Williamsburg for Christmas – Advice Needed

[lkszjohns]

2 adults, 2 children - we have our choice of a 1 BR at Fairfield Williamsburg @ Patriots Place or Sunterra Resorts Powhatan Plantation. Any recommendations??

This will be our first time visiting Williamsburg. We have a girl 8 and a boy 5. Any suggestions for things to do (or not do) would be greatly appreciated. I don’t want the kids to be too bored.

Also, is there anywhere I can go to get a coupon book or discounts?

Thanks much.

[jtridle]

[quote=lkszjohns]2 adults, 2 children - we have our choice of a 1 BR at Fairfield Williamsburg @ Patriots Place or Sunterra Resorts Powhatan Plantation. Any recommendations??

This will be our first time visiting Williamsburg. We have a girl 8 and a boy 5. Any suggestions for things to do (or not do) would be greatly appreciated. I don’t want the kids to be too bored.

I love Williamsburg, been there numerous times, including once at Xmas time. Of those two resorts, and I've stayed at both, I would pick Powhatan. I have read both good and not so good on Powhatan but we love staying there. First of all, Patriots Place does not have an indoor pool whereas Powhatan does and if you've got kids along that to me would be a huge consideration, especially in the winter. I think, but not sure, that it used to be that you could use the indoor pool of the hotel on the grounds at Patriots Place but even if you could do that, I'll bet there would be a charge, not sure though, you might want to call and ask the resort. Neither resort is far from the sightseeing activities and the grounds at both resorts are lovely I think. There is a plantation manor on the grounds to go through at Powhatan on a self-guided tour. Don't know anything about one bedrooms there. We have always had 2 bedrooms at Powhatan and requested the downstairs unit because they had their own hot tub in a room off the master bedroom which we appreciated. It is true that the units that we have stayed in were a little worn but that didn't bother us. I liked both places but would pick Powhatan for the pool, however, you might want to call and make sure their pool is open. It's been about l.5 years since we've been there and at one point it was closed and they were completely refurbishing the indoor pool. If that is the deciding point, I would call and make sure they have no problem with their pool and that it is going to be open. I don't think you could go wrong with either place though.

Once we stayed for about four days and when we landed there were flowers blooming. I had no idea it would still be that warm that time of year but it was. However, by Xmas Eve it was snowing. People who lived there were so excited about having snow for Xmas.

Don't know about coupon books but both resorts sell discounted activities to Colonial Williamsburg, Jamestown, Yorktown. There is so much to see and do there. I could spend weeks. It's one of my very favorite places to visit.
Jackie

[Jeni]

Hi, if those are your only two options for where to stay, I would go with Powhatan. I live in the area, so I've copied and pasted suggestions from past posts below, but feel free to email me with any questions!

You can purchase an Entertainment book for the area before you leave home at http://norfolk.entertainment.com/discount/local.shtml

I need to look for the name of it, but there is a much better dining discount card you can buy for local restaurants, than the Entertainment book. Email me a reminder and I will look for it soon.

I also recommend visiting:
www.cw.org
www.visitwilliamsburg.com
www.yorkcounty.gov/tourism/

You have selected a beautiful time to visit this area re: Christmas decorations! Check out the events calendars on the above websites for ideas too. I have listed dining and activity information below, from past posts of mine.

Jeni

Restaurants we like:
Shacklefords II at Monticello Marketplace

Sal's by Victor at the Williamsburg Shopping Center (food is great, service can be so-so)

The Fat Canary at Merchant's Square (can get pricey- not great for kids)

The Trellis at Merchant's Square (dinner is great, but $$$ and plan to dress up, lunch is less expensive and more casual- would not take kids to dinner here)

Berrett's at Merchant's Square

Aroma's on Prince George Street in Colonial Williamsburg

Kyoto on Route 60

The Aberdeen Barn on Route 60

Eagle's at Kingsmill- for lunch or brunch

Nick's Riverwalk Restaurant in Yorktown

Doraldo's at the Kingsmill Shops

Ukrop's Grill and take out at Monticello Marketplace

The Melting Pot in Newport News ($$$, but AWESOME food)

The County Grill (awesome BBQ) in southern York County

Pierce's Pitt BBQ off Rochamnbeau

Florimonte's Deli (and pizza) at Williamsburg Crossing Shopping Center (Rt. 5 and John Tyler)

James River Pie Company (pizza) on Jamestown Road

Carrot Tree Kitchens (sweets, quiche, etc.) Jamestown Road

Cheeseburger Cheeseburger, Ben and Jerry’s, Maggie Moos, The Corner Pocket- New Town

The Williamsburg Taverns (Shields, Kings Arms, Christiana Campbells)

Places we don't care for:

The Sportsman's Grill at Kingsmill Festival Marketplace

The Whaling Company (near Kingsmill)

Season's at Merchant's Square

Red, Hot, and Blue

Victoria's (formerly the Courtyard Cafe) at Rt. 5 and John Tyler

2006 Entertainment Book offers:
Season's #62 ($16)
Milano's #90 ($15)
Mystery Dinner Playhouse #57 (25% off up to 4 tickets)
Kyoto #108 ($15)
Shackleford's II #104 ($14)
Mr. Liu's #21 ($15)
Rosie Rumpe's Regal Dump #59 (25% off up to 4 tickets)

The only ones we really like are Shacklefords and Kyoto, but I know some on the board enjoy Season's too. I would not go to Season's without the card, it's just so-so in my opinion, same for Mr. Liu's. I definitely do not recommend Milano's. Hope that helps.

Activities:
We also go to "Kidsburg" quite often. This is a big playground/park area across from Monticello Marketplace at Monticello/News Road. He's also perfectly content to run around Colonial Williamsburg and take in all of the sights and sounds, especially the animals. We go to the front of the club at the Golden Horshoe golf course (in CW) and feed the HUGE fish in the front pond/fountain. Any of the little beaches along the Colonial Parkway are nice for him to splash in the shallows, get his feet wet, and look for shells. We especially like Yorktown Beach. The Ghost Walks and the Yorktown Lady boat tour are nice too, and most kids get a kick out of taking the ferry across the James River to Surry. Not much is there, but Chippokes Plantation, and the Virginia Diner in Wakefield is worth a visit on that side of the water.

Within an hour's drive are the Childrens' Museums in Portsmouth and Richmond. He loves the one in Portsmouth since it has a train display. The Virginia Living Museum in Newport News is about 30 minutes from Fords Colony and he loves all of the animal exhibits, indoors and out. You can also catch fish feeding time at 11am on Saturdays (check for the time at the front desk), which is a real frenzy. For a larger aquarium experience, there is the Virginia Aquarium in Virginia Beach, about a 1.5 hour drive. Maymont Park in Richmond is beautiful in and of itself, but they also have a "barnyard" where kids can get up close to and pet pigs, goats, etc. There is also the Virginia Zoo in Norfolk, about 1 hour away, and it is much nicer in the fall than in the heat of summer.

I hope that helps...that's all I can think of off the top of my head, but feel free to email with specific questions.

[Jeni]

Also meant to ask, from where are you traveling? Flying or driving? The closest airport is PHF, but RIC and ORF are within driving distance too. PHF would be my 1st choice.

[stugy]

If you take Powhattan one bedroom, make sure it has a full kitchen. Otherwise you will be on the second floor with hardly any windows, etc. hang in for a 2 bedroom, then request the resort to give you a C unit. You want to avoid B units of lock outs. Have fun.
pat

[Big Matt]

At Powhattan, D units are fine though. That's the 2BR part of the 4BR. It has a kitchen with 2 burners and a convection/microwave instead of a regular oven.

[Laurie]

Can't compare the 2 but we did stay at Patriots Place for Xmas a few years ago, in the 1 BR with full kitchen, fireplace and jacuzzi tub. We were 2 people and liked it a lot. If you're spending most of your time in the historic town, it's closer than Powatan, just a couple of blocks from the parking lot of historic Williamsburg, would have been walkable in warmer weather.

We hadn't made advance reservations for Xmas dinner and initially didn't think we could get into a tavern. So we made reservations for the the Xmas buffet at the hotel on the grounds of Patriots Place, whatever it's called, and kept them because it was less expensive. It was quite good and might be what you want to do for a family of 4 to keep your costs down - unless you're planning to cook in.

(Ultimately we knew we could have gotten reservations at Shields Tavern because they had some cancellations, and in retrospect I'd kinda wished we'd gone to Shields because their food was more excellent and the atmosphere was better, even tho pricier, but we got to eat at Shields a couple of other times when it was less expensive.)

For eating, as you can tell we really liked the taverns, and tried all of them. There's one that's quite inexpensive, less formal and didn't require advance reservations, I think it was Chownings, which we returned to more than once. They have entertainment there, so you can hear some of the musicians that during the day, you'd have to pay extra to see/hear.

Also I wanted to mention that we traded in thru RCI with a week that was expiring anyway, but they did end up offering Extra Vacations for that week for very cheap, in the $200 range.

Xmas week was a fun time to be there, lots of extra music performances every day - some free to the public (in the historic church, and also at William & Mary campus), some for extra admission charges - I'd go again sometime.

[hvsteve1]

The PP one bedroom is a very nice unit and they have been remodeled. Those units should have the spa room with big hot tub and plenty of space. I believe the small upstairs unit referred to is listed as a 2 br or one br with loft. They are carved partly out of the balcony in the three br and were pretty awful when we stayed there. Most units at PP are the two and two lockouts and either is fine, the difference being the downstairs unit has the spa. The manor house is typically decorated for the holidays so should be lovely to see. The restoration should have the annual "illumination" where all the buildings have candles in the windows and there is a contest to see who can decorate their home the best using all-natural materials as would have been done in the seventeenth century. When we were there they also had a schedule of illuminations where the fife and drum corps would lead a candlelight parade down the street followed by the lighting of torches at different buildings every evening and the firing of muskets. It was quite memorable. The weather can vary. We were there one year when it was about 70 and another time when we froze, so be prepared.

[Laurie]

Originally Posted by hvsteve1

The weather can vary. We were there one year when it was about 70 and another time when we froze, so be prepared.

True - our week started off in single digits, no joke, went up to 60's with downpours, and ended w/a big enough snowstorm that the weather people were predicting road closures. The following week, New Year's, it was back up into the 70's.

[Jeni]

It's true...pack a little bit of everything. We have Christmas photos with snow on the ground, and other where we are in t-shirts. You just never know!

[jme]

Is was listed among the previous long list of restaurants, but don't let this ONE UNIQUE experience pass you by, and that would be dining at one of the authentic taverns inside Colonial Williamsburg. We have our favorites, but a consistent winner with a very good menu for all would be Christiana Campbell's, and the list of taverns and menus can be found at the Colonial Wmsbg website...Google it and take a peek. One reason for CC's is that they always have the live music by musicians in old colonial garb, and it's really an unforgettable experience for young kids. Make reservations immediately upon getting to Wmsbg, and ask (to make sure) if they'll be having the musicians. Sometimes in slow seasons they don't, but you definitely want to have them strolling around the restaurant playing the various instruments...it's so wonderful! good luck! jme

[pedro47]

Originally Posted by jme

Is was listed among the previous long list of restaurants, but don't let this ONE UNIQUE experience pass you by, and that would be dining at one of the authentic taverns inside Colonial Williamsburg. We have our favorites, but a consistent winner with a very good menu for all would be Christiana Campbell's, and the list of taverns and menus can be found at the Colonial Wmsbg website...Google it and take a peek. One reason for CC's is that they always have the live music by musicians in old colonial garb, and it's really an unforgettable experience for young kids. Make reservations immediately upon getting to Wmsbg, and ask (to make sure) if they'll be having the musicians. Sometimes in slow seasons they don't, but you definitely want to have them strolling around the restaurant playing the various instruments...it's so wonderful! good luck! jme

Ditto our favorite Williamsburg Tavern is CC also. Great atmosphere, excellent food and wine choices.

[PBlais]

As noted Christmas time brings very odd weather here and anything goes more so than at any other month. You may see some of everything in a week.

There are also a lot of evening activities in Colonial Williamsburg people often overlook. They take an extra ticket that is either free or extra money depending on your pass level but you do have to reserve them in either case. You can do it on the phone if you have purchased a pass. We have an annual pass so we can take in quite a few of them. Frankly, if I only used it for those activities it still would be worthwhile. Christmas time is always full of special things in Colonial Williamsburg. Check the schedule out on line and they publish a full weekly listing hour by hour as well so grab one when you arrive to pick the best things when you are here.

The last few years they have done a lot more in many ways to make it a better experience. With the 400th Jamestown Anniversery coming in 2007 lots of extra things have been added to Jamestown as well as Yorktown too.

[Denise]

Call Colonial Williamsburg at #1-800-404-3389 or visit them on the web at www.colonialwilliamsburg.com and ask for the Holiday Planner. It gives info on all the special programs and dining events. Our family attended the Groaning Board, our boys were about your children's ages and really enjoyed it. It's a dinner serving colonial style foods(peanut soup, trifle etc) with entertainment (fife & drum, balladeers, a storyteller, madrigal singers) It was held in the Williamsburg Lodge. Advance reservations are a MUST. Christmas time is beautiful in Williamsburg with all the decorations.