Just got back from staying at the Vinoy resort to celebrate Ryan’s birthday and we had such a wonderful time! Customer service is impeccable and the resort is gorgeous with historic and contemporary decor - my favorite!

I booked a room with a balcony and water view and it was a lovely room with lots of space and very comfortable beds. It was like sleeping on clouds!

When I booked the room, I casually mentioned that we were celebrating a birthday and to our surprise, we were greeted with a bottle of champagne and chocolate-covered strawberries! We couldn’t believe they went out of their way to do this for us. Usually when I tell the receptionist we’re celebrating a birthday, they might have a birthday card in the room from the staff or I’d have to pay for surprises to arrive in the room, but this was completely complimentary.

BIRTHDAY SURPRISE! CHAMPAGNE WITH CHOCOLATE COVERED STRAWBERRIES

We enjoyed all the bars and restaurants in the resort including Fred’s Cellar and Marchand’s Bar and Grill. Both restaurants had delicious foods with exceptional service. Fred’s Cellar is a speakeasy restaurant that is only open on Fridays and Saturdays for dinner and when you call to book a reservation, you’re given a passcode to enter. It was kinda funny walking through some random closet space where ice vending machines were before you reached the hostess. The menu had a lot of great, original dishes and they have a few dishes where they make the ingredients from scratch, like the ricotta cheese on the mushroom toast.

Marchand’s Bar and Grill has a well-known Sunday brunch that has an omelette station, meat carving station, risotto station with fruits, cheese, and other breakfast and lunch items. You can also order pancakes, waffles, eggs benedict and more from the kitchen. I loved everything about it! Well… except for the risotto. It was really undercooked in my opinion.

The only downside to this hotel is that you have to pay for wifi and parking, but I guess that’s pretty typical for luxury resorts. All in all, we loved our staycation and can’t wait to come back and enjoy our stay again!