The Mom here! Sometimes you need to go a million miles away from your real life, but you only have a couple of days to spare, you know? For those times, you need a place that will immediately transport you, emotionally and physically. A place that soothes your soul the second you arrive, with stunning surroundings and creative ways to spend some time. Oh, and it should also have The. Best. Shopping. Of course it needs amazing food.
For those times, you need Emerson Resort and Spa.
Waverly here! When mom says there are creative ways to spend time at Emerson, she isn’t kidding! This is one of my favorite reasons to go there – but I have LOTS of reasons, which I’ll get to…but first I want to tell you about all the fun crafts we got to do there. Honestly we go a lot of places but none of them ever have anything to do together like this! The first craft we got to do was terrarium making! It wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be, and looked great in the end! I totally recommend trying it out if you come here. Liz is awesome and she can make an artist out of anyone, even my mom. 🙂 The second craft we did, which was a little later, was painting rocks! I made a ton of cool looking ones, which I’m very proud of. The final one we did on our vacation was fairy door making, and we used things from nature to create them! All of these crafts were fun and ended up looking great!
Aren’t they awesome? Emerson always has creative activities like this going on, plus guided nature walks which are beautiful and so fun. All this, plus a spa and a pool! You can do everything or you can do nothing and just chill in your room. We did a little of both! “NothEverything!”
Now, for the room! I have to admit, I was happy it rained while we were there because it gave us a little more time to spend inside our Imperial Suite. Let me tell you about it… It had a beautiful fireplace that I noticed right away, and was super excited for!
There was a really comfy couch that folded out into a bed, a tv, a balcony, and a bathroom! Well, I guess that’s pretty normal. But, it was super cool! They had a rainforest shower and a bathtub with air jets! And this is only the first floor. 
Once we get up to the second floor, there is a huge bed and tv! And a bathroom with a rainforest shower. The room had a VERY welcoming, relaxing vibe and it was very awesome to stay there! While mom used Emerson’s bike to ride around the country roads, I was able to catch up on some reading and writing. I kept my patio door open and could hear the sounds of the Esopus Creek that was right outside rushing by, and lots of chirping birds. It’s like being in heaven. The air literally smells like honey there!
One of the things I most look forward to when we go to Emerson is the shopping. My mom says it has THE BEST SHOPPING and I agree. Even her boyfriend Mark, aka our Driver, agrees and always buys something from their shops and he NEVER buys anything. The shops are amazing there – there’s jewelry, candles, kaleidoscopes, chimes, toys…there is something to make anyone smile there! Need another reason to smile? Overnight guests get a 10% discount in the shops!
All that shopping, biking, hot tubbing and relaxing makes you very hungry!! Thankfully there’s the wonderful Woodnotes Grille!
We love it there sooooo much! It’s so beautiful inside and outside – you can sit inside for a log cabin kind of feel, or outside right by the creek! Overnight guests each get a ten dollar credit towards breakfast, and I highly recommend the waffle!
MMMMmmmmmmmmm…..I can’t decide which was my favorite meal, breakfast, lunch, or dinner! When we had dinner there it was sooooooo gooooood! I had shrimp cocktail and a Woodnotes salad – honestly their salad is my favorite one anywhere in the world! 
And a Cheese Board with what my mom said was the best and creamiest and smoothest Brie ever. We loved pouring local honey over everything and making our own little creations. YUM.
The fries with our steak were literally perfect, and the lemon butter on top of the steak gave it an extra delicious flavor!
Vegetarian, or Vegan, like Mark? Don’t worry, you will be happy too! Time for some delicious Lemon Thyme Risotto! 
Woodnotes Grille always surprises us with amazing flavor touches and really delicious and creative food, plus a beautiful atmosphere and even great music playing! Our server, James, was really nice and attentive and we can’t wait to come back!
All this plus air that smells like honey! All just a couple of hours from NYC. Ready for a little “NothEverything?” Breathe it all in at Emerson Resort and Spa!
