Washington Place Bistro & Inn Video
Located in Cleveland’s historic Little Italy neighborhood, the newly expanded and renovated Washington Place Bistro & Inn offers affordable, classic American cuisine and seven modern, beautifully appointed rooms with first-class amenities.
Washington Place’s Little Italy location puts it within a 5-minute drive of Cleveland’s finest museums and cultural institutions, as well as a short distance from downtown Cleveland.
For more information or to make reservations online, visit www.washingtonplacelittleitaly.com and take a photos tour here. – Freddie Coffey + Corinne Allie
Kelleys Island Venture Resort
Need an island Getaway? Kelleys Island Venture Resort has what you need.
Located at 441 West Lakeshore Drive on Lake Erie’s beautiful Kelleys Island, Kelleys Island Venture resort boasts 31 luxury suites equipped with all the amenities of home and they’ll make your bed for you. In every room you’ll find refrigerators, microwaves, free internet access and more. A lakeside swimming pool offers spectacular views and a lakeside deck complete with grills, picnic tables and lounge chairs will get you into vacation mode in a heartbeat.
Kelleys Island Venture Resort is situated in a way that every suite provides a view of Lake Erie. Hang out at the pool, take a hike, grab a drink at a lakeside bar, catch at tan at the beach or just sit and enjoy your quiet surroundings.
For more information about Kelleys Island Venture Resort visit www.kiventureresort.com and to take a photo tour of the property click here.
– FC + CA
Kelleys Island – Lake Erie
Desperate for an island escape this summer? Look no further than the Lake Erie Islands, just a 45 minute drive (and a 20 minute boat ride) west of Cleveland, Ohio.
This summer we made our way to Kelleys Island to discover the best ways to enjoy the island. Of the Lake Erie Islands, Kelleys is the most laid back, take-it-easy, sip a drink while soaking up some sun, appreciate nature, lose connection from the rest of the world kind of island. Those most excited to arrive are those who aren’t in the mood for a huge party. Unless it’s Island Fest weekend, in which case everyone gathers downtown for a high energy island celebration, Kelleys is great for a romantic escape, a family outing, a slow-going trip with friends or a solo getaway.
The largest American island in Lake Erie, Kelleys in its entirety is on the National Register of Historic Sites. From the glacial grooves to architecturally pleasing historic neighborhoods, there’s a lot to see and do. Popular activities include, in no particular order:
- Bird watching
- Bike riding (This is one of the best ways to tour the island. Plan stops at the Glacial Grooves and the Quarry.)
- Fishing
- Hiking
- Scuba diving
- Kayaking
- Watching the sunset (or rise)
- Enjoying the view
- Sipping a Brandy Alexander from the Village Pump or a Bloody Mary at the Casino
- Putt-putt golf
Golf Carts are the preferred mode of transportation on the island and there are plenty of places to lay your head including B&Bs, cottage rentals and one resort style hotel situated on Lake Erie complete with views from every room.
For a more private stay make reservations (well in advance, we’re talking a year or so here) at A Water’s Edge Retreat Luxury Bed & Breakfast where guests enjoy daily gourmet breakfast, homemade breads and pastries, guaranteed relaxation and a home away from home (where you don’t have to make your bed, scrub the shower or cook for the kids). For a slightly faster pace, make reservations at Kelleys Island Venture Resort. This lakefront hotel holds 31 suites, each equipped with refrigerator, microwave, internet access and patios with lake views. Other amenities include a swimming pool, hot tub, children’s playground, corn-hole, bicycles, and lake-side picnic tables, lounge chairs and grills free for guests of Kelleys Island Venture Resort.
Transportation to and from the island can be found aboard the Jet Express, Miller Ferry or the Kelleys Island Ferry. Check daily schedules as they change throughout the season.
For more information about Kelleys Island and other attractions in Cleveland Plus, visit www.positivelycleveland.com. For more Kelleys Island photos click here.
– CA + FC
Glidden House
Located on the campus of Case Western Reserve University on Cleveland’s east side, Glidden House is Cleveland’s only full-service boutique hotel. An impressive, renovated French-Gothic mansion, the hotel features stunning beauty and legendary charm combined with a chic, urban design and all of the modern conveniences travelers have come to expect.
Glidden House was built in 1910 by the son of the founder of the Glidden Paint and Varnish Company and eventually purchased by a group of private investors who converted the home to a 60 room boutique hotel in the late 1980s. Renovators were pleased to uncover original beams, carvings, woodwork and other architectural details that today add to the warmth and feel of the property.
Guests may choose from two types of rooms at Glidden House. Modern guest rooms and vintage suites offer plasma screen televisions, complementary wireless internet, work stations, concierge service and a European style breakfast buffet featuring hot and cold items served daily. Guests are also invited to gather for drinks and small plates during happy hour at the hotel’s bar. Fine dining can be found just steps away at Sergio’s in the Circle located in the mansion’s carriage house.
Glidden House is situated within the most densely packed square mile of arts and culture in the country. Whether you’re in the mood for Monet, an Indie film or, opera you can find it in University Circle.
Within walking distance are the Cleveland Museum of Art, currently undergoing a massive renovation, Cleveland Botanical Garden, Cleveland Museum of Natural History, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland Institute of Music, Cleveland Institute of Art, Children’s Museum of Cleveland and Severance Hall, home to the world renowned Cleveland Orchestra.
Glidden House also offers a beautiful backdrop for weddings and events. A covered outdoor space on the charmingly manicured grounds of the estate provides an ideal setting for any weather or, bring the celebration indoors during colder months.
For more information including specials and packages and to book your stay visit www.gliddenhouse.com. To take a photo tour click here.
– Submitted by C.A. and F.C.
A vacation, in our own backyard
It happens like clockwork. The end of January rolls around and I am literally itching for something to do. Call it the winter blues, call it cabin fever, call it whatever you want; it’s a problem, a very expensive problem. I ultimately start planning an elaborate long weekend getaway that I can’t afford so soon after the holidays. Well this year I can’t, just can’t get away right now. But does this mean I have to spend another weekend fine tuning the body imprint on the couch, scanning the latest new releases on Netflix? After some thought and research, I discovered no, there is plenty to do in my hometown of Cleveland in the winter; lately I’ve just been too lazy to get out and do it.
So this weekend I’ve planned a vacation for my husband and I to get away. Sure, it’s only 20 miles away from our humble abode but there are plenty of things to do and places to eat that often we complain we “never have time” to experience. Well, this weekend is our chance. The only rule is that we can’t go somewhere where we have been before, just as if we were on vacation in a different location.
Cleveland Museum of Art
After some wine, we will hop on a bus to the Cleveland Museum of Art (www.clevelandart.org; 216.421.7350), less than a mile away in University Circle. In the process of a massive renovation, the museum reopened some galleries this past summer, bringing back more than 900 pieces, many of which have been out of the public’s eye for the past five years. With more than 40 galleries still open during the renovation there is plenty to see and the best part is admission to the permanent collections is free and open until 9pm on Fridays.
Presti's Bakery
To save money, Friday evening we’ll stay at home. To keep with the vacationing spirit though, no early morning Saturday workout for me. Instead we’ll rise and shine bright and early for skiing and snow tubing at Boston Mills/Brandywine (www.bmbw.com; 800.875.4241). Then, we’ll get in a workout by cross country skiing at Lake Metroparks (www.lakemetroparks.com; 440.358.7275). Hey, if we’ve got this much snow, we might as well enjoy it.
Debonne Vineyards
After a quick change to prepare for a night on the town, we’re heading to the Kennedy’s Theater at PlayhouseSquare (www.playhousesquare.org; 216.771.8403) to check out Flanagan’s Wake. According to reviews the performance is half scripted, half improvisation as the audience is transported to Ireland. The audiences then participate with the villagers in the telling of tales, singing of songs, and mourn the passing of one of their own, Flanagan. Sounds like something worth the low cost of admission, around $20.
The best part about winter vacations? Hotel rooms at way discounted rates. The Radisson Gateway actually has a “red hot deal” online for only $59! Other hotel properties such as the Wyndham have deals based on the temperature outside. For special hotel packages, click here.
Champagne Bar
Sunday morning we’ll finish off the weekend with brunch at Lucky’s Café (www.luckyscafe.com; 216.622.7773) in Tremont. (You can always try one of these brunch options as well) and head home with a new stash of vacation memories and a bank account still on budget.
For more vacation ideas, hotel information and restaurant listings visit www.positivelycleveland.com.
– Submitted by A.I.
Coasting Along
Group outing destinations that appeal to a wide range of people and personalities are tough to come by, but Cedar Point near Sandusky – just a quick jaunt west along the Lake Erie coast from Cleveland – most definitely fits the bill. Voted Amusement Today’s World’s Best Amusement Park for a record-setting 12 straight years, Cedar Point offers its famous array of roller coasters along with beaches, waterparks and other family-friendly attractions that make it a truly one-of-a-kind place to visit.
With six places to stay, Cedar Point serves up 1,600 rooms and a wide variety of lodging possibilities. The classic and expansive beachfront Hotel Breakers, Sandcastle Suites, Camper Village and the cottages and cabins of Lighthouse Point are all nestled parkside on the Cedar Point peninsula, while Breakers Express and Castaway Bay, with its indoor year-round waterpark, sit just across the causeway.
For meetings and conventions, Hotel Breakers and Castaway Bay both include spacious ballrooms and smaller spaces for seminars and training programs. And, when the work’s done for the day, the Cedar Point midway is the perfect place to play.
“We are an amusement park first and foremost,” Cedar Point group sales director Tim Walsh notes. “We’ll customize what we have based on what a group is looking for.” And that can mean everything from arranging specific in-park meals to exclusive park access and ride times.
And if you’re group is the adventure-minded sort, in addition to its classic menu of coasters and thrill rides, Cedar Point added Shoot the Rapids in 2010. It’s a wild, 2,100-foot-long wild water ride boasting an 85-foot drop and all but guaranteeing a soaking good time. – Submitted by guest blogger John Booth
Sometimes It’s Easy Being Green – Eco-friendly Options in Cleveland Plus
RTA Healthline (photo by Jason Miller)
You might not figure that a place with a steeltown reputation spends much time thinking green, but thanks to regional environmental and sustainability initiatives across Cleveland Plus, spending time enjoying Northeast Ohio can appeal to your eco-friendly side, too.
A quartet of Cleveland hotels – the Crowne Plaza, the Hyatt Regency at the Arcade, the Radisson Gateway and the InterContinental – have all taken steps from using more efficient light bulbs to unplugging unused extras like room refrigerators and hair dryers to ditching aerosol cleaners. And guests can do their part if they’d like by opting for fewer linen and towel changes. Great Wolf Lodge in Sandusky is the first – and only – hotel chain to have all its US properties Green Seal™ certified and this family-friendly waterpark resort goes to great lengths to be environmentally conscious.
Getting around is greener, too, with the RTA Healthline’s hybrid buses and 1,500 new trees along the newly-polished Euclid corridor connecting Public Square with the East Side.
Chef Jonathon Sawyer (photo by Scott Meivogel)
Catching an Indians game at Progressive Field? You’re not the only one soaking up the rays: An array of upper deck solar panels provides enough electricity to run the stadium’s 400 televisions. And the stadium’s recycling habits date all the way back to Opening Day of 1994, continuously expanding to the tune of 150 tons of recycled material in 2009. The Tribe has also turned to using environmentally-friendly items like plastic cups and cutlery based not on petroleum but on compostable materials like corn starch and sugar cane.
Head over to East Fourth Street’s Greenhouse Tavern for a mouthwatering meal that includes sustainability as a major not-so-secret ingredient. Founder and chef Jonathon Sawyer and his wife Amelia embraced the importance of local foods and low-impact restaurant operations from the start, putting their restaurant in a refurbished building and using recycled and repurposed materials and furnishings every place they could.
And when it comes to food, Jonathon has long believed that the closer a kitchen is to its farms, the better the dishes it will serve. That’s why you’ll find a menu rich in local fare from Northeast Ohio farms that cuts down on costs and carbon without carving away an iota of flavor.
Turns out that in Cleveland Plus, being green can be as easy as dinner, a night out and a stay downtown. –Submitted by guest blogger John Booth
The New Doubletree Hotel Cleveland Downtown/Lakeside
The Doubletree Hotel in downtown Cleveland recently underwent a full renovation (and flag change to become a Doubletree–it was a Holiday Inn) and I must admit I like their style. A new layout in the lobby opens things up and makes room for Starbucks. Dark wood floors and comfortable furniture fill the lobby offering a nice setting for travelers to check email, read or relax. Other hotel amenities include an indoor pool, free wi-fi throughout, an attached sports bar/restaurant, covered parking, workout facility, meeting rooms and a large ballroom.
The Doubletree is in walking distance to many downtown attractions like the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, PlayhouseSquare, Browns Stadium and the Great Lakes Science Center, as well as examples of Cleveland’s flourishing culinary scene in the Warehouse District and along East Fourth Street. The Doubletree also offers shuttle service within the downtown area. (Oh, and warm, delicious chocolate chip cookies for its arriving guests!)
So, whether you’re on a family vacation or traveling for business, the Doubletree will accommodate your needs. And all of this comes with an incredible view of Lake Erie.
Take a photo tour of the Doubletree Hotel Cleveland Downtown/Lakeside here. For more information visit www.clevelanddowntownlakeside.doubletree.com or call 216.928.3202. –Submitted by CA
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