Showing posts with label travel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label travel. Show all posts
Saturday, November 8, 2014

{Travel Review} Hampton Inn Asheboro

This past weekend we took the kids to visit the NC Zoo on our way to our sons clinic visit in Durham. We were also doing an activity the day before in Charlotte and decided to stay the night in Asheboro. I checked prices on Expedia.com and booked a room with 2 Queen Beds at the Hampton Inn Asheboro for 83.30 plus tax. The hotel was comparable in price to others in the area, had excellent reviews, and was located only 13 minutes from the Zoo. The reservation also included access to an onsite indoor pool and a Breakfast Buffet, which is a big money saver for a family of 5.

We were greeted upon arrival by a very happy and helpful clerk who informed me that they also served cookies and popcorn in the lobby between 5-8pm each evening. My kids love popcorn and cookies and we had not eaten dinner prior to arrival so those amenities were nice surprises. They also offer laundry facilities, a 24 hour Coffee bar, which included hot water to make hot tea or hot chocolate, and a 24 hour snack bar. I took a quick peek at the “snack bar” since it’s located directly next to the guest services desk. It was stocked with an assortment of candies, gum, drinks (they also have drink machines on each floor), and a few quick microwavable meal options.

After checking in, we were happy with the size of our room and the fact that it included 2 Queen beds, a sitting chair, a small closet, a microwave, a mini-fridge (a necessity for our family since our son's medication must be refrigerated), and a large desk.


We decided to order a pizza and have it delivered so we could get the kids ready to swim. When the Pizza delivery arrived, guest services called to see if we wanted to come down to the lobby or if they could send him up to deliver the pizza to our door. This made my husband and I both feel very safe knowing that they were screening who was coming through the front door. After a picnic in the room, we took the kids for a swim.

My husband was delighted to find the spa area of the hotel not only included an indoor heated pool but a nice sized hot tub. He was dealing from back spasms due to an injury prior to our trip and the heat of the hot tub allowed those muscles to relax and ease off. I took the kids into the pool one at a time and let them swim while the other two stayed in or sitting on the edge of the hot tub with my husband. The pool was heated, yet not super warm, but it was the coldest weekend of the fall so for those conditions I think the temperature was perfect. Within the spa area there was also a door to a small 24 hours gym that looked to include a bicycle, treadmill, and a few other small piece of equipment. After a swim we retreated back to our room to bath the kids and get them to bed. The bathroom, which was very clean, was spacious enough to bath two kids while my oldest brushed her teeth and got ready to shower.


We realized as we were putting the kids to bed that we had forgotten to pick up milk for the kids to drink before bedtime. I made a call to guest services to see if they offered it in their snack bar and they said we could fill up their Sippy cups in the breakfast area, which saved us from making a late night trip to the store with all 3 kids in tow (That earned them big brownie points with this Mama).
The next morning we awoke, got ready for our day, and had breakfast at the included buffet downstairs.


I was very surprised at the large selection. They had freshly cooked eggs, sausage links, biscuits, oatmeal with a variety of toppings, toast, waffle irons, a variety of muffins and pastries, fresh fruit, and bagels with toppings such as cream cheese, honey, butter, jellies, etc. They also offered several beverage selections, including orange pineapple juice, which my oldest enjoyed, and milk for my younger two. The attendant was constantly cleaning up areas, providing fresh refills on the hot items, conversing with guests, and as we checked out I heard him give a courteous 10 minute warning to let the guest know that he would be closing the breakfast area so people could get a refill on anything if needed. It makes you more confident in eating a buffet style breakfast when there are several good options and the attendants are paying attention to the needs of the guests.

Overall, we couldn’t have been happier with our stay at the Hamptom Inn Asheboro. Our room, the pool area, buffet area, and hallways within the hotel were very clean and well decorated. I would highly recommend it for business professionals and families. We will be staying again prior to our next visit to the NC Zoo.

Where do you stay when visiting Asheboro? Does your family love visiting the Zoo as much as mine does?



*We purchased this room and I was not provided anything in exchange for a review. All opinions are my own.
Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Holmes State Forest "Field Trip" & Picnic

A few weekends ago we took a day to explore the Holmes State Forest which is an Educational Teaching Forest. We had a great time there while enjoying a picnic and the beautiful surroundings. The video below is full of clips from our day.



Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Unit Study: Zoo (Field Trip!)

Elephants (Animals in Danger)
Lions Up Close (Zoom in on Animals!)
Gorillas (Animals in Danger)


One of our favorite books.
We will be doing a unit based on this book.





Watching Turtle with 

Lemur



 


 










Snapshot with the Giraffe
Comparing hands

 

 


Such a wonderful Playground. This pic shows 1/2
 



She was so exhausted and upset when we had to leave the playground


We ended the wonderful day with a trip to Pizza Inn.
I used the slices to discuss factions with Princess. 

Trip to the Apple Orchard and Pumpkin Patch

I decided to take the kids on a "field trip" day since we were having such beautiful fall weather earlier this week. I knew it was going to come in rain the rest of the week and turn colder so I wanted them to get out in the fresh air while we still had the change. Monday the tempatures were in the low 80's with a light breeze. Absolutely gorgeous for some hiking and outdoor fun! We stopped to have lunch with my husband on his break and then headed up the mountain to Sky Top Orchard in Flat Rock.
We decided not too pick apples because we already had so many at home but we looked through their shop where they offer all varieties and sampled several new kinds. We did purchase 6 apple cider doughnuts which are made hot to order and a apple shaped sippy cup filled with fresh apple cider (which you will see in a picture). After leaving the Orchard we stopped by The Carl Sandburg home which i will do another post about.







It was such a blessed day! Thank you Lord for this beautiful moments with our growing family.

*In a few of these pictures I tried some new editing tricks which dont show up well on these smaller pictures and some poses (pumpkin patch) that I had pinned on Pinterest which is my new online LoVe!
The Subfertile Frugalista: October Pinterest Challenge Link-Up!
Monday, August 29, 2011

Unit Study: Cherokee







We only did a brief unit on Indians this year for Prek. We were only able to find a few books at our library that were on a young enough level for her. We did take a quick trip to the Cherokee Indian Reservation which is what interested Princess enough for us to form this small unit. We hope to return for a longer visit and do a larger unit next year. This year we only drove through and stopped long enough for Princess to watch Indian dancers do a mini performance. She was able to participate in the friendship dance which she enjoyed. We also plan to go watch the Cherokee dance team preform at our countrys Labor Day festival this weekend. I will add those pictures at the end as well.


    
Princess dancing in the Friendship Dance