We just got back from a lovely stay at Hotel Fauchère. Established in 1852, the hotel is located in the heart of Milford, PA. We made the reservation for the hotel through Gilt, as part of their Jetsetter offering. Although, we had to change our dates of travel because of a major snow storm, the staff at Hotel Fauchère and Jetsetter worked with us to ensure we could still enjoy our trip on the dates we selected.

The Room

Since we had booked the room through Gilt, we’re not quite sure if we got the best room or service at the hotel. For example, some rooms include continental breakfast, ours did not. Another thing we noticed was that in-room amenities such as the flat-screen TV with cable were a lot smaller than what we were expecting. Nevertheless, the Frette linens, Kiehl’s bath amenities, heated bathroom floors and warming towel racks made up for it. The cookie and bed time story print out on our pillows were a nice touch for the hotel’s turn down service. The hotel has both wireless and hard-wired internet access, and the connection is complimentary to guests. Parking in the hotel’s private lot is included and is less than a minute away from the lobby.

The Food

We did try out both the The Delmonico Room and Bar Louis. Both places had great good and Bar Louis even had a live band playing the night we stopped by.

The Town

Milford, PA is located in Pike County, Pennsylvania and is just 70 miles from New York. As residents close to a fairly large city, we found Milford to be the perfect place to spend a few days away from civilization. The small antique stores, galleries, gift shops, pâtisserie, corner pizza store and spa all make for a quaint town. In fact, if it wasn’t for the hotel, I’m not sure how many out of town guests would visit during the winter months. Unfortunately, we couldn’t visit the Grey Towers National Historic Site because of site renovation work and will have to make it back for the Black Bear Film Festival and the Milford Music Festival.

Lights in the Parkway is an annual event that is held during the last few weeks of the year at 1700 Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in Allentown Pennsylvania. Tickets normally sell for $9 per vehicle at the gate, but if you’re frugal, tickets are normally available at Wegmans for $5.

We got to the gates a little after 7:00 p.m. and unfortunately after an hour or so drive through the mile of lights we left a bit disappointed. I think we arrived at the parkway expecting a lot more, so word of advise to those intending to visit, lower your expectations and you’ll probably leave less disappointed. Perhaps, what added to our frustration was the long wait in traffic just to enter the parkway.

Regardless, I’m glad that Allentown hosts such an event. As they say, the joy is in the journey and not the destination.

Some select pictures from the event:

Prior to leaving on our 2009 cruise we decided to pack some travel necessities that would help ensure a clean and healthy trip. One of the products we purchased was the CleanWell hand sanitizer.

A sleek container and free of toxic chemicals, CleanWell should be part of every traveler’s bag.

Unlike traditional hand sanitizer’s, CleanWell is:

• Alcohol free
• Safe for kids
• Leaves hands soft
• Fresh citrus scent
• Safe for sensitive skin
• Easy-to-use spray
• Never tested on animals
• CleanWell is all natural and non-toxic. It is made from rapidly renewable botanical sources and is part of a sustainable solution

Read more about the company and their products at the CleanWell site.

Phone:  800-853-0646
Fax:    712-684-2878