Every fall we love to plan a getaway as a last hurrah of summer. We love to travel when the crowds have died down for back to school, the weather is still warm but a little chillier at night, and the leaves are starting to change. We thought that this year the perfect getaway would be to The Drake Devonshire in Prince Edward County.
In the past we have loved travelling to Niagara-on-the-Lake for wine touring, and to enjoy a break in a town where things aren’t quite as busy as at home. This year we decided to do some wine touring in Prince Edward County instead, but we decided to focus more on the “getaway” aspect of the trip by bringing along our toddler.
The Drake Devonshire is located in a small town called Wellington, and when I say small, I mean it doesn’t take long to drive through it. Downtown consists of a grocery store, a couple restaurants and stores, and of course The Drake. It’s situated right on the water, and the area is beautiful.
We arrived on a Sunday afternoon, and the hotel was full for the night, and the restaurant was buzzing even though it was after lunch and just snacks and drinks were being served. The Drake Devonshire was the most popular place to be in the area, and it was easy to understand why once inside.
The hotel is comprised of only 11 rooms and two suites, all very unique in their own way. Walking into the front entrance we were met at the front desk by Brandy who was happy to check us in (early too!) and give us details on the grounds and amenities. A small, carefully curated General Store was also in the lobby full of gifts and things you likely left on the bathroom counter, forgotten in the rush of getting everyone out the door.
We walked up the stairs to the third floor where only our room was situated – we actually had a private floor. Our room was amazing, and I mean AMAZING! For those of you who have travelled with toddlers before, you know the key to not going to bed at 8pm with your child is having separate bedrooms. Not only did we have two separate bedrooms, but two separate bathrooms, a balcony, and a common room joining them! It was the perfect set up. Each room had it’s own T.V., desk, mini bar, bathroom, set of robes, phone and it’s own individual décor.
We let our son pick his room for the night, and we relaxed from our drive (it took us about an hour and a half from Whitby to arrive at the hotel) by watching T.V. and snacking on the unbelievable popcorn left as a welcome gift in both of our rooms.
Waiting for us in our welcome package were the details of our stay, amenity information, and although I had booked dinner at the restaurant through OpenTable, my reservation information was included in our details. Impressive!
The décor was very eclectic and included oil paintings updated with bright additions like castles and dragons in each picture throughout the room.
The hotel had it’s own games room called the Glass Box which was, well, a glass box! It allowed you to enjoy the beautiful view of the trees around the hotel you while you played ping pong, enjoyed music, or played one of the many games provided in the room.
We were in here for quite a bit while our son looked through all of the games and played some ping pong!
Next door was the fireplace room with leather couches, books, and a fireplace that was lit the whole time we were there. It was the perfect spot to have an after dinner glass of wine, and a great spot to keep an eye on our son while he played in the games room. This was also where you could have a morning coffee or tea as it was set up in the same room and included in our stay.
On our first day we spent some time touring a few nearby wineries (there were quite a few very close – only a couple minutes away!), and then we settled in for the evening with our first visit to the restaurant at The Drake Devonshire. Thank goodness we had a reservation – on a Sunday night the place was jam packed.
The service was perfect – we had a kids menu and the offer of having our son’s food come out first so he wasn’t waiting. We enjoyed a few of the signature cocktails, and our son was treated like a grown up by our server who was very sweet.
He enjoyed a glass of milk and a burger and french fries, while we enjoyed the Popcorn Shrimp, the Tomato + Sheeps Milk Cheese Salad and their AMAZING Lobster Rolls. The atmosphere was loud with conversation, which was perfect for us with a child who loves to drive trucks at the table with some serious sound effects at times.
The view of the lake was beautiful beside our table, and after dinner the screened in porch was available with a fireplace for a nightcap, or the deck and beach were well lit for a drink outside.
With all of the commotion in the restaurant it was surprising we didn’t hear a thing when we went upstairs to turn in for the night. Our son was tucked in cozy in his room (we loved that he had his own bathroom in his room for those middle-of-the-night emergencies), and we closed his door and headed to our own room.
We had the option of ordering a DVD player to our room with DVD’s, but we found a movie on TV and happily ate a lot of popcorn. It was perfect! Filtered water was provided in the room as well so we really didn’t need to leave. The minibar included Prince Edward County wine, alcohol, mixers, and all kinds of snacks.
The next morning we headed back to the restaurant because the food was just too amazing, and we enjoyed the perfect breakfast with the sun shining and a beautiful view outside.
We spent some time on the grounds hanging out by the beach, playing some of the games outside, and just enjoying the scenery. It really is a beautiful spot.
The rest of our day was spent in the neighbouring town of Picton shopping around, and at a few antique shops (there are some great ones in the area, including one called Dead People Things – what a name), and of course visiting some great wineries!
The staff were great and always made a point to see how our stay was going as we passed the front desk for our next adventure, and made a point to speak to our son like he was a grown up (which I am sure he appreciated!). We never felt like he was unwelcomed – actually, on the contrary! With a kids menu in the restaurant, and checking in with the staff knowing that the room ready for us was perfect for a family with a toddler by having two bedrooms, The Drake Deveonshire really seemed to want us to have a great stay with our son. And we did!
Our son loved the trip, and he actually still talks about it a lot!
For more information on The Drake Devonshire, and to book your own stay (which I would HIGHLY recommend!), visit them here!
The Drake Devonshire is located at 24 Wharf Street in Wellington, Ontario, Canada. To keep up to date on all things Drake, visit their blog here as well!
