We're coming back to CW in November this year, but this time it will be just me and my 9yo son. Last time we stayed at the Woodlands, which suited us fine. I noticed a special on the website for lodging at the Woodlands or the Governor's Inn that includes length-of-stay admission. It sounds like a great deal. I just wondered if it was worth the extra money to stay at one of the colonial houses. Opinions? Are you out there rb_travelerxATyahoo?

Sorry, I don't have an ans. to our question, but I, too, am interested in renting one of the houses, and am looking for info on how to go about it...

JoJo1, ir you know for sure that you want to book a colonial house you can just go to the website at colonialwilliamsburg.org. It does sound like fun to stay right in the heart of town, doesn't it? When are you going?

I haven't stayed in a colonial house but have seen inside a few of them. They are charming and I really don't see a downside to staying in them unless its price. I would not stay in the Governor's Inn. You would be better off staying in a non-CW property. Have you looked at Great Wolf Lodge? Your son may enjoy the water park there especially since Busch Gardens and Water Country will be closed.

We've stayed in the colonial houses as part of the specials CW runs. It is very nice to be right in the middle of town and "cool" to walk into your place during the day. I was somewhat disappointed because where we stayed was just a hotel type room with multiple rooms within the house, but there are many different types. We had coupons for breakfast at the Inn / Lodge and you could use some facilities there. To do it again it would depend on the price difference, but it was a fun experience.

We stayed in a Colonial House last year at Christmas. I thought for the cost, it was disappointing. We had two rooms down (kitchen and living room and a bedroom and bath up. The furniture was not very comfortable. Not condusive to sitting and reading or relaxing after a day out. The ceiling was so low in the bathroom that you couldn't stand up to take a shower. I felt for the cost, it was not really worth it and would not do it again. I love staying at the Williamsburg Inn, but it is rather pricy. YOu might check out some local b&bs. The foundation has a less expensive family hotel next to the Inn. It is more of a family type hotel..less pricy and right in the middle of the historic district. check out that one. It is a lot nicer to be able to walk out the door and be right there..gives you a better sense of being part of it.

My husband & I stayed in one of the colonial houses last October and loved it. We checked in and had the amenities of the Williamsburg Inn - they take you after checkin to your colonial house and assist with luggage and explaining how they may be of service. The concierge service at the Williamsburg Inn makes reservations and the info available to you. You call them when you need ice, etc. We loved staying right in the heart of Williamsburg. We stayed on the second floor of one of the houses - it had twin beds and was small but worked well for us. We hadn't planned very far in advance so there were not many to choose from. The price difference between it and actually staying at the Inn was huge. Every afternoon following a busy day, we would sit on the back porch of the Inn for drinks, croquet, reading, etc. Loved it! We were glad we didn't stay in a nearby B&B because we could walk to everything quickly. Hope this helps - have a great trip!

Thanks, everyone. I also checked tripadvisor and found reviews there. I didn't really think they'd be listed since they're not really a motel or hotel. The reviews were really mixed, but I got the overall feeling that if you get a great place it is really worth it, but otherwise it isn't. It doesn't seem like you can pick the place you want either, so it's a real crap shoot. I'll have to think on it a little more. I am looking into staying a night or two at Great Wolf Lodge, as well. I didn't know this place existed! I guess it is pretty new, so that's why I hadn't heard about it when I visited before. That would really make my son's day. I'll probably either stay at the Woodlands or at a colonial house first while we visit CW, because once my kiddo sees all the water fun he'll probably never want to do anything else. My original plan was to take in CW, Jamestown, Yorktown, and possibly Monticello before riding Amtrak into DC for a couple of days (I did that on a prior trip and it was fun). Now that Birdie told me about the water park, we may just stay close by and skip the city. My son told me that he would really like to stay in the country somewhere, like at a farm, and be a country boy for a day or two. He wants to be able to experience that kind of life, I guess. He mentioned milking a cow. Anybody have ideas for that?

I've never stayed at any CW property, but it's the colonial houses that would probably be my first CW lodging. I agree that it would be nice to not even have to leave the historic area. I have been in Wbg in November, and it's a nice time to be there.

I also think that Governors Inn would be nothing special ... I'd stay off CW properties first, as it's so far from any other CW property .. except the train station (owned by CW).

If you want something more "rustic", there's a HI/AYH facility in Urbanna, VA. Your young guy probably won't get a chance to milk a cow, but one never knows. www.hiayh.org

Seems I remember some "work on the farm" vacations near Pennsylvania Dutch area. I'll see what I can find.

in williamsburg the LODGE is the place to stay

The Colonial Houses are great if you understand that the homes are typical for that era, and don't have the modern comforts of 21st century 5* hotel. If you want your son to see what it was like during colonial days and you have an adventurous spirit, stay atthe colonial homes. It would be a place he always will remember versus staying at just another hotel.

For the extra money, I like Birdie's suggestion for staying at the Great Wolf Lodge. Or stick with the Woodlands (agreeing w/others to pass on Governor's Inn) that includes the length of stay admissions.

Your originai question was whether or not it was worth the extra $ to stay in one of the colonial houses. It's fun to be in the heart of the restored area but IMO it'll be "worth" more to you than your 9 yo. You'll appreciate access to some of the Inn's amenities. And while they look authentic from the outside, the interiors of the houses are period reproductions with modern conveniences

The Lodge is, oddly, even pricier than the colonial homes, and since it's undergoing a major renovation, I'd give it a pass this time.

I've seen agri-holidays advertised in VA but they're mostly in the Shenendoah area. I'd love to hear about it if you find one in the Tidewater area!

We loved the Williamsburg Inn--especially afternoon tea--but the colonial houses looked very interesting and were certainly close to everything.

We stayed at a B&B called, I think, Colonial Capitol Inn, only a block away from the entrance to Colonial Willamsburg. Very charming, car parking, easy stroll to the historical dist.

I almost missed all these replies today because when I clicked on my name it only showed 2 responses to the original post. I don't know why that sometimes happens...

So now I'm thinking that we will try to book one night in a colonial house, 1 night at the Great Wolf Lodge and a night or two at a farm. We will also visit the Jamestown and Yorktown areas and try to see Monticello and possibly Ashlawn Highland and Montpelier (while we're there we might check out the Gospel Chickenhouse). I want to space out the historical visits with the other stuff so that it keeps my son's interest. Rb_traveler, I'd love to read what you find out about the working farms in the Pennsylvania Dutch area. I'll check hiayh.org, as well. I don't even know what that is right now. I did google to find some information about farms in Virginia last night. At virginia.org I found a link called "Living the Country Life" which took me to a list of Virginia's farms. I found one in Red Oak called the CornerStone Farm, one in Lexington called Lavendar Hill Farm, and then the one right in Williamsburg (Piney Grove at Southall's Plantation). That is the same one that does the progressive dinners. That sounds like fun, but at $55/plate I think it is a little much considering my son may not really like the food. There were many more farms listed, but these three seemed to allow more of a hands-on experience. Of course, November may not be the ideal time of the year to really experience all that a farm has to offer, but that is the time that we have. I told my son that we could either ride Amtrak to DC or spend that time at a farm and he chose the farm. That's fine with me since he would probably really appreciate all that DC has to offer when he is a little older. This is turning out to be a really different kind of trip for me, but one that should create some wonderful memories for both of us. I'm just really thrilled that he would rather spend time doing something like this than go to Disney World.

Holly:
I have never heard of Southall Plantation so I would be curious to know the address. Perhaps it is located on Rt. 5 in Charles City?

I LOVE Amtrak, but it really takes SO long between Wbg and DC.

There's a local (Wbg) motorcoach company called Oleta that has one-day trips to DC, that drive non-stop after leaving Wbg - they might have a trip during your planned stay. Of course Greyhound service is available too, but their timetables are hardly better than Amtraks.

http://www.oleta.com/index.html
They do NOT have schedules posted, but do have contact phone/email

holly, The Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation operates reenactment sites (a la Col Wmbg) adjacent to the "real" Jamestown and the actual Yorktown battlefield run by the National Park Service. They are heavily geared toward kids with historical interpreters and interactive stuff. If you only have time to do one, opt for the J-Y F sites. If you can do both, do the J-Y F sites first and they'll really enhance a 9 yo's visit to the "real" thing.

Birdie, Piney Grove is five or six miles off of Rt 5 after you pass Sherwood Hall Plantation. I'd always thought of it as a kind of romantic getway type place. (http://www.virginia.org/site/features.asp?FeatureID=159) Who knew???

Thanks, holly, for teaching the locals something new!

Oh, I'm glad you got that information on Southall's Plantation. I can't check my computer during the school day since I'm busy teaching. I think a poster suggested this place as somewhere to take my mom to dinner when I was planning my last trip. I wonder what it's like?

I started looking into some of the Penn. Dutch farms, as well. The biggest difference I've noticed is that a couple of them actually have cows where the ones in Virginia don't. No cows in Virginia? Anyway...it is all pretty humorous since we live in California and that is supposed to be where the happy cows live...at least according to the commercials. It would be fun to visit the Amish country, but it is a drive from where we are starting out in Norfolk. So what do you think? Is it worth the drive or should we go with a farm in Virginia?

I know the Amtrak ride is looonng from CW to DC, but my son loves riding the train so we would do that if we were going in that direction. We won't have to worry about it on this trip, I guess. The last time we visited, coming from DC into CW, the train actually hit a person on the tracks - OMG! It was awful. The train stopped and we waited a long time for everything to be taken care of. We were finally told that the person was killed and we felt just terrible! Later we found out that the person had survived afterall. What a crazy experience!

There are Amish in the Harrisonburg, VA area but I couldn't tell you exactly were to go to see their farms. Jordan Hollow Farm in Luray has horses and llamas but not cows as far as I know. It is a fun place to stay, though.