By Julianna Roche and Brianna Bodine
Recover from the holiday hustle and bustle with the perfect getaway and make New Year’s Eve elegant and relaxing.
Always a favorite, the Inn & Spa at Cedar Falls promises guests a romantic retreat less than three hours east of Cincinnati in Hocking Hills. This “green-certified” B&B is tucked into a picturesque natural setting, which owners say puts guests in tune with the harmony of nature and the peace of solitude.
Guests can hike the trails alongside mammoth rock formations, breathtaking gorges, waterfalls and caves before settling into their charming cottage, 1840s log cabin or antique-filled B&B room.
An open kitchen sits at the heart of this bed and breakfast inside the double log cabin, where guests may chat while watching gourmet meals being prepared from scratch by gourmet chef Anthony Schulz. Fine dishes such as pan-seared pork chop with ginger and pear sauce, or butternut ravioli with peppered sage cream sauce, are on the menu.
“You often see deer playing in the meadows and woods. You’ll see the ice on the trees and the snowfall. It is “just a winter in wonderland picture,” says Becky Russell, marketing and guest services consultant at Glenlaurel.
Hot tubs will keep you warm, and an on-site spa offers massage services in the privacy of your own room or cottage.
Bagpipes call guests to dinner, a six-course candlelight affair served nightly at the manor house. A complimentary gourmet breakfast is served every morning, featuring fare such as buttermilk waffles, fresh fruit and peppered bacon.
“Hurry up and relax,” Russell says with a laugh. “Hurry up to get here, and then relax when you’re here.”
Glenlaurel, 14940 Mount Olive Road, Rockbridge, OH. (740) 385-4070; (800) 809-7378 or glenlaurel.com.
For those who party late into the night, the evening aboard the ship doesn’t have to end. The Spirit of Jefferson will continue its celebration with its New Year’s Eve Gala, with a late-night bash including delicious hors d’oeuvres,champagne and DJ entertainment.
Steamboat Belle of Louisville, Spirit of Jefferson, 4th Street Wharf, Louisville. (502) 574-2992 or belleoflouisville.org.
Choose from six beautiful, cozy rooms “” each with its own charm, cable TV and wireless high speed internet.
Pamper yourself in Chelsea’s Garden, a large Victorian room with a four-poster Queen Anne bed, decorated in all the colors of an English garden. You can enjoy your own private in-room bath too, with a four-foot claw soaker tub and shower.
Or maybe you’d rather retreat in the Grand Victorian, an amazing three-room suite with a king-size canopy bed and private in-room bath with Jacuzzi.
There’s also the Anniversary Suite “” both romantic and fun, with a large rose-colored whirlpool for two.
Historic Rocking Horse Manor Bed & Breakfast, 1022 S. Third St., Louisville, 40203. (502) 583-0408 or rockinghorse-bb.com.