Meami Craig blog

Monday, August 25, 2008

What is the most romantic hotel room in Rochester?

I found it! As an offocial afficiando of all things romantic and champion of the fabulous city of Rochester, NY, I searched until I hit the jackpot--the most romantic hotel room in all of Rochester! It is room # 406 at the Inn on Broadway on Chestnut Street. Let me describe for you the juicy details of how I ended up there and just how incredible and perfect it was. You see, Saturday was my husband's and my 28th wedding anniversary. We have a history of things going very well for us together when I take charge! We met at a Boston College alumni meeting here in Rochester 29 years ago and have been happy together ever since. Except we didn't really meet at the actual meeting. I arrived late and left early for a date with a dud--a local dude who flaunted daddy's membership at the Country Club of Rochester everytime he took me there for yet another dinner. BUT, I really NOTICED my future husband Bob at this alumni meeting! I went home and told my family that I had seen this wonderful guy at the meeting and that he was exactly what I was looking for as a life partner--this at the tender age of 20! Well, Bob went home and told his roomates that he saw this beautiful girl at the meeting but he didn't know how to get in touch with her. Lo and behold, a few weeks later there appeared in my mail a list of everyone who had been at that meeting. I didn't even know Bob's name, but since we were the two youngest people there I deduced it was him. I quickly sent him a letter on official
U. of R. Medical Center stationary where I was working at the time (hoping to meet a cute young doctor but fate intervened) and in my friendly letter asked Bob if he wanted to work on a totally fake, entirely made up fundraiser for Boston College. There were typos all over that letter and at the end I wrote a P.S. apologizing for that but said, "You know us sociology/philosophy majors: no practical skills!" I figured if he was married we could just actually work on the fundraiser together. He called me within days, set up a date, arrived late after getting lost which proved to be a definite foreshadow of the future, and we closed the old "Steak and Ale" on Jefferson Rd. that night, both smitten. Just months later we were engaged, and 2 kids and 29 years later the rest is history! So you can see what happens when I take charge!

The 28th anniversary was almost upon us, and I was seriously thinking of getting him a necktie as a gift. This was even though he has 42,000 neckties most of which I have given him. Neckties were in fact, in my hand as I almost settled for a typical anniversary candlelight dinner somewhere and the ubitquitous tie for our big night. But something told me this wasn't good enough for this anniversary. It wasn't our 25th or 30th, but we had become empty nesters recently and after facing that challenge were finally getting along quite nicely in our little cocoon together. Something in my gut told me we needed something more--a time out in the most romantic hotel room in Rochester. I started my search at the Strathallan where we had stayed in their presidential suite many years ago. It has been recently updated, so I booked it--making sure it had the all important tub for two there. Again, something in my gut told me to check this out--so I did and much to my surprise it was a hideous montrosity of bad taste. I'm talking brown and orange striped bedspreads and the biggest offense: two tubs there, each one big enough to fit one persion at a time! What were we supposed to do, take baths in our separate tubs and yell to each other from separate bathrooms? They actually got rid of the old Roman tub for two they had in there previously where we had indulged and played bubbles. This would not do, and the people working at the desk at the Strath were actually very helpful in my quest to find a double tub. For this reason, I heartily recommend locals to put their friends and business associates up at the Strath whever possible. But here's how I found my ultra romantic room: I got out the yellow pages and called every single hotel in this area. I found out the Brookwood has jacuzzi tubs but ordinary rooms. I found out the Lodge at Woodcliff has two very special two story suites where we have already stayed and which does indeed have a huge tub for four if you want it, but other than that the rooms are not particularly soulful and besides, both were booked for the night I wanted. Finally I found it--a room with a step up Roman jacuzzi bathtub for two, a brass fourposter bed, gorgeous hardwood floors, real oriental tubs--and the absolute topper: a gas fireplace which dominated the room. I looked and I booked! I ended up taking TWO large suitcases full of candles, a suit for my husband to wear to dinner there that night, magazines, scissors and glue for us to work on our vision board together (the topic of another blog), clothes and lots of jewelry for me to change into that night and we were off! I told him I wanted to check out the perfect table for dinner there that night, so around noon Saturday as we were checking out their absolutlely beautiful dining room I suddenly gave my husband a card and said open it; it's your anniversary gift from me! Surprise! The keys to our room were in the card, and when he saw the room--with the fire lit, his business suit waiting, candles by the tub and massage oils by the big brass bed, hell, even a pack of cheese and pretzel combos and a huge pounder bag of m&m's for us to munch while we drank our chilled champagne, gift bags for him, everything but p.j.'s--he flipped! We felt like we had gone out of town but actually we had just gone down the street from our home! This really added to the relaxation factor--no travel, no stress, just pure jazz on the radio in the room and candles lit on the mantel above the
flickering fireplace! Can you imagine what this would have cost in NY city? The room for the night was $285--cheaper than most of the other options--and worth every single penny. We had dinner at Tournedos, their five star dining establishment that night, and we are both still lusting after the creamed spinach and risotto we ordered, not to mention dry-aged fliet of beef for me with extra bernaise sauce, of course, and a huge cold platter of lobster, shrimp, crab, you name it, for him! The desserts looked great, every single one of them, but we just had to forgo them because we were so sufficed from dinner that there was just no more room left to imbibe or eat! Besides, we didn't want to have our tummies too full for our bubble bath later and we didn't--and we did! Write to me here if YOU have found a particularly romantic getaway in Rochester. Here's to love!

posted by meami craig at 7:13 AM