Quality Family Time at Chautauqua Harbor Hotel
Spend the weekend at a gorgeous lakeside resort in Western NY
This trip marked two firsts for our family: our first overnight stay as a family of 5 without any other family members joining us, and our first time at staying in hotel accommodations with our toddlers. Check, and check!
If you've been following my Instagram, then you know we were so excited to be hosted at the Chautauqua Harbor Hotel! This lakefront resort is brand-spanking-new, built only three years ago in Celeron, NY. It was a short 2 hour drive from Rochester, NY, and is just over an hour from Buffalo.
The lake resort has a ton to do right on site, and was the perfect way to spend 2 nights and 3 days. One of the things I loved most about our stay was how family friendly it was. Our toddlers were welcomed to play on the putting greens while we watched from our dinner table. There were plenty of kids running around for our girls to play with, but there's also tons of space so nothing ever felt crowded. The restaurant even delivered food from their menu free of charge straight to the room, so we didn't need to pack up the girls for each meal.
Here's a quick Youtube video with highlights of our stay.
To do:
Pool hop between the indoor pool, outdoor pool, jacuzzi, repeat
Take a sunset walk along the water/enjoy it from your balcony
Bring your fishing pole and teach your kids to fish
Have drinks by one of the many fire pits
Pick up your clubs and golf balls at the front desk and play mini golf overlooking the water
Grab a drink at the outdoor pool bar
Play at the lakefront playground and take a picture with the Lucille Ball sculpture (did you know she is from Celeron, NY!?)
Take a quick walk to the lighthouse
Practice your gymnastics skills on the lawn overlooking the sunset off the lake (this was definitely the highlight of the trip for London!)
There's a ton more to do in the surrounding areas that we didn't even make it to. Check out the National Comedy Center and the Lucy-Desi Museum (book the Hilarious Getaway Package through the resort which includes tickets!) in nearby Jamestown, NY. Visit a local winery or brewery like Southern Tier Brewing. Or, book a ride on the Chautauqua Bell, one of the last steamboats left in North America.
To Eat:
The on-site restaurant Lakehouse Tap & Grille is so good, we never left the resort! The kids meals are HUGE for a great price, and they even offer room service from the restaurant for any meal of the day. Throughout our stay we had just about every kids meal on the menu, and Sam loved the Harbor Burger, while my top recommendation is the Grilled Ribeye Steak. The girls loved the unlimited supply of crayons and coloring paper, and I couldn't resist glass (or two) of prosecco on the back patio with sunset lake views!
On our second night of the stay the Carousel Bar was open, so we ordered drinks and pizza and enjoyed them on the mini peninsula with 360 views of the lake. Both restaurant areas are extremely family friendly, and made us feel so comfortable eating out with toddlers running around at our feet.
Bed Time:
We stayed in a two room suite which was crucial for our first hotel stay! Sam and I had the gorgeous king bedroom with a pocket door leading to the living room where all three of the girls' travel beds fit perfectly. The girls love their blow up beds, and it adds a lot of excitement to their sleep arrangement when we're on vacation! Both the bedroom and living room had balcony access which was the perfect spot for family breakfasts and sunset hangouts once the girls were down to sleep. With 2 bathrooms, 2 TVs, and even an electric fireplace, we absolutely loved the accommodations.
I was so scared that the girls would be up all night trying to get into our bedroom, but we let them watch TV while they fell asleep as a special treat, and we closed the curtains so it was dark and cozy. Not only did they sleep through the night, they actually slept in an hour later than they do at home both days! I was shocked and so happy to have our first hotel experience be such a great success. The separate living room and extra space for the girls to run around on the large balcony provided just enough room for our family of five.
Sam and I agreed that our trip to Chautauqua Harbor Hotel was the best trip we've taken as a family to date. It gave us so much more confidence in traveling as a family of five, and was close enough to make it an easy journey for a two night stay.
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