Mazen and I stayed at The Quirk Hotel last weekend for a little mom + son staycation. Here’s a recap of our visit!
Cancelled Trip
Last weekend we were packing up to head to Charlotte when my sister and I texted each other at almost the same time: Birch and Avery were both getting sick. After some agonizing about worst case scenarios, we decided to postpone our visit. Luckily neither toddler had you-know-what (I have no idea how we still haven’t gotten it), but it was the right call to make since we would have been worried the whole time.
This was actually the second time we’ve cancelled a trip to Charlotte. With four kids, someone is always sniffling. I had plans to pick up Mazen from school early, and he was expecting me at lunchtime. I decided to go ahead and get him, and he was SO bummed we weren’t going somewhere fun. He said “I just wanna get out of this town!” (Ha, so grown up.)
I told him I’d think of something fun we could do just the two of us over the weekend. And that turned out to be a pretty fun thing! I researched a few ideas and settled on The Quirk Hotel, which I booked with Chase credit card points for a sweet deal. (I’m working on a blog post about how these points have changed my life!)
The Quirk Hotel: Our Staycation
At 4pm, Mazen and I loaded our suitcases into the car and drive approximately 1 mile to the Quirk Hotel!
The Lobby
The Quirk is quirky, creative, and modern. Mazen LOVED it saying it was the nicest hotel he’d ever stayed in (which may be true?!). We a wonderful stay!
The only negative for me was that parking was $25. Considering we could have walked there, I wasn’t willing to pay that. But luckily I found a spot on the street behind the hotel that wasn’t one-hour Saturday night through Sunday morning, so our car was good for the duration of our visit.
Our Room
Our room was very comfortable. We appreciated the free Wi-Fi, mini fridge, white noise machine, and robes (by request).
One big bed for snuggling!
The bathroom toiletries smelled amazing! We both took luxurious showers before bed.
Mountain views
Cake Bloom
After settling in, we took a quick trip to Cake Bloom for dessert!
Floral Funfetti for me; Chocolate Pot for Mazen!
Refreshed for Dinner
After freshening up, we headed to the Quirk Hotel Rooftop for drinks and dinner.
That View Tho
We got lucky with a beautiful warm day. This was my first time up on the roof and it was HUGE! I had no idea it was so nice up there, and the food was outstanding. We can’t wait to go back for another dinner.
Drinks
I had the Virginia Smoke; Cherry Coke for Maze!
Our Dinner
These two dishes totally exceeded expectations!
Shrimp Nachos
We started with nachos with shrimp with a delicious white cheese sauce.
Maze proclaimed these the “best nachos ever.” They were amazing! We got an extra side of that amazing cheese sauce to polish them off.
Winter Salad
I had this winter salad with apple, blue cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, crispy northern beans, and baby kale. It was FANTASTIC! We had plans to get a pizza too, but we decided we were satisfied after these two dishes.
Photos by Mazen : )
We both loved the bowls!
Basketball + Cake In Bed
Back in our room we watched the Duke / UNC game ( sad face ) and ate our Cake Bloom!
Breakfast
Silly Mazen was up at 5:20 AM!!!!!!! He must have been too excited. I think I managed to snooze until 6:30 and then we were up for good.
After I tried the in-room Keurig coffee and couldn’t drink it, we went down to the Quirk Café for real coffee and pastries.
M had a cinnamon roll and I had an amazing blueberry muffin that was still warm. And some really good coffee.
We relaxed in the room for a bit, took another shower, and then headed home to Thomas and Birch. I know this night away meant so much to Mazen. We had a great time together!
And we both laughed when the woman at the front desk said “Safe travels!”
Sarah says
Omg what a fun idea!! I have a daughter Mazen’s age. I bet she would love this concept of a night alone with mom in a hotel too. How fun! Thanks for sharing.
Kori says
This looks and sounds so incredibly fun! That hotel looks unbelieveable.
connie says
this is so truly adorable. what a way to turn around the weekend! question: is that quirk coffee cup the one younghouselove based the color of their vacation house on?
Kath Younger says
Yes!! There’s one in Richmond too 🙂
Anne says
Love this idea! Looks like a fun hotel, might have to check out that rooftop when I visit Cville this spring (first time with kids since my uva days!). Any recs for great playgrounds / parks for elementary-aged kids near the corner or downtown?
Kath Younger says
McGuffey Park is just off the downtown mall. It’s on the smaller side but still fun! Venable Elementary is prob the closest to UVA but I honestly haven’t been to their playground. Washington Park is between the mall and downtown and has a playground and lots of green space. It’s next to Shenandoah Joes coffee and across the street from Dairy Market which would be a great lunch/dinner spot with kids.
Ellen says
That’s a really sweet adventure.
RLJ says
I loved everything about this post and not to mention this is a fantastic idea. Our daughter is 14yo and I think this is a great thing to do for a mother daughter weekend away-great suggestion! Thank you.
Allison says
Looks like a lovely weekend. Statistically speaking, it’s very unlikely none of you have had the ‘rona. As healthy, younger people you may have been asymptomatic. I had it and never so much as sniffed – I gave blood and they told me I had antibodies and then brought me back in multi times to give convalescent plasma. Seriously, no symptoms whatsoever.
Kath Younger says
I wish I knew either way so I would know how my body reacts and the likelihood of getting a serious case or getting it again (although with variants I know that’s not a given either).
Chelsea Fowlkes-Leahy says
My husband loves hot tubs (random, I know) so for Valentine’s Day one year, I surprised him with a hotel room in our city. We ate across the street and came back to soak in the hot tub. The other guy there thought we were complete weirdos when we told him where we were “from.” It was about five years ago, but it was such a fun night! I’m sure Mazen will remember this!
Kath Younger says
Haha love it!
Barbara says
I just love that you had this kind of outing with your son!! You are an inspiring mom raising a beautiful young man. I’ve been reading your blog on and off probably since the probably pretty close to the beginning, thanks for sharing your journey.