This post is in partnership with The Inn at Pocono Manor. All opinions are my own. You can read my full Disclosure Policy here. Thank you to Pocono Manor for hosting my family!
The Pocono Mountains in northeastern Pennsylvania are a really popular vacation spot year-round, and especially in the wintertime if you like to ski. Our family isn’t really a winter sports family, but we are a family that loves a cozy getaway tucked in the mountains. The Inn at Pocono Manor is a lovely resort in Mount Pocono, PA and we recently were hosted for the weekend and had such a great time. Here’s how we stayed busy without even leaving the resort!
The Rooms & Common Areas
The Inn at Pocono Manor has been open for over 100 years and in 1997 it was accepted to the National Register of Historic Places and is a Registered Historic Landmark. You’ll get that ‘feel’ immediately. It feels old in a classic way and so welcoming, especially at Christmastime when we visited.
There is TONS of space at this resort. We wandered around and checked out all of the different rooms, each of which had plenty of gathering spaces with comfortable chairs, tables and fireplaces.
We visited in early December and it was such a nice break from the holiday craziness. Escaping online shopping and deal hunting, wrapping, baking (you get the idea), to really spend time soaking in your family in this atmosphere is time well-spent.
Here’s another room way down a hallway from the lobby area. There are a lot of places right in the hotel to hang with your family without having to be in a restaurant, a cramped lobby, or in your room like might be the case in other hotels. This resort is sprawling and a perfect place for a family getaway AND a family get together. While we were there there was a family reunion at the resort with over 60 guests and we never would have known had the server at the restaurant not told us. It never felt crowded.
On the lower level there is a nice indoor pool. We didn’t find the time to dive in, but we did make time to play in the game room. This one features a ping pong table, pool tables, and more. You can even grab a movie from the front desk and watch it in this area.
Across the hall from this space is an arcade and the kids had fun playing skeeball and racing cars! Those games do cost money so bring a few ones if you want to play. The pool table room is free of charge.
Our room was very comfortable and spacious. There was plenty of storage space for our luggage so we weren’t climbing over our suitcases on the floor. There are 242 guest rooms at Pocono Manor with a range of options and rates. Decor is simple yet elegant. It’s very fitting for the Pocono area and we were very comfortable here for two nights.
Get a better look at our room and some of the outdoor areas in the video below. There are over 3000 acres of recreation available that include hiking, fishing, biking, skiing, and more.
Inn at Pocono Manor Video Tour
On-Site Dining
Between the recreation and the dining there really is no need to leave The Inn at Pocono Manor! We didn’t venture out for anything except to hit the nearby outlets to get me a pair of gloves and a hat. You always forget something, right?
There’s a delicious breakfast buffet every morning in the Mountain View Dining Room. It’s beautifully decorated and a breakfast buffet is right up our alley. You can add on a daily breakfast here to your reservation so be sure to consider that.
There’s a huge selection of food including omelets to order. I loved the fruit and freshly made waffles.
Breakfast was so big that we we’re actually able to eat an early dinner and only need two meals each day (plus maybe a bonus ice cream!). If you do want to grab a mid-day bite, there are a couple of options. Pictured above is the Little Pocono Pizzeria where you get get pizza and ice cream. The Lamplighter Lounge also offers light pub fare.
For dinner we dined at The Exchange, which is the upscale restaurant on site. If you’re looking to get in and out quickly with kids, you might want to rethink eating here. We really enjoyed our food and had great service, but our dinners were pushing two hours each night. Our kids were fine but I know some little ones just can’t sit that long. The Lamplighter and Little Pocono Pizzeria are both open for dinner and might be a bit quicker.
However, if you’re dining without kids or have older (or patient!) kids and want a fancier meal, The Exchange is a great choice. Every course was delicious from the appetizers (LOVE the calamari) to the dessert. We had such a lovely waitstaff, too, which made our dinner so enjoyable.
The Ranch
Hands down the favorite part of our visit was The Ranch at Pocono Manor. If it were warm out you could walk there (maybe a 15 minute walk) but we drove because WINTER. Man, it was cold but you can’t keep my kids away from animals!
This is where you’d go to take a guided horseback tour. Our son wasn’t old enough to do this and there is an additional fee, so we opted to pet all of the farm animals for $3 per person. We loved it so much that we went back again the next day!
Miniature donkeys, goats, chickens, pigs, and more. If you’ve got kids that love animals like I do, this is basically heaven.
Alright, alright. It was my favorite part of our stay too! The animals are so sweet and each time we were there the ranch owners came out and talked to us about the animals. It was so neat to learn more about them and I could tell they are very well loved.
My kids fell in love with this silky hen and the owner even showed us where she had laid an egg that morning!
Penelope the Pig was a favorite and this girl loved her pumpkin. The duck is her best friend and they do everything together. How cute is that?
This is Junior who was considering tasting my son’s hat! The ranch owner showed us how horses are measured in hands and let the kids spend some time with Junior. Not only was it fun, but it was really educational for them.
And no farm is complete without a dog. This one was a total sweetheart. Keep your eyes peeled for the 17 year-old farm cat, too!
Magical Fireside Christmas
The Inn at Pocono Manor offers fun seasonal packages at all times of the year. For Christmastime they have the Magical Fireside Christmas that includes appearances by Santa, holiday crafts, and more.
Fireside Christmas takes place in the building right across the parking lot from the main lobby. It’s really beautifully decorated with tons of lights and you can see it’s a great photo opp for your Christmas pictures!
The kids got to visit with Santa and tell them what they want for Christmas. We also were able to decorate cookies, do a few simple Christmas crafts, and my daughter took the time to write a letter to Santa and he actually wrote back!
There’s an Elf turndown service available as well, where one of the elves will come to your room with milk and cookies and read a holiday story to the kids. We did this and it was cute, though the elf was only in our room for a maximum of 3 minutes.
Outside during the Christmas season are ‘Santa’s reindeer’ and if you have paid for the Fireside Christmas package, they’ll give you a cup of apples and carrots to feed to them. If you just want to pet them, that’s open to anyone.
The Fireside Christmas package was a nice little add-on for my kids. They had fun eating cookies and seeing Santa. I still would say the highlight of our trip was the ranch, the dining, and the on-site activities like the game room. If you choose to add it on your kids will enjoy it but you can absolutely have a wonderful time without this package.
One thing is for sure: Christmastime is a really magical time to visit The Inn at Pocono Manor. I just might say the same thing during the summertime when the big outdoor pool is open and some of the summer outdoor recreational activities are available. It’s such a great atmosphere in a really beautiful location.
Visit The Inn at Pocono Manor website to learn more about the property and see their current offers. My post includes an overview of the things that we enjoyed during our stay, but there is a lot more to see and do including their golf course, spa, and so much more. You can follow along on Facebook and Instagram for great photos of the resort and info on their current activities.
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