This weekend I did the Run for the Dream Half Marathon in Williamsburg, VA. We stayed at the Williamsburg Woodlands Hotel & Suites. This is the resort where the race’s expo was held and all race functions were coordinated. So it was a wise selection. This resort is located next to the Colonial Williamsburg Visitor Center, where you can tour all the sights of the 18th Century. I will review this tour in the coming days.
Upon arrival at the resort, we followed the signs to what we thought was Guest Check-In. However, it was very confusing, and we walked almost completely around the resort before finding the front desk. Once we did find it, check-in was simple. Upon giving us our room keys, the person at the desk told us that our room key could be used for charging anywhere in the Colonial Williamsburg area. This was really neat, and made us feel like we were at Disney. This is such a wise concept to just use one card for your entire stay. It was very convenient.
The room was dated with some wild 18th Century scene wall paper. It was a standard room with 2 queen sized beds, a standard bathroom, and storage areas, and a large window, which overlooked the parking lot. It met the needs and was worth the $110/night charge.
So if you will do this race in future years, I would recommend this resort for both convenience and budget.
The first restaurant we chose, which was on property at the resort was Huzzah! BBQ Grill. It was a really good lunch. The restaurant was only open on Saturday for the runners being there, otherwise for lunch it would not have been open. They gave us a customized Run for the Dream runners menu. The menu had about a dozen selections on it, and we had no problem finding something to our liking. Since it was race weekend, I kept it simple and just got a cheeseburger and potato wedges. It was really good and satisfying. My wife had a slice of cheese pizza. It was a large slice and was loaded with various cheeses. Since the restaurant was just open for lunch for the runners coming in to town, so the service was a little weak. There were only about 3-4 waitresses, thus there was a little bit of a delay in the services. All in all, we would do this restaurant again if we return, as I would love to try their BBQ sandwich. Unfortunately the pictures of the meals did not turn out well, thus they were not posted. Check out the website for more details.
The second restaurant we tried, which was in Williamsburg but off-site was the Food for Thought Restaurant. This restaurant was recommended by a few fellow runners, so we held off eating here until after the half marathon, so I could eat well. This was a really neat historical restaurant. The food and service were awesome. I had “The Family Reunion” which was a plate of meatloaf and pot roast, which a side of redskin potatoes and cheese grits. AWESOME! My wife had the Fish and Chips which came with shoestring french fries. She said it was really good as well. This was an awesome recommendation, it was a really great restaurant! Check out the website for more details.
