My brothers 50th birthday is this February and the family (Six adults ages 45- 78yrs, would need four rooms) have decided to take him away for the weekend which unfortunately falls on Presidents weekend. I say unfortunately because we were planning to take him to Mohonk Mountian House and they have a three night minimum that weekend. If we booked the three nights the cost would soar to about two thousand dollars per room. Multiply that by four rooms and thats a lot of money for a weekend.

So, any suggestions that is within 3 hours of Northern NJ? We like walking, nature, good food, a spa (if possible), museums, music. We don't ski.

Thanks...Jersey.

How about considering Westchester County NY or Fairfield County CT?

Does it have to be a big hotel or would a B & B type places work?

If those areas sound interesting...I can suggest some places to stay etc.

There are lots of places to hike, eat, shop and spa...even museums.

Hope this helps...
Debi

I don't want to be a wet blanket - but isn;t Feb kind of cold for hiking and boating and such.

Places in the countryside which I would reccco will I think also have the same minimum requirement, as that is such a popular weekend. Have you considered going into NYC? Hotels probably don’t have any minimum there for the weekend. It would have all the requirements you want, and while it is city walking, is certainly interesting, or you could do Central Park walking for nature or the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens. A great walk is just all the way up 5th from lower Manhattan as far as you can make it. There are many good walking tour options too and places like the Tenement Museum.

Some places I normally recommend are below, but as I said, I think you will run into the same requirements. St Michaels Maryland may be a little bit too off-season in February, I don’t know about restaurants being open, although I understand it is getting to be much more of a year round place. Also consider the Annapolis Maryland area, lots to do and see there; I can’t reccco any specific hotel.

Skytop Lodge in the Pocono’s, an lovely old-fashioned family resort. (This is not one of those hear-shaped tub places, it is more like the Greenbrier or the Equinox.) There are lots of walks and other activities at the resort. Take a look at skytop.com.

The Delamar on the water in Greenwich, Connecticut, less than 30 minutes by Metro North from mid-town. Go to http://www.thedelamar.com or slh.com

The Castle on the Hudson in Tarrytown (30 minutes from NYC). Go to http://www.castleonthehudson.com or slh.com

Inn at Montchanin Village in the Brandywine, Delaware. A beautiful area and you have Winterthur museum and Longwood Gardens.

Inn at Little Washington, Washington, Virginia. Go to http://www.theinnatlittlewashington.com/ - this is a very charming inn and has one of the best restaurants on the east coast, and probably one of the 5 best in the country, IMO. Also in a lovely area about an hour from Washington DC. Great walking and hiking in the area. This is about 5 hours from NYC.

Inn at Perry Cabin, St Michaels, Maryland, http://www.perrycabin.com/web/omic/omic_a1a_splash.jsp. This is on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, such a beautiful unspoiled part of the east coast. Many good restaurants and shops, and the hotel is completely charming. There are many other hotels in this area. This is about 4 hours from NYC.

Thank you for the suggestions and yes, February is cold for nature stuff. Curses to him for being born in Feruary. And since it's just a weekend it doesn't make sense time or money wise to fly south.

Again, thanks for the suggestions.

What about trying Bucks County? Don't have a specific hotel/inn reco, but the areas very pretty.
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Tourism-g...Vacations.html

You could also look at Chadds Ford, PA. The Brandywine River Museum that features the Wyeth clan's artwork, Longwood Gardens, Winterthur Estate, and the Brandywine battlefield are all in the area.

Cicerone, I didn't notice that you had already suggested Chadds Ford. In that case, I second the notion. BTW, all your suggested hotels look awesome. I'd love to stay at any of them.