To be clear, this post is NOT sponsored. My family and I paid the full-ride for this vacation. Last summer we were invited up to Clevelands House as part of a Yummy Mummy Club event. We loved it so much, we booked to come up again for a second year and we plan to make it an annual vacation. We hope you can come too!
I guess I'd be suspicious if bloggers from a website invited me to come along on a vacation with them. I'd be all, "There's a discount when you book? Is there Koolaid or something? What's the catch?"
I have no hidden agenda (other than wanting more fun people along to play with on my summer holiday) and there is no catch. Well, unless you go fishing and get lucky. It's just a special place. Think *Kellermans* ala Dirty Dancing. There are planned activities; water sports and activities for the kids. Crafts. We lounge by the pool and dress for dinner. We play tennis and golf and shuffle board and cards while the kids run free. It's all very 1950s. I love the 50s.
My son golfed with the big boys and showed them how it was done.
My daughter who doesn't often get the chance to be independent gets to be. She attended the Cleve Kids' Club and she had the time of her life. Nobody puts Baby in the corner. They didn't even try.
She made friends and tried new things while her parents took a moment to breathe for the first time in a long time.
And what did I do while my family was otherwise engaged? I read, I relaxed, I floated in the pool, and did yoga in an open air studio surrounded by a pond and ducks and quiet. It was bliss.
We came away from this weekend as a family closer, happier, calmer.
Will we go next year? Absolutely. We'll start saving up now. And perhaps you'll join us?
I hope so because there's this...
and this
and this (I'm not exactly sure what "this" is but it was sure fun!)
and also this
We tried "hallway" babysitting for the first time. It's free. A babysitter (usually a university student who is a Kids' Club counselor by day) sits in the hall outside the rooms starting at 9 pm. I was nervous, but my son had a cell phone so he could text us if there was a problem. Seems I was the one with the problem since I did most of the texting.
Some have said, "It's too expensive." It's not really.
This year, everything is ala cart. This means aside from the room, you only pay for what you use. To save money, we brought along some food and beverages. Each room has a fridge so we brought milk, juice, cereal, bread, peanut butter, fruit, granola bars, pizza buns, apple sauce cups and yogurts. This got us through breakfast and lunch. Then we ate dinner in the main dining room or at Dukes on the dock. We also brought some wine and beer and a jar of dish soap to wash plastic dishes, cups and cutlery in the sink.
We'd love it if you joined us next year. If only for the kids' talent show. It's off the hook.
Erica and her family have been vacationing at Clevelands House for years. She loves it so much, she wanted to share it with everyone. I'm glad she did. My husband spent many childhood summers at the Cleves with his family, so it has an extra punch of nostalgia for us. You gotta love nostalgia.
See you next summer?
Printer-friendly version