Chateau Elan - Outside of Atlanta, GA USA

A French country chateau in north Georgia? “Sure, why the hell not,” thought an Irish pharmaceutical mogul. He combined his love of wine and his wife’s love of pampering and has come up with quite a place: Chateau Elan. Once you get over the pretentiousness and the out-of-place look of the buildings, you are in for a real treat.

The resort has an inn (well hardly an “inn” in common terms) – it’s got at least 200 rooms, and it is pretty standard hotel fare.

If you really want to be coddled, the place to stay is the spa. They have 14 themed rooms: country French, vintage, Bacchus, modern, hunter’s loft and several others. So far we have stayed in the country French and the vintage (note: Bacchus is the hardest to get hold of). The rooms are all decorated to give the feel of the name: frills in country French, neon and a vibrating Hammacher-Schlemmer chair in modern, lots of grape leaves in Bacchus. Each room has a unique bathroom: some have Jacuzzis, some giant soak tubs and some waterfall tubs. The bathrooms alone are worth the price! All rooms are very unique and romantic. Just take your pick of what setting you want.

The spa has a large indoor Jacuzzi, a small gym and a juice bar. The spa services are some of the most superior I have experienced – the attendants know their stuff. So if it’s a facial, a massage, or a salt rub, you’re in good hands (literally). And because Chateau Elan is a big conference/wedding center, staying in the spa really gives you an “away from it all” feel. The spa has a small restaurant, with healthy, low fat food – not very tasty or impressive.

There are also several restaurants in the main inn and one in the winery. All of these offer acceptable food, but you definitely will not be dazzled. Recreation includes several golf courses, an indoor and outdoor pool and a bar with several pool tables. You can take tours of the winery, and get samples. However, the chateau started out by making muscatine wine (the moonshine of wines). It is very sweet and, although they make a variety of other wines now, all of them seem to be on the sweet and fruity side. This is not a wine connoisseur’s paradise.

The inn will prepare picnic basket lunches complete with wine that you can take and sit at the edge of several lakes – very nice setting, although you will have people “playing through” sometimes! The staff is helpful and accommodating. Pampering is the watchword at the spa.

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The Jekyll Island Club

The names include J.P. Morgan, Vanderbilt, Rockefeller and Pulitzer… these families got together in 1886 and founded a hunting club on the Georgia’s faraway Jekyll Island. This club is the Jekyll Island Club, on of the most prominent resorts on the barrier islands around Georgia and South Carolina. In the late 1800’s the club was an exclusive retreat for the nation’s most moneyed families. It was home to one of the nation’s first transcontinental phone calls, the richest of bankers and industrialists and can taut guests including presidents and senators.

In 1986, the club was renovated and became a hotel and resort. The resort now has 157 rooms in three buildings, a grand dining room, a lending library and numerous indoor and outdoor activities year-round.

When we went to the Jekyll Island club, we stayed in the Annex building rather than the main building (the Club itself). The club boasts beautiful Victorian architecture including a huge flag-crested turret. In the Annex we had arguably the world’s largest whirlpool bath – it was at least six feet across and was ours exclusively. We also had a fireplace; however, as Juliana and I liked to joke long afterwards, “due to the historic nature of the property”, the attendant had to maintain the fire. The stay of course included many calls to the attendant to stoke the fire.

The property itself is exquisite. Close to area beaches, the resort offers many packages including winter and summer packages, family getaways, a culinary school and golfing vacations. For a weekend away from the grind, the Jekyll Island club provides millionaire surrounding to the rest of us.

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The 1842 Inn - Macon Georgia

Although we had often heard of the 1842 Inn as being romantic and comfortable, my first thought was, “Macon? Yuck. Hot, sticky, yuck.” Macon had always been to me a place to have fast food and get gas on the way from Atlanta to Savannah or Florida, never a place to actually go and stay, never a destination. Well, I was wrong. I admit it. As soon as you venture two blocks from the main drag around I-75, Macon’s historic district beings and it is beautiful, with old Victorian houses and beautiful lanes. I suppose these were the in town residences of cotton merchants and traders, who knows, but it was certainly not what I expected to find in Macon.

The 1842 Inn sits high on a hill above the historic district with a huge front porch for sitting and watching the day (and unfortunately, traffic) goes by. I was told by the former owner of the Inn (who now owes the Foley House in Savannah), that he was pumping gas in Macon (see what I mean about a place to get gas?) and saw the house on the hill and arranged to buy it right away. I can certainly see why. Built in the classic Greek Revival style, the 1842 Inn looks like you would imagine a grand Georgian building would look – like Tara from Gone with the Wind. The Inn boasts huge columns on the front and around the side and is very impressive. It was given a four diamond award by AAA, which is rather prestigious and rare. It is certainly what you would expect to find in an old Georgian Inn (rather than, say, an English Country Inn) – that is, full of Southern hospitality.

The rooms are named for famous people in Georgia History (with a few famous Georgian flora thrown in, like Magnolias). We stayed in the Desoto Room, named for Spanish Explorer Hernado Desoto. It boasts a big canopy bed, high ceilings and a ceiling fan. The bath is rather blah, no whirlpool. The room is intimate and rather small. I think if we go back, we will try the Overlook Room, which has beautiful views and a slanted ceilings (since it is located at the top of the Inn, under the roof). There is an extrodinarily romantic feel in that room, as if you have your own nest, away from the outside world.

The 1842 Inn features a wonderful courtyard between the Main Inn and the second building in the rear of the property. It is rather large and sunny, with views of nearby church steeples. We found it a wonderful place to relax in the sun and talk. It is very relaxing and tranquil.

The common areas are formal, appointed with antiques and boasting a large fireplace. We had tasty snacks and a glass of wine in the afternoon. The staff recommended a local restaurant, called Michael’s. When we arrived for dinner, there wasn’t much romantic ambiance, but the food was terrific!

I guess I was wrong about Macon and you can’t go wrong at the 1842 Inn. It is a lovely destination.

A final note, the 1842 Inn’s website offers an interesting history of the property.

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Foley House - Savannah

If you read my review on The Gastonian, you might wonder what is a good alternative in Savannah? The answer is The Foley House. Rated one of the ten most romantic Inns by Vacation Magazine (I would second that rating!), the Foley House is located on Chippewa Square in historic Savannah. It is managed by the man who, until recently, owned and operated the 1842 Inn in Macon, which we have visited as well. The common areas of the Foley House are quite unlike those found in other more formal Inns. I felt more like I was in the drawing room of a great British explorer than a place to take high tea. The furnishings are comfortable and arranged for reading, drinking and socializing. Wine is available by the bottle and glass and snacks are served in the evening.

One of the most amazing aspects of the Foley House is the garden. Intimate and beautiful, the garden is situated between the Main Inn and the carriage house. Tables for eating and drinking are surrounded by lush plants and beautiful fountains. While the garden is small, it is tranquil and a nice place to spend a warm Savannah evening. It was a bit cold when we were there (President’s Day), but we still spent a little while alone in the garden.

We stayed in the Essex Room, on the first floor. Usually we try to stay away from the first floor, because of foot and car traffic outside; however, the Essex room is so large (it runs from the front to the back of the Inn), we were not disturbed by the outside world. The Essex room is more formal than the parlor, appointed with French and English antiques and a gas fireplace. There is a sitting area with two chairs and a desk. The best thing about the room is the large, two-person Jacuzzi. The management provides bathing salts and two robes (like all good places should). A relaxing soak makes for a wonderful night. We always look for a Jacuzzi bath and usually recommend more highly those that have nice baths. The bed is king-sized, high and comfortable. There is also a (empty) refrigerator, so if you want to bring your own libations, do (but don’t forget the corkscrew).

Lastly, the service. The staff was highly helpful and gracious. They served us wine quickly and politely. We spoke with the owner of the Inn, who obviously has a passion for inn-keeping. All in all, the Foley House is wonderful and extremely romantic.

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The Gastonian

Located on Gaston street in downtown Savannah, The Gastionian is the place that we spent our actual wedding night. The Inn itself is rather formal and has beautiful sitting rooms and furnishings. Drinks and snacks are served in the evening in the sitting room and parlor. The Main Inn has rooms named for famous Southerns, including one named for Juliana’s great, great aunt Juliette Gordon Low. The rooms are generally large and most feature spectacular baths. In one room the bath is bigger than the bed and set in the center of the double room – perfect for lounging lazily in the tub and then sliding on over to the bed for a quick rest (or whatever).

We rented the carriage house, which is a stand alone building in the back of the Main Inn on the alley. Once used to house carriages and horses (thus the name – carriage house), it has been converted into a suite for the romantic couple. Since it separated from the Main Inn by a courtyard it offers more privacy than the Main Inn, but you don’t get a huge Jacuzzi like some of the other rooms. Instead, there’s a red tub for two. When we first visited the Gastonian, it was perfect. The carriage house has a small kitchen and breakfast area downstairs where you are served continental breakfast each morning. Upstairs is a bedroom suite with a gas fireplace, the big red tub and a small bathroom. And the bed. Well, that is problem. On our wedding night, it was the most incredible bed ever. A huge antique Chinese bed, hand carved from hickory (I think) and definitely the centerpiece to an incredible and romantic room. Unfortunately, we returned to the Gastonian several years later to relive our wedding night in the carriage house. The bed is now gone. The Inn has changed management and (I suppose) the original owners took the bed with them. The new owners have replaced the extraordinary with ordinary – a simple white iron Queen sized bed. What a disappointment. The Chinese bed and theme to the carriage house is gone. On top of that, the laundry is in the basement of the carriage house and the maids were washing clothes all the morning after. No hot water and lots of noise. So, although the Gastonian’s carriage house was once a perfect and highly romantic place to spend a night or two in historic Savannah, now it is rather ordinary and much less romantic. Too bad.

If you do decide to stay in the Gastonian, stay in the Main Inn in a room with one of the huge Jacuzzis. Until they replace the bed with one of equal drama and stop doing laundry in the morning, the carriage house is now a bust. However, I still recommend the Gastonian, just not nearly as enthusiastically.

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