into the corner. Fresh shellfish, tasty green beans, and holy chicken! The dessert bar was a favorite among most guest of the restaurant with lots of oohs and ahhh. I do love a mini cannoli or 3. Breakfast is all about balance, so I did stop at the fresh fruit station, where they had all my favorite things – that pineapple was oh so tart and I loved the mixed berry option. Service was top notch, both at dinner and at breakfast. We were well looked after but also given the space to catch up and chat about the day.

Have you ever spent Thanksgiving at a hotel?

Disclaimer: I was invited as a guest to stay at the Boston Marriott Newton. My stay and my meals were provided complimentary. All opinions are my own.

Boston Marriott Newton

2345 Commonwealth Avenue, Newton, MA

http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/bosnt-boston-marriott-newton/

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Back in June, I went to NY for a business pitch. We went on a Thursday, with the pitch on Friday morning. Since we were both already there, my husband and I decided to stay for the weekend. We stayed at the Hudson Hotel for business so we just decided to stay there for the weekend. (Hudson Hotel -356 West 58th Street, NY. 212- 554-6000) My boss calls the Hudson a nightclub with rooms-I didn’t get what she meant until we got there. We pulled up to the front door of the hotel and we took a long escalator up to the lobby which was dim-there is lots of open space and a floor to ceiling glass window behind the front desk. Because we didn’t want to change rooms once  we were there, I tried to combine the two reservations, which took about 20 minutes for them to figure out. Finally, I went upstairs to my room, 1611. Everywhere in the hotel is dark, you feel like it’s nighttime even at 9am in the morning. I sort of equate it to being in a casino, you have no concept of time.

The room was midway down the hall, not too close to the elevator.

Cool bed, back lit with these two mirror of the lights that were faces.

TV was mounted to the wall, but there were no batteries in the remote and we couldn’t figure out how to turn the TV on without it.

The bathroom was quite small and once in the shower the next morning, I noticed a big pink stain on the inside of the curtain…ick.

I had to do work, and I kid you not, these are THE most uncomfortable chairs to sit in if you have to spend hours at a desk sitting at your laptop.

Everything seems normal….and then oh wait…there is a WINDOW between the bathroom and the bedroom. I was in the room by myself and I didn’t feel comfortable with the window. And when my husband finally got there later in the evening, I told him that I don’t ever want to be that close that I need to see what he’s doing in the bathroom. HA! When I called the hotel, the woman in reservations told me that they were doing construction in the restaurant but that we would not hear anything because it would all be happening in the afternoon. Good thing. I was up and out of the hotel by 6am on Friday, so I wouldn’t have heard the noise anyhow!

I used this great new website, Savored.com, to book our dinner reservation at Gnocco. ( 337 East 10th Street, between Avenue A and B, 212.677.1913)  The website works similarly to Opentable, you make your reservation online, but here’s what’s cool, you get a discount on you bill,  and can be up to 40%!

Cute little place, that was pretty quiet when we arrived at 7pm. We sat right at the edge of where the restaurant meets the sidewalk. Good people watching and a nice cool breeze. The tables were a little small to fit two people and all the plates that we had, but hey, we made it work.

We started with the burrata special ($16.95). The toast was really crispy and the cheese was smooth and spreadable. There was a little too much pepper for my taste and it needed a little bit of salt.

I had the tagliatelle ragu piselli ($15.95) served with beef ragu and peas. The pasta was cooked well and sauce had a nice flavoring.

We also had the caserecca al basilico ($14.95) which was like a pasta with pesto. Service was just ok, it had a more mom and pop feel to it, pretty casual with the service. We got 30% off our bill, which with discount ended up being $38.76. Just remember to tip on the full amount, pre discount (hey, I used to be a server, it is a MUST).

We head over to Big Gay Ice Cream after dinner, someone in our New York office had recommended it. (125 East 7th Street (1st Avenue & Avenue A) New York NY 10009 Open Daily 1pm-12am). The store started off as an ice cream truck and then expanded to a storefront. The line was around the block, so I guess that business was booming!

Got to love the bedazzled unicorn on the wall!

They have some pretty cool sundae flavors here: http://biggayicecream.com/treats/

After careful consideration, I go with the “Mermaid”….vanilla soft serve with key lime curd, crushed up graham cracker bits and whipped cream. One word, AMAZING. Thank goodness that there isn’t one in Boston, or I would be there every day!

And of course we make a stop at Butter Lane, for cupcakes, my FAVORITE cupcakes. (123 East Seventh Street, New York, New York 10009 (p) 212.677.2880) I stuck with my all time favorite, key lime. The cupcakes here are just so fresh, and the frosting is to die for, not too sweet, and just the right ratio of frosting to cupcake.

The guy behind the counter also convinced me to try the cookie dough cupcake, he said it was awesome…he was right!  I don’t usually go for chocolate cupcakes, but I make an exception here (and only here). After that, we called it a night, it had been a long day, and we had a big day ahead of us tomorrow, we were searching and taste testing coffee joints, and by we I mean my husband, because I don’t drink coffee!

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