Greenwich Mom Time: Weekend Away

Although Greenwich, CT, is a short train or car ride from New York City, it offers a respite from the city, whether for a family weekend or a girlfriend’s getaway.

Another couple and my husband and I spent a Sunday hiking in and around Greenwich, had dinner and the guys went home. My friend and I then spent 2 nights at the Delamar Greenwich Harbor, exploring both everything the hotel had to offer and the nearby attractions.

Trees and Birds

The friends we spent the day with love birding, so we headed to the Montgomery Pinetum, a 62 acre heavily wooded park with hiking trails, the ruins of an old estate and marble monoliths, a sort of mini Stonehenge.

On a muddy early spring day, we didn’t see too many other hikers (or birds, for that matter) but there were a few families with young children and dogs.

We did find a couple of nut thrushes and two kinds of woodpeckers. The birds of prey were too far away to identify.

To avoid the mud, we drove short distance to Ward Pound Ridge Reservation, in New York. The hiking trails here proved to be even muddier, and the $10 parking fee was in effect. Dogs (and children) are also welcome here.

We worked up quite an appetite so went back to Greenwich for dinner at Pizza Post. The casual restaurant was filled with families enjoying very good pizza and salads. We had a lemon arugula pizza and a beet and goat cheese salad.

Hotel Delamar

Breakfast Included

The Delamar has a free Continental breakfast, with yogurt, pastries, fruit and granola bars. The breakfast is laid out in the library, where at all times you can make yourself an espresso, latte, coffee or tea. My only quibble was that there was no alternative milk selection. But there were plenty of food options for kids through adults.

We were happy to have breakfast in the expansive lobby, reading the free copies of the New York Times. I would have been ecstatic if the weather had been warm enough to eat outside, on the Adirondack chairs. It was nice to have breakfast under our belts before the important morning activity, massages in the spa.

The spa offers seasonal treatments, like a spring facial to rid you of winter skin. Since it was still feeling like winter, I was happy to get a muscle relaxing deep massage. There are hot stone and deep tissue massages, couples massages (too weird to do with a friend) and body scrubs.

A Spin Around Town

The small gym has a Peloton, with a nice perk: the Peloton app is included. Several times, I’ve stayed at hotels that have a Peloton, but unless you have a paid subscription to the app, you can’t use the bike.

[Tip: remember your headphones!]

The Delamar also loans out free bicycles and helmets. The Electra Townie bikes have baskets and seven gears. One thing Greenwich does not have is bicycle lanes, but the hotel is a short ride for Bruce Park, which offers safe biking.

Eating Close By

The Delamar, l’Escale has a destination restaurant right downstairs. Spring was on the menu here, with fiddlehead ferns, morels and fava beans in abundance.

I had delicious morels on toast and gnocchi with wild mushrooms. My friend had a soup with fiddlehead ferns, asparagus and mushrooms, and fish with chanterelles and pesto. Everything was perfectly cooked and tasty.

Not only is Delamar dog-friendly, but l’Escale even allowed a well behaved pup to dine inside.

Our plans the next morning were foiled; the Bruce Museum, right across the street, was still closed for renovations. And rain made is reconsider birding at the Greenwich Audubon Center. But we found plenty of retail therapy and historic architecture in downtown Greenwich and made plans to return in warmer weather.

Note: The Delamar provided our accommodations. Opinions are my own.