Inn and Spa at Intercourse Village
Main Street
Intercourse Village, PA 17534
800-664-0949

Inn and Spa Home Page

March 2006

Welcome to www.weloveourlife.com. This is our page dedicated to our experiences while staying at the Inn and Spa at Intercourse Village, Lancaster County, PA.

	We stayed in the Harness Shed Suite, one of the inn’s 3 Grand Suites. The suite was fabulous – definitely one of the nicest we have stayed in.
	We loved the unfussy, rugged yet contemporary country décor. There were plenty of windows throughout, but each had a custom shade that we could shut at night to keep the light from waking us too early in the morning. The suite was located on the second floor and had an internal staircase with a mural on the walls. There was a light and airy feeling to the suite, as there were cathedral ceilings with exposed beams.
	The sitting area had a comfortable love seat facing a charming gas fireplace surrounded by tile.
	The fireplace was on a 30-minute timer – a great idea. There was a TV with DVD/VCR hidden behind a wooden door next to the fireplace. There were also additional chairs in the sitting area, magazines, a small table.
	The unit also included a wet bar, complete with a microwave, dishes and a small refrigerator.
	The bedroom area contained a very comfortable king bed with plenty of rich, deep blankets. There was a humorous pillow that said “Tonight” on one side and “Not Tonight” on another side. An alarm clock contained a CD player. There was a wardrobe and a small TV perched on top.
	A large, very deep corner Jacuzzi was in one corner. We both fit in the Jacuzzi with plenty of room to spare. We found ourselves spending A LOT of time in there. It was the type of thing where you turn on the jets and it just keeps going until you turn them off. The inn provided some spa scents. There were also candles around the tub and in the sitting area. Next to the tub was a vanity, sink, and mirror.

The bathroom was located off the hall that connected the sitting room and the bedroom, and contained a large shower and toilet. One note – the shower had a waterfall style shower head. It sounds like a cool thing, but the concept was better than the execution, as the water often went to one side and simply ended up coming down on our heads much like a garden hose. A plain old shower head or a rainshower one would have been better. (That was honestly our only complaint about the accommodations.)

There were some low walls with wood beams that seemed designed to serve as a mild delineation between the tub and sleeping areas, yet let the light in. An interesting feature was that there was a speaker for the TV located near the tub and also in the bathroom so that one wouldn’t miss anything from those locations. There was a separate volume control for those speakers. We commented that it seemed perhaps the owner had actually spent time in the suite to figure out what he/she would want and then made sure it was available, including plenty of thick, thirsty towels. The HVAC system was excellent, and since our stay was during a very cold, windy weekend, we loved the fireplace and soaking in the warm tub.

Inn Amenities

The inn has a gazebo and waterfall out back which we understand is a very popular location for weddings. There are non-alcoholic drinks and snacks available in the kitchen. Videos and DVDs are available for guests to use. The suites located in the buildings behind the inn (where we stayed) have their own TVs; the Victorian rooms in the house do not, but there are guest sitting rooms. There is a laptop computer with wireless Internet access available on the first floor of the main house – this is a nice convenience, as we used this to check out the menu of a local restaurant before making a reservation. The inn is in a great location – right across the street from Kitchen Kettle Village, so guests can walk to many shops. A nice feature is electronic locks – no big, bulky keys to carry around.

The spa next door – which shares an owner with the inn – is called The Spa at Intercourse Village. When we booked our stay, we also booked a spa package “Serenity for Two.” It was great and really made it a memorable weekend.

We had our pedicures in the morning. Keith had never had a pedicure before and he had fun playing with the motorized chair. He looked frightened when he was offered polish and opted to go without. He said it was fine but he can live if he doesn’t do that again. The package also included a lunch (see inn food), a gift basket (an eye pillow and a soy candle of our choosing), and one-hour massages for each of us. We were given the option of having our massages in the same room or separate rooms. Since this was Keith’s first massage, we decided to do it together. Suffice to say that we enjoyed the massage so much that we are already seeking out how we can add that to our next trip! The masseuses took the time to speak with us about any special problem points and customized our massages. Of course, the bubbling fountain, spa music, and aromatic oils added to the experience. The warm beds felt great on such a cold day. The spa offers additional services and packages as well and the location is only steps from the inn. We can’t say enough about the people – they really added to the experience and were unbelievably pleasant.

Inn Food

The food was fabulous! The inn advertises – and delivers – a five-course breakfast on fine china. The first course is some type of breakfast bread/muffin, followed by a second course of fruit/pudding/oatmeal, a main dish, the chef’s own granola mix, and a final “dessert” course. Our first morning we loved a chilled cantaloupe soup mixed with a dollop of vanilla yogurt. Keith especially cherished the chocolate mousse that was our final course one morning. One interesting offering was a side of beef bacon. Even the oatmeal was good! Note that there are two servings for breakfast. We had the early (8:30) sitting our first morning in order to make our morning appointment at the spa. The later sitting (which we had the following day) was 10 a.m. If you want to ensure you get the breakfast sitting time of your choice, you may want to call in advance. She did tell us if the sitting we wanted was full, they would have delivered breakfast to us.

Part of our couples spa package included a gourmet lunch. We opted to have it served in our room. When we returned from our morning pedicures at the spa next door, our lunch was awaiting us in our suite’s refrigerator. It was a wonderful chicken Caesar salad sandwich on crustless wheat bread, fruit with a honey yogurt cinnamon dip (the dip made everything taste like Cinnabon!), a dessert cake, and raspberry iced tea. It was a very nice lunch and we enjoyed it.

Inn Bar/Lounge

This is a bed and breakfast and as such, does not have a bar. We brought our own. They did provide us with a bottle of non-alcoholic bubbly, but we were unable to open the bottle, believe it or not!

Inn People/Service

The people were extremely professional. The inn is run very smoothly and seamlessly. Things are coordinated very well. They even clean the rooms while you are eating breakfast – which they can plan ahead, since they know who will be eating at what times. Our first morning our lunch was also put in our room while we were eating breakfast. There is one thing we found odd that we must mention. When we called to make the reservation, we requested a specific suite. The person taking the reservation said that if we wanted to request a specific room, there would be an additional $10 charge per night. It didn’t make sense to us. There were three classes of rooms – grand suites, country homestead suites, and Victorian rooms, and of course there was a different price for each type of room. The inn’s website shows the 3 different grand suites and their amenities. If they go ahead and spell it out on the website, why wouldn’t a guest be able to request the suite they wanted? They all cost the same – why charge an additional $10 per night for that? The suites are not inexpensive to begin with, so we thought this was over-the-top, but we wanted a specific suite, so we went ahead and paid the fee. We would suggest the innkeeper abolish this charge in the future. Interestingly, the inn does not appear to have a two-night minimum stay on weekends, as we met several couples who were staying only one night.

Area/Attractions

Intercourse is a charming village in the heart of Lancaster County, home to the Amish and the heart of Pennsylvania Dutch Country. Kitchen Kettle Village has plenty of shops to keep you busy for awhile. We loved the shop with all the sauces and mustards – you can try everything, and we walked out with an armload of goodies. If you like pretzels, visit the Intercourse Pretzel Factory, only a block from the inn. You can watch pretzels being made, try it yourself, and sample and buy some excellent pretzels – both hard and soft. Mix it up with some fresh lemonade, and it’s heaven! We also visited the Flower & Craft Warehouse in Blue Ball – they have a fantastic selection of fake plants and craft supplies. We visited one of our favorite Pennsylvania wineries – Twinbrook Winery in Gap, PA, near Strasburg. They have a good selection of white and red wines, as well as a sparkling wine, and tastings are done in a charming barn. The people are friendly and the winery boasts seasonal concerts. Visit Lancaster County’s tourist site for additional information on area attractions.

Dining

Log Cabin Restaurant - 11 Lehoy Forest Drive, Leola, PA 17540 717-626-1181
Log Cabin's Home Page
We wanted fine dining with wine at dinner, and you can’t really get that in downtown Intercourse, so we asked at the inn for recommendations. The inn recommends several area restaurants and provides a summary of each as well as directions. On our first evening, we ate at the Log Cabin Restaurant in Leola. It was about 30 minutes away, across country roads. The restaurant seems to be located at the end of a residential street and we missed it on our first pass and had to double back. The room we dined in was decidedly different. All of the walls were mirrored and there were portraits hung everywhere. The only other people in the room besides us was an elderly couple celebrating their wedding anniversary. We saw a lot of people walk through the room, but no one else sat in there (we are estimating there were at least a dozen tables in there, mostly empty). We figured since we had made a same-day reservation we did not end up in a desirable room, as no one seemed to be in there, and we couldn’t figure out why anyone would want to eat in a room of mirrors. Our waiter was good, but our busboy appeared scared of his own shadow and he was so nervous we couldn’t understand him – we had to ask him to keep repeating himself. We sampled shrimp cocktail, caprici salad, Italian wedding soup (a special that day), a veal dish and shrimp scampi. The food was good but the atmosphere was just weird. They do have a very extensive wine list and we enjoyed a bottle of Conumdrum – mix of white varietals. After our meal, we checked out another room which had much more atmosphere and looked – surprise! – like the inside of a log cabin. (We still don’t get the connection between a mirrored room and a log cabin.)

Revere Tavern - 3063 Lincoln Highway, Paradise, PA 17562 800-429-7383
Revere Tavern's Home Page
Our second evening, we decided to go “off the board” and eat at a restaurant that was not on the innkeeper’s list. Our goal was to find a place that was closer to the inn. We noted the Revere Tavern was relatively close (it was in a local guide) and seemed to be what we were looking for. After consulting their online menu, we made an early reservation. The restaurant is located only a few miles from our inn. There is a Best Western there, but the restaurant is an old, separate building. We were seated in an upstairs room with a fireplace, which was welcome on that cold evening. The restaurant is charming with deep windowsills. Lori had a broiled seafood combination – a lot of food for the price and very good. Keith had a chicken Caesar salad and Crepes Denmark, which consisted of asparagus spears wrapped with roasted red pepper in French crepes, and imported with imported Danish havarti cheese. The crepes are clearly something you can’t get just anywhere and they were excellent. After dinner we went down to the bar for a drink – there was actually a fireplace behind the bar! The bartenders were jovial and clearly knew some of their regular patrons. We would definitely recommend this place – good food, good value, and a very nice setting. But reservations are a must on weekends – the place gets packed.

Nightlife

OK, this is Lancaster County. People are religious here. You can probably find some nightlife if you really look, but why not do as we did – cuddle up with that special someone in front of a fireplace with a drink?

Weather

Lancaster County gets all four seasons – cold in the winter and hot in the summer. The weekend we visited in early March was unseasonably cold – the daytime temperatures did not get out of the 30s and there was a blustery wind the whole time. We needed coats and gloves when we were outside.

Tips/Suggestions

Don’t be afraid to try a restaurant that isn’t on the innkeeper’s list! Our preferred experience was a restaurant that wasn’t on the “A” list.