Serenbe, a weekend worth it

When I think about what truly defines a #weekendworthit, I immediately think of all the happy feelings. Peace, tranquility, serenity, and ultimate relaxation. This weekend at Serenbe, was just that PLUS so much MORE!

Situated just south of Atlanta, Serenbe is a place unlike any other place I have ever escaped to before! A community of its own, nestled in acres upon acres of pristine woodlands + farmland. With the focus and intention of the entire community on wellness, a weekend OR even just a day spent at Serenbe, will most definitely leave you refreshed!

Saturday morning

We arrived at the Inn at Serenbe around 11:00 am on Saturday. We parked in front of Guest Services and walked in to see if our room was ready! Check-in wasn’t until 3:00 pm, so we left our number with guest services and were told we would be given a call when it was time for us to check-in. Instead, we got back in the car and headed to the Hill where we met Denise, my contact, for an absolute delicious brunch to truly begin our stay.

Denise was SO wonderful. We had the best time at brunch with her and touring the community on our own personal golf cart tour. She even showed us a few hidden secrets of the property, as well as the upcoming, exciting developments. Serenbe is most definitely an exciting place and Denise gave us the best tour.

Brunch at the Hill

the Hill is located in the Selborne neighborhood within Serenbe. Right across the street from the Spa, yoga studio AND a super fun new shop called Hamlet.

We started off our brunch festivities with Mimosas (I mean is there any other way to start off brunch?!) and then spent a few moments of hard decisions trying to figure out what all to get. I would definitely recommend getting the bread basket to split for some early munchies as the assortment of biscuits and scones is absolutely scrumptious!

For our meal, I decided on the Brunch Pizza (I mean.. pizza for brunch.. did I really have to think about that twice!). J got the Huevos Rancheros, which looked absolutely delicious. I should have tried a bite, I was just too excited and overwhelmed with my Brunch Pizza – which was absolutely delicious. A pizza with a sunny-side up egg on top – YES PLEASE!

One of my favorite parts about Serenbe is their true farm-to-table mission. The restaurants on property all feature fresh produce locally sourced from Serenbe farms. You can taste the freshness with every bite!

Brunch was delicious, and we had the best time talking to and getting to know Denise and loving all that she had to share about Serenbe!

saturday afternoon.

Saturday afternoon was spent how all weekends should be spent ~ slow paced, deep breaths, ultimate relaxation. Taking in all the moments and simply just being! Serenbe was just that and MORE!

Golf Cart Tour of Serenbe

Golf carts are widely used throughout the property as staff, guests, and residents frequently rely on golf cart for travel across the expansive space. We had SO much fun riding along with Denise as she gave us a thorough and informative tour of Serenbe. From all the different neighborhoods, to the new areas of construction featuring an exciting new restaurant and fitness center, we loved touring all of the homes and taking in the sweet views. While Serenbe is a place you can call your permanent home as residents do live there, it is a complete and total oasis of the heart and mind. That became SO obvious throughout our tour.

Another really sweet treasure about Serenbe was the constant presence of wildlife. From the horses walking right along the side of the road, to the sheep free roaming through the pastures, the cute goats and the cows. There is always something to see and appreciate.

On the property, there are over 15 miles of nature trails. These trails are perfect for hikes or runs (runner girl here) and twice a year Serenbe hosts a trail race, which is another great way to experience true R&R.

We wandered through some trails and came across the sweetest, most idyllic waterfall that would make for the perfect picnic! And it was only a quick five minute hike from one of the Serenbe neighborhoods!

afternoon coffee & treats

After our golf cart tour, we said good bye and a big THANK YOU to Denise for our morning and went back to Inn, where we parked our car and finally explored the grounds around the Inn. The grounds are absolutely breath-taking, there is truly so much to see and just breathe in!

J and I had about an hour or so before official check-in, so we took the golf cart for a quick ride down to the Blue Eyed Daisy, a local coffee shop and bake shop, which also was serving what looked like super delicious entrees for lunch!

I enjoyed an absolutely delicious Maple Latte (I love maple SO much!) AND a delicious chocolate macadamia cookie! It was such a sweet little quiet place to enjoy an afternoon pick me up! The menu looked delicious, the staff was the most friendliest, and overall it was a place that gave you all the warm feels and the sweetest of vibes! Blue Eyed Daisy would have been the perfect location to nestle in the corner with a book, spend time catching up in your journal, or reconnecting with others. We most definitely appreciated our few moments shared at the Blue Eyed Daisy during our weekend worth it at Serenbe.

Check-in at the Inn

Finally, 3:00 arrived and I was SO anxious to see what the room would look like.. I have a thing for rooms at inns and hotels, I just feel a whole different level of relaxation and I love getting those keys and opening that door and taking in the surprise and excitement of it all!

We walked along the Inn and through the gorgeous farmhouse porch until we arrived at our room. When we opened the doors, the room was absolutely gorgeous. With high, vaulted ceilings, gorgeous windows overlooking the farm and just all natural, and bright lighting, the room itself could not have felt more relaxed!

The ultimate level of relaxation. And for the night, it was ours!

Well, after checking in and doing a quick outfit change (blogger thing!) we headed out the door, back to the golf cart, to quickly make it across the grounds to arrive to our 4 pm wine tasting at the General Store!

Wine Tasting at the General Store

Wine tasting. Yes please! This was one of the sweetest wine tasting experiences, I have ever had. Now, J and I have done the whole North GA wine thing, and we have been to Napa and Sonoma Valley twice for the sole purpose of tasting wine. But, again I will repeat myself by saying this tasting was unlike any other tasting!

The tasting took place at the General Store, a sweet little shop for all of your snacking needs. On the weekends, the General Store specializes in wine and beer tastings! The guy leading the tasting was extremely knowledgeable in not just all the wines, but the actual geography of the wine region itself. We were tasting wines from northern Italy and Slovenia and I (being the teacher) greatly appreciated the detail of the history and geography that were incorporated into the overall presentation. And the wines were so delicious, the pours oh so very generous and the most delicious display of charcuterie to accompany the tasting of the grapes!

saturday night.

after the tasting, we headed back to the Inn, where we had reservations to dine at Farmhouse, another locally sourced restaurant situated directly next to the Inn. And what can I say, other than this meal was absolutely delicious.

Dinner at Farmhouse

The menu the night we dined at Farmhouse was a specialty menu in honor of the show that night. We had different options to create our three-course meal and the every bite was absolutely delicious.

We enjoyed delicious cocktails made from the bar before indulging in this spectacular meal. I started off with the soup, which was so fresh and warm, I could tell with every taste, how fresh the ingredients were.

For my entree, I enjoyed a vegetable lasagna with greens. And J enjoyed a delicious short rib! For the lasagna, especially the vegetables were the best-tasting vegetables I have ever had the privilege of experiencing! Farm-to-table and locally sourced ingredients is the best way to go. Serenbe most definitely appreciates knowing where there food comes from and it is the most refreshing!

After dinner + dessert (which the chocolate mousse with strawberries was scrumptious!) it was finally time, time to head on our short walk to Prom Field to experience the magic of the Serenbe Playhouse!

Serenbe Playhouse – Shenandoah

Oh my goodness gracious… THIS… most definitely my favorite part of our entire stay at Serenbe… the Serenbe Playhouse! Now, real quick fact about yours truly over here ~ in high school I was part theater kid and absolutely loved my time performing in four different straight plays as they are called (non-musicals) AND one of my absolute most favorite high school experiences was the weekend away at Thes-Con (Thesbian conference – a theater honors society) ANYWAYS.. So I absolutely, ALWAYS adore plays and watching musicals… and this was unlike any other performance I have ever seen before.

Additionally, another favorite moment of the weekend was on our walk to Serenbe, we were truly lost in the moment, feeling refreshed (and full from what was an incredible dinner) we were stopping to take in all the sights, and along our walk we made the sweetest new friend

Okay, now back to the show!

Maybe it was because the entire performance was outside on Prom Field, maybe it was because under the clear and dark blue night sky stars greeted airplanes as they were taking off in the distance from Atlanta’s Hartsfield Jackson airport, or maybe it was the cool, crisp spring air chill. Or, most definitely it was the amazing performance by season five American Idol winner – Taylor Hicks, and the star-studded, richly talented, cast. But my heart was absolutely overjoyed watching this amazing performance of Shenandoah.

Yes, it was cold, but the chill was most definitely appreciated. Sitting, bundled up, underneath the starlight, watching one amazing production, I couldn’t help to feel overwhelmed and overjoyed by the release of it all, everything this weekend had been and will forever be!

Sunday morning

Sunday morning, I awoke to the sound of a rooster announcing the arrival of a new day, the outpouring of sunshine sneaking in through the window curtains, and an overwhelming feeling of peace and contentment. This. This place. Serenbe. A weekend SO worth it!

We stayed in bed, snuggled up for awhile, before heading to our brunch at the Inn. Brunch was a buffet, featuring the most delicious berries, bacon, and warm-fresh out of your grandmother’s oven biscuits! And coffee, lots and lots of coffee! After breakfast, we had around an hour or so before check-out, so we decided to go on one last walk around the beautiful farm and soak up this gorgeous day in.

Inn Grounds

Blue skies, boisterous clouds, the sounds of birds chirping, the fresh scent of spring. Walking around the Inn Grounds, enjoying the scenery, taking in all the views, the pastures, grassland, the lake. Truly felt like we had stumbled along the fields of gold.

And along our tour of the Inn Grounds we met some more fun friends along the way. We walked by Goat Yoga, which is a morning yoga class offered at the farm at Serenbe where you can do yoga with goats! We walked through the animal village and saw horses, and pigs, and so many baby goats! It truly all was a dream! Now, we have added move to a farm and have a pet goat on our to-do list! Dreams, people!

This weekend was absolutely everything. When I had the vision for the #weekendsworthit series, I knew I wanted to cultivate a place for making weekends a priority, a time to unwind and to cherish with those we love the most. Serenbe is that entire vision and more. From the moment we arrived on the grounds, I immediately felt stress and tension gone, I could breathe deeper, and think clearer, I could laugh louder and longer. I felt freedom and joy. And felt that it was okay to slow things down and take the day slow. I felt good and Serenbe is good. A place most definitely worth it. Because you are most definitely worth it!

Thank you SO much Serenbe for this amazing weekend, we will most definitely be back!