June 1996

Carriage House at Pocono Manor
Route 314, P.O. Box 125
Pocono Manor, PA 18349
Phone: 750-839-6761

Welcome to www.weloveourlife.com. This is our page dedicated to our experiences while staying at The Carriage House at Pocono Manor, Pocono Manor, Pa.

We used Interval International to trade into a unit that included a small kitchen area, bath with tub/shower, living/dining area, Murphy bed in living area (it scared us), separate bedroom with queen bed. Accommodations were clean but sparse. The bedroom had no windows and was surrounded by mirrors. We propped open the door with a shoe because it was extremely claustrophobic. No outside deck/patio. Good selection of cable tv channels.

Resort Amenities

They advertised an indoor and outdoor pool, but we discovered the outdoor pool was a couple miles down the road at the main hotel (Pocono Manor). It was not heated, and was freezing in early June. We spent our days sitting out on the Carriage House sundeck, and running inside to take a dip in the indoor pool when we got overheated. Recreation area had a nice indoor spa/hot tub as well as some games. There was one organized event the entire week we were there - Tuesday night bingo. Only several couples were interested, so bingo was cancelled, much to our disappointment.

Resort Food

N/A

Resort Bar/Lounge

The indoor recreation area had a small bar that was only open on Saturdays and Sundays.

Resort People/Service

Except for the bartender, the service was surly at best. When we asked the front desk how to get to Mount Pocono (a couple miles down the road, as we discovered on our own), they didn't have a clue.

Area/Attractions

Some of the nearby attractions that we recommend seeing are Bushkill Falls and Claws & Paws Wild Animal Park. Claws and Paws is a wild animal park located in Lake Ariel, Pa. It is a quaint little animal park with tigers, lions, giraffes, etc. We saw the exotic bird show and recommend it highly. There is also a petting zoo for the younger visitors (as well as the older ones). Try not to scare the peacock as Lori did by taking a flash photograph of it.

Dining

We had no problem locating many great restaurants in the Poconos, from Italian to Southwestern to German to American. The service was good nearly everywhere we went. We only made reservations on Saturday night.

Edelweiss - Route 940, Pocono Lake, PA 570-646-3938
Extensive menu, many German specialties, moderate price range. Nice German-decor restaurant, good service, great for authentic schnitzel and spaetzle.

Jubilee Restaurant/Pub in the Pines - Route 940, Pocono Pines, PA 570-646-2377
We only ate lunch here, but it was good (great burgers). They have an excellent beer selection by the bottle. The bar area has pool and shuffleboard and lots of friendly people. Known for their wings.

Bailey's Grille & Steakhouse, Route 611, Mt. Pocono, PA 570-830-9678
Sort of an upscale Bennigans with American food. Stay away from the splits of champagne - Lori had to pass hers around to several other patrons before anyone could find a way to open it.

Fanucci's Restaurant, Route 611, Swiftwater, PA 717-839-7097
A fantastic Italian restaurant. Enjoy their fresh baked bread while listening to the sounds of music from the piano player. This homey restaurant serves incredibly delicious Italian cuisine. Be careful not to fill up on the bread, because it tastes so good.

Nightlife

We ended up at TJ's Hideaway (just off Route 611 in Mount Pocono) a couple nights. On Friday, they had a good rock band. On Wednesday, they had karaoke.

Weather

We were in the Poconos in early June, and the weather was nearly perfect (sunny, low humidity, temperature range was around 65-80F each day) and we did not need to use air conditioning. This was not "high season," as it was too early for the kids to be out of school. The really busy time in the Poconos are the winter months (skiing) - January through March.

Tips/Suggestions

Take games along in case the weather is inclement