Cinnamon Hollow Reviews

Our Fabulous Smoky Mountain Fall Break with Colonial Properties!

October 17, 2011 By Crystal Leave a Comment

Smoky Mountain Overlook. Tennessee/NorthCarolina Border.

My family just got back from a super fun fall break vacation with my husband’s entire extended family. I’m talking Mom and Step-Dad, Dad and Step-mom (yes, you read that right, all 4 of them) sister and family, brother, aunts, cousin, etc. It was SOOOOOOOO much fun!

I’ll post more about it later. I have tons of photos. But I wanted to brag on the cabin rental company just really quickly. This is NOT a sponsored post. I’ve not been compensated in any way to write this post. I just really, really enjoyed my stay and wanted to give them a little shout out before sharing my full vacay.

We rented 2 cabins from Colonial Properties in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. The cabins, themselves, were in Gatlinburg. We stayed in Happy Days and my sis-in-law and some of the others stayed in Crown Jewel. The cabins were gorgeous! Crown Jewel had a few problems but the staff was very friendly and the maintenance crew was prompt. They came out pretty quickly to correct any problems. We didn’t have any problems at all at Happy Days. But if we had, I know they would have been right there to correct them.

While we were at the cabin, we were visited by a family of black bears! It was the highlight of the stay. A little scary but so exciting!

Bear cub climbing up on our upper deck.

I’ll do a larger post later this week after I’ve had time to catch up. But for now I can tell you that I will DEFINITELY book with Colonial Properties again. And it will most likely be the Happy Days cabin. We loved it!!!!!

If you check Colonial Properties out on Facebook, be sure to tell them Crystal Martin at Cinnamon Hollow sent you!

I can’t wait to go back!!!!!

Filed Under: Travel Tagged With: black bears, cabin, colonial properties, smoky mountain cabin rentals, smoky moutains, tennessee, tennessee cabin rentals, vacation

I’m spending Spring Break Fireside. Fireside Chalets.

August 5, 2011 By Crystal Leave a Comment

Fireside Chalets

UPDATED: WE decided to go for fall break instead so be on the lookout for real-time posts and videos this fall as I document our trip!!!

Hubby and I have already planned where we will be spending Spring Break as well as Fall Break (on or around spring break)! You can never plan to soon, right? We don’t usually go anywhere for Spring Break week but we do usually plan something for around that time period. Usually just a weekend getaway.

We are both totally in love with the Smoky Mountains and go there to a cabin every year in the fall. This year, we made a pact to start going twice a year if at all possible, so I contacted Fireside Chalets to see what cabins they might have available for our time frame. I haven’t stayed with them, yet, but I’m pretty sure I’ve picked the perfect cabins! (A Dream Come True and A Cabin of Dreams). I’ll share more of them with you after we’ve had our mountain getaway but you can see an image below. The staff is extremely friendly and helped me pick just the right cabins for the amount of guests, type of guests (children and adults) and length of stay. They are super professional and really know their stuff! I was shown two cabins that might be right for us and both were perfect. Absolutely perfect! I can’t wait to see the cabins we chose in person and have a nice, relaxing vacation! I’ll blog about it in the ~~spring~~ fall as soon as we return. Are you excited yet? I sure am!!!

A Cabin of Dreams

I can NOT wait to stay at Fireside Chalets! Just look at the amenities. Movie theater, game oom, hot tub. The kids will love it and so will hubby and I!

*DESCRIPTION AND AMENITIES*
*4 Bedrooms* *4 Full Baths* *2 Sleeper Sofas* *2 King Beds* *1 Bunk Bed* *2 Queen Beds* *Movie Theater*	*2 Gas Fireplaces* *Game Room* *Dishwasher* *Microwave* *Coffee Maker* *Washer/Dryer*	*Gas Grill* *Hot Tub* *No Pets,Please* *Excellent View* *Sleeps up to 12*

A Dream Come True

DESCRIPTION AND AMENITIES

4 Bedrooms	2 Gas Fireplaces	Wireless Internet
4 Full Baths	Game Room	Gas Grill
2 Sleeper Sofas	Dishwasher	Hot Tub
4 King Beds	Microwave	No Pets, Please
Movie Theater	Coffee Maker	Excellent View
	Washer/Dryer	Sleeps up to 12

Check out Fireside Chalets and if you’ve ever stayed with them, let me know how you liked it!

If you’d like to reserve a cabin yourself, you can call their toll free number 1-877-774-4121.

Also, be sure to check them out on Facebook and Twitter.

Disclosure: I received a wonderful discount from Fireside Chalets as a thank you for this post. All opinions are strictly my own and were not influenced in any way.

Filed Under: Day-to-Day, Travel Tagged With: cabin rentals, cabins, fireside chalets, mountain getaway, smoky mountain cabin rentals, smoky mountain cabins, spring break

Five Tips on How to Survive Long Family Road Trips

June 7, 2011 By Crystal 1 Comment

photo credit: MSVG

Summer vacation is here! WOO HOO! That means fun vacations and I have a guest post for you that offers some fantastic travel tips. Most are common sense but most likely ones we don’t usually think about in our summer/fall travel rush.
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Kids, 1 Husband and 24 Hours in a Minivan
Five Tips on How to Survive Long Family Road Trips

I have been married for 8 eight years, we have 3 children who are now aged 6, 4 and 4. Call us crazy but we have been driving the 24 hours to Florida from our home in Canada every year since the children were 3, 1 and 1. My husband is the pilot; he picks the route and drives the entire time, assisting me when he can. I am more like a stewardess making sure everyone has what they need and trying to keep the conflict to a minimum. As you can imagine I have learned a few things along the way.

1. Pull out everything that you can think of, now put most of it back! To fill up your vehicle with stuff just crowds all the people inside. An entire day is a long time to have no place to put your feet or your elbows. In all likelihood you will wear the same 2 bathing suits, pair of shorts, and 3 tank tops everyday for a week. Most places you stay will come equipped with a washing machine, which you will need to get the sand out of everybody’s pockets. In all likelihood there will be a Wal-Mart, Target or Walgreens in every city that you pass through should you need anything. Consider bringing roof top storage if you are bringing strollers and playpens or larger items.

2. Do bring their favourite sleep toy, a blanket, a small pillow, at least 10 movies, colouring books, handheld games and reading material. I like to organize them into separate bins. Do not forget to purchase a couple of small new toys for each child to use as a bribe or distraction as needed.

3. Pack snacks, but before you do, if you are going to another country be sure to check with customs about what food items you are allowed to cross the border with. It is a terrible thing when you have to toss out your food at the border and can result in your being held up there for a period of time (and if you are like my husband every year you are trying to beat last year’s time). I like to bring pretzels, nuts and M&M’s, cereals in those fun little boxes and drinks.

4. Bring wipes!!! Wipes for your hands and face, gas station toilet seats, bottoms and anything else you can think of. Guaranteed your child will call out “I have to go pee”, after you have past the rest station and there is 47.5 miles until the next one. The only place to stop will be a rundown gas station or wooded area. And don’t forget to bring a garbage bag for all of those wipes and anything else that is going to land in your car.

5. Most importantly, sit back, relax, and accept that your children will ask you a million times if you are there yet, they will have to use the bathroom every 30 minutes, you will have to stop often, they will make a mess of your car, they will fight with each other and at some point you will yell at them. But you know what; it is part of the experience, par for the course, for anyone crazy enough to spend 24 hours in a car with their children.

Good luck and have fun!

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About the Author:

Lynn Galeazza is a mother of three, the youngest being a set of twins. To say life is hectic is an understatement! When Lynn is not trying to be in three places at once, she does promotions for Pipsqueak Boutique, an online children’s store specializing in first birthday gifts and personalized kids gifts (the kind of gifts that make great distractions during long car rides!)

This is a guest post. No monetary compensation was received.

Filed Under: Family, Guest Posts, Travel, Vacation Tagged With: summer travel, summer travel tip

A Mexican Getaway by Marcie Pickelsimer

October 12, 2010 By Crystal Leave a Comment

Marcie Pickelsimer, founder of Grown in My Heart and a member of the Villa Group travel affiliate network, got the chance to visit Nuevo Vallarta and shares priceless vacation memories and tips.

I’m beginning to think that living in Mexico might not be so bad as long as I can live at the Del Palmar Flamingos and had my food delivered to me poolside everyday. I don’t think Jenny Craig would go for it though and with all the money I’ve been paying her lately it would be such a waste, wouldn’t it? Oh, but I could dream.

The entire family returned home last Saturday from Mexico, sun drenched and beer logged (at least the adults, that is). After literally living in paradise for seven days the leaves on the ground were not a welcome sight.

But I digress…Since this is a review I’ll make it easy and outline a few things.

The Food:

While the resort only sports two restaurants and two bars (open at different times), the food is fabulous. The Bellavista Restaurant offers a causal breakfast buffet or menu dining, à la carte lunches, and buffet or à la carte dinners with themes such as lobster, Mexican, Argentinian grilled meats, and pasta. The open air Cafe is both pool and beachside and serves pizza, burgers, sandwiches, Mexican items, and tropical drinks (and beer and liquor) from late morning to early evening. The Cafe turns into an Italian restaurant, La Trattoria, at 6 pm for beachfront dining. They serve fabulous pizza, onion rings, quesadillas, and fruit plates. They also have the most incredible gelato.

During the day, servers cater to quests every whim: one only has to raise an empty glass or lift an eyebrow to signal their attention. Servers are hospitable, kind, gracious, and very child friendly. Although the all-inclusive information states no tipping the servers do expect tips and because the minimum wage in Mexico is so low we actually didn’t mind. It is the way they make their living.

The all-inclusive package:

My family chose the all-inclusive package because we took two young children and knew they would want to snack during the day. This was actually a great deal for us and in my opinion the only way to go if you eat more than one meal and drink more than two drinks at the resort per day. The daily cost for the all inclusive is $70 for an adult and $35 for a child under 12. When you add up food prices and drink prices it makes complete sense. Additionally, the all-inclusive package includes all of your non-motorized water sports, kids club, and the fitness center.

Children’s activities:

I have two boys that LOVE the water but they can only get so much of the beach and the pool. SO, it was a great option for us that the Flamingos had a Kid-Certified Staff. Everyday there were age-specific activities for our seven year old (two was too young). He could make bracelets, paint ceramic animals, play bubbles, join movie time, or even join in some good Pirate fun. During Prime Vacation season they also have Kids Nights that include dinner, arcades, discos and movies. My boys were exhausted by 5 pm because ALL they wanted to do was surf the waves or play in the pool waterfalls.

The resort also offers babysitting services which we used once. The service is $15 an hour and if you use it after 10 pm you will also need to pay $15 for a taxi. Pretty reasonable. The babysitter we used was the concierge from the hotel next door (also part of the Villas) who had a child the same age as our oldest.

The BEST activity of the week was the Sea Lions. Every Tuesday the resort brings in a Sea Lion named Maggie for all of the hotel guests (and neighboring hotel guests) to see. (It’s part of a tour promotion) Maggie was absolutely gorgeous and super sweet. She smiled, gave kisses to Gus, and was a blast to see.

Adult Activities:

My husband loved the adult activities, as he was able to play some vigorous beach volleyball, pool volleyball, and water polo.

The resort also has theme dinners on Sunday nights. It’s a little over the top but they have interesting Mexican entertainment, good food, great drinks, and entertainment for the kids.

Additional Activities:

Because my family was at the resort to review the property the General Manager offered us some fabulous extras so that we could see all the resort had to offer. I would not generally pay for these activities because, well, we can’t really afford these extravagances on just my husband’s salary. However, I do HIGHLY recommend that if you get the chance to try one or two of these please, do. They were absolutely fabulous.

Spa treatment;

My husband and I were offered the Honeymoon spa treatment at the Tatewari Spa that would include a European Seaweed Facial, Therapeutic Hot Towel Massage, Tropical Exfoliation, a bottle of champagne and Hors d’oeuvres. It is valued at $225. However, my husband is not really into spas. So, I offered to take my mother who was along for the trip with us. We were able to choose whatever treatment we wanted and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. The spa is absolutely beautiful, a little pricey (but they are always offering deals), and the treatments are incredible. We both chose the mud massage and a facial and I honestly LOVED it, as I had never had either.

Dinner at La Casona;

Um, Heaven? We hired a babysitter for this evening because we wanted to be able to have at least one dinner without a child on our lap or food flung at us. It was well worth it. Chef Eugenio knows his way around organic foods, raw foods, gourmet delights, and even fabulous desserts. The menu includes specials like Kobe beef and his own specialty, Creme Brulee. Dining at La Casona is not included in the all-inclusive.

En Villa Dining with Chef Eugenio

The Villa La Estancia directly next door to Flamingos is an ownership community that is absolutely divine. We were invited to tour THE Penthouse and enjoy dinner created by Chef Eugenio and his staff. I can’t explain how special this was to my family. We were able to enjoy the sunset from the top of the resort, sip a cocktail, and dine with one of Mexico’s premier chef’s.

Cooking Lessons with Chef Eugenio

The last day of our trip Eric and I had the unique opportunity to have an afternoon cooking lesson with chef Eugenio. Yes, me…the one who does not cook. I actually learned to cut vegetables the correct way, learned a fabulous secret to REALLY good guacamole, and I now have an incredible recipe for Tortilla Soup (that I can’t wait to try!).

The afternoon included a Personalized Chef Jacket, lunch and wine, a recipe book, diplomas, and the lesson. The afternoon is valued at $200 per couple.

You can take a tour of the entire facility online at the Villa Del Palmar Flamingos.

*As a member of the Villa Group Travel Affiliate Network, The Villa Group Resorts gave my family the spa treatment, several dinners, the cooking class, and a portion of our stay in return for this review.

Visit Marcie online at Grown in My Heart, an adoption community where everyone can grow together.