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The Benefits of a Staycation for a Marriage

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Happy Hump Day! Have you started dreaming of your next vacation yet? What about a staycation? We have several big trips planned for this summer, but had the privilege of sneaking away for a staycation together this past weekend. About halfway through 2018 Travis and I started making time for staycations. Immediately, we saw the benefits of time away from kids and the hustle and bustle all the while renewing our love for our great city – Dallas!

When we set goals for 2019, one of our main goals was to make time for a staycation once per quarter. As we began to plan out which weekends were were going to take time away, we knew we wanted to pick a hotel that would be able to meet all of our needs. We wanted a hotel that was centrally located downtown. We love to walk and wanted our hotel to be in walking distance to most of our sights and activities. We also wanted a hotel that was affordable, yet gave us an elevated experience making it feel like a true vacation; a destination to rest and relax. Immediately, we landed on a hotel we’ve stayed at several times before – the Fairmont Dallas, one of Dallas’s luxury hotels.

Located in the heart of the city, the Fairmont Dallas is in walking distance to Klyde Warren Park, the Dallas Museum of Art, the Dallas Farmer’s Market, and the American Airlines Center (go Stars!). The Fairmont Dallas, unlike other Dallas hotels, serves a very wide audience from conference groups to wedding guests to locals looking for a getaway. We knew that no matter what kind of experience we were looking for, the Fairmont would be able to meet our needs.

In celebration of our wedding anniversary, we opted for an elevated experience this past weekend and booked a Fairmont Gold room. Although the Fiarmont Gold has been around for a long time, we were new to the Fairmont Gold. Y’all, our experience with the Fairmont Gold was so good I don’t know if we’ll ever book a regular room. For those curious as to what the Fairmont Gold is, it is an experience full of special privileges that start right when you arrive at your private check-in.

benefits & luxuries of Fairmont Gold:

  • private check-in/check-out: if you want a way to kick off a relaxing weekend, this is it! Instead of checking-in on the first floor, you take the elevator up to the 18th floor for a private check-in in the Fairmont Gold Lounge. From the moment I opened the door I was greeted by name and referred to by name for the rest of the trip by everyone we encountered on the 18th floor. It was exactly the type of customer experience you’re looking for if you want to feel valued and cared for.
  • city views: Fairmont Gold rooms occupy the top three floors of the north tower (17-19) boasting of the best views of the city. Each room has floor to ceiling windows, which provide the most beautiful sunrises and sunsets over the city. There are multiple floor plans, too, so be sure to pick the room that best fits your need.
  • private lounge:  I think this is my favorite part about Fairmont Gold. There is a private lounge for Fairmont Gold guests on the 18th floor. Here you will find a lounging area with a gorgeous view of the city. It’s quite and gives you access to any amenity you might need from the latest newspaper, to tables for dining, couches for lounging, or a complimentary breakfast. In the lounge you will also find a fully stocked honor bar. We ended up utilizing the lounge quite a bit actually. We loved the views and loved that it was quite enough that we could hear each other and have a more intimate experience.
  • impeccable/attentive customer service: customer service is huge for me and the Fairmont Gold knocks it out of the park. From the second you arrive, you are greeted by name. From then on, every Fairmont Gold employee will address you by name. There wasn’t a single moment during our stay that we didn’t feel cared for. From personal turn down services to multiple calls throughout our stay checking on us and our amenities, we felt truly cared for and attended to!
  • honor bar: as touched on above, the honor bar is part of the Gold Lounge. The honor bar is fully stocked with wine, champagne, juices, and every type of alcohol you could want. We loved that we were able to mix our own drinks during happy hour. It was so fun!
  • healthy complimentary breakfast: a complimentary breakfast is something we always try to take advantage of when we travel – hello money saver, and this breakfast is one you don’t want to miss! Thank God it was high carb day for us because the array of pastries and bread was to die for. We actually found out all of their bread and pastries are baked fresh each day and brought to the hotel from a local bakery. So neat! They also have a wide array of breakfast items – all of which are healthy and delicious!
  • wifi + complimentary newspapers: If you need a quiet space to work, there is a portion of the lounge with a desk and wifi. The lounge also provides the newspaper daily, which is a fun treat!
  • dedicated Fairmont Gold manager: as part of the Fairmont Gold, you get a dedicated manager to floors 17-19 and it’s quite nice. He was honestly one of the kindest people and met every single one of our needs and answered every single one of our questions – which was a lot. I get it from my mama…
  • dvds, games, etc.: if you have kids or enjoy playing games, the lounge boasts of dvds and board games for entertainment! We didn’t have time to play any games while we were there, but definitely would have if we had our girls with us!

All in all, we had the most wonderful stay and we highly recommend the Fairmont Gold if you are traveling to Dallas or simply having a staycation. It definitely left us feeling rested, rejuvenated, and excited to come back!

the fairmont dallas terrace pool

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As I stated earlier, staycations have been one of the best things to happen to my marriage. We definitely see the value in date nights, but truly believe that a weekend away does so much more than a 3-hour date could. When I asked Travis was he thought the biggest benefit was of a staycation, he said “time without kids.” Haha. I have to agree, but there are also some other benefits we’ve started seeing, too!

benefits of a staycation on a marriage:

  • guaranteed alone time: this is definitely the biggest one. During the week, almost all of our time is spent with our girls and our activities typically revolve around their activities and their needs. We love the responsibility of being parents, but it does limit our time alone. With a staycation, you are able truly separate both physically and mentally from your kids. It’s necessary.
  • conversation shifts: our general date night rule is to not discuss the following topics: money and kids. However, when we’re just grabbing dinner, it takes us a bit to unwind and a while before we are able to fully leave these topics. When we get several days away, it seems much easier to discuss things other than our kids and to-dos.
  • time to be best friends: although we’re married, I would consider Travis my best friend. I remember a dear, much wiser friend telling me when I first got married to date my husband like he’s my best friend. It was such good advice! Time away gives us time to hang out as friends and to enjoy things that we maybe did prior to kiddos.
  • pursue common interests: Travis and I love exploring new cities and that includes our own city. Dallas is constantly changing for the better and it’s nice to take time to see and enjoy our own city.
  • strengthen your romantic connection: it’s no secret that time without kids will give you time to strengthen your romantic relationship. We find that when we are at our best, our family is at our best.

All of this in turn strengthens our family, renews our energy level, and allows us to be better spouses, parents and friends. Once a quarter may not be attainable for everyone’s schedule, but we highly recommend trying to make time to get away with your spouse!

Alrighty, so many of you messaged me prior to our trip asking for our itinerary. We try and do something different every time we stay in our city, and this time we tried some amazing new restaurants. The top recommendation from our trip this time is definitely staying at the Fairmont Gold. In addition to the Fairmont Gold, I have laid out our weekend itinerary so that you all can pick and choose what you might like to do!

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laid-back dallas staycation itinerary:

Friday:

  • terrace pool – after checking in on Friday, I enjoyed some time alone at the pool. The Fairmont Dallas pool is located on their terrace with an amazing view of the city on all sides. The pool is large enough for lounging or for play. It is the perfect way to kick off a relaxing staycation!
  • honor bar in gold lounge – after spending some time at the pool, I headed up to the honor bar – part of the Fairmont Gold – and enjoyed some pre-dinner drinks. I’m definitely a wine-o, but I love that the honor bar has any type of alcohol you could imagine, so you can mix any type of drink that you wish. It was so fun to sip some bubbly while watching the sun set on downtown.
  • easy dinner – we always try to have an easy dinner on our first night to keep with the relaxing vibe. This time, we took a scooter to Deep Ellum and had street tacos at Ruins. Trav says to be sure to try the beef tongue tacos – I wasn’t that daring, however. If you’re looking to push the “easy button” as my mom would say, I would suggest eating at the Pyramid at the Fairmont.

Saturday:

  • gym – both Travis and I are trying to stay on track with our fitness routine, so we woke up mid-morning and did our workout together in the on-site gym. The gym is on-site and has every type of amenity you could need.
  • breakfast in gold lounge – after working up an appetite, we had a late, complimentary breakfast in the gold lounge. If I’m being honest, we were shocked at how wonderful the breakfast options were. They had so many delicious and healthy options and both of us ended up going back for seconds. They also had freshly brewed coffee, juices, and the best view. If you love to read the newspaper, they had the day’s newspaper ready for guests each morning.
  • Klyde Warren Park – one of our “must dos” when we have a staycation is to go to Klyde Warren Park. It’s so gorgeous and located right in the heart of Dallas. There’s a playground for small children, games, typically some sort of fitness class, benches, and most importantly – food trucks! Our very favorite food truck, Nammi Truck, is always there so of course we had to split a bahn mi sandwich.
  • DMA – when was the last time you visited the art museum in your city? Neither of us had been to the Dallas Museum of Art in years, so we walked across the street to the DMA and spent several hours seeing our favorite pieces. It was such a different experience sans kids!
  • happy hour at Fairmont – once we were finished at the DMA, we walked across the street (literally) to the Fairmont. The Fairmont has an amazing happy hour – it’s one of our favorites! The Pyramid Bar has such a vibe, too, because it draws such a fun group of people. When we went there were wedding guests, basketball fans, vacationers, and people enjoying a quick bite before the hockey game (the AAC is just a stone’s throw away). We met some of the nicest people and enjoyed unwinding.
  • easy dinner – to continue with the laid back vibe of our weekend, we opted for a casual dinner. We tried out Rodeo Goat, known for one of the best burgers in Dallas. Y’all, holy crap. It was so dang good and I’m pretty sure we each devoured our burger in under 60 seconds. I also highly recommend the cheese fries. If you want an even easier dinner option, hang around the Fairmont and try out their on-site restaurant, The Pyramid. It is so good!
  • after dinner drinks in the lounge – after we finished dinner we headed back to the hotel. I recommend after dinner drinks at the Gold Lounge – it’s quiet and has the best ingredients for a night cap!

Sunday:

  • dallas farmer’s market – Sunday’s are usually short days with check-out, but I suggest taking advantage of the close proximity to the Dallas Farmer’s Market. It’s a short walk away and has so many delicious food options!
  • gold lounge – we were planning on going to church, so we stayed on-site and enjoyed another fabulous breakfast in the gold lounge.

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This post was created in collaboration with the Fairmont Dallas. All opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting those brands that support Fleurdille. 

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