I am writing this on my laptop on a sea of pillows under a white lace canopy at the Ramada Plaza Crystal Palace. With Valentines Day coming up, we thought we’d test drive some romantic date ideas. Our search for romance took us to Moncton to try the Crystal Palace fantasy suites.
Ramada Crystal Palace Fantasy Suites
The Ramada in Moncton is known for their Fantasy Suites. It was the main reason we wanted to stay with them when searching for Valentines Day ideas. There are six to choose from. Themes ranging from a Rock N’ Roll suite with a working jukebox, to the Honeymoon suite with a heart-shaped jacuzzi.
We went for the Victorian Suite, in no small part due to the large amount of Downton Abbey we’ve been watching (Thanks, Netflix). The room did not disappoint our Downton fantasies. It had a queen size canopy bed covered in ivory lace, and vintage furniture offset with a moden bathroom – a large, glass-door shower, big, beautiful rainhead showerhead, and basin sink.
But the Pièce de résistance was the white pillared in-room jacuzzi with cracked glass mirrors. It took up about ¼ of the room, ample space for two (don’t worry, we checked). Next to the jacuzzi sat a tall ice bucket with a bottle of sparkling wine, and a box of chocolates. Everything needed for a night of romance!
I’ll leave out the details of our evening (we are a family-friendly blog after all). Let me just say that the room does it’s part to set the stage for a romantic night in.
A Tropical Pool-Side Escape
If you read The Local Traveler often, you’ll know that Drew and I love a great pool area. One of our favourite things to do in the morning is lounge poolside, write, and read the morning news paper. Just like a resort, the hotel is built around the pool area. The Ramada Crystal Palace doesn’t have just any hotel pool, it’s a big, bright, warm escape. There is a sun roof, waterfall, hot tub and palmtrees. The rooms wrap around the pool, giving one-half of the rooms a pool-side view. The ‘California’ rooms on the main floor have double doors that walk out right onto the pool deck.
On-Site Dining at McGinnes Landing:
We had breakfast at their just-offsite (no outdoor walking required) restaurant, McInnes Landing. Our stay came with two “Full American Breakfast’s”, a set meal that includes things like eggs, bacon, toast, hashbrowns. They’ll let you credit the coupon value towards anything on the menu which we did in favour of their veggie omlets. Fellow omlet lovers take note (because we didn’t realize this in our post-romance haze) that each item added to your omlet is an extra 60 cents.
On-Site Adventure, Shopping and Cinema
After breakfast we toured the property. Crystal Palace is attached to the hotel. If you’re traveling with kids, I can see the Ramada being a convenient spot. It’s centrally located and attached to an amusement park, movie theatre, Chapters, Starbucks, and Restaurant. While we didn’t have dinner and drinks at McGinnes Landing, I checked out their specials over breakfast. They have good nightly drink specials like a $18 bottle of wine, and $5 margarita nights!
Drew and I also liked the central location. It made it easy to get to the Moncton Market in the morning. We were also close to some of our favourite Moncton Restaurants like Pump House,Tide and Boar, and Marky’s Laundromat.
Stay Fit While On The Road
For others like us who like a little couple’s workout when you travel, there is a gym just off the pool. It doesn’t look all that great, but there are three treadmills, an elliptical, bike, and free weights, everything we needed.
Romantic Packages:
If you’re looking for something for Valentines Day (or for a random romantic weekend escape), Ramada Crystal Palace has a Fantasy Romance Package from $475 that includes:
- A two night stay in one of their Fantasy Suites
- A movie theatre gift card for $20
- $75 dining credit for McGinnes Landing
- Two full American breakfast’s per person
- Wine and chocolates in your room
Looking for more romantic adventures? Check out our growing ‘No-Fail Guide to Romance in the Maritimes’ HERE.
//
Note: As you can probably tell from our bio, title, and blog content, we are fierce supporters of the maritime provinces. We love our little corner of the world dearly, and we want to show you as many amazing things to see and do here as we can. We approached Ramada Crystal Palace because we thought they would be a great fit for our Valentines Day content.They covered the cost of our room night, a huge help in enabling us to continue providing posts on amazing places close to home. The opinions in this post are our own.
Join us live on our adventures, and tell us all about your favourite hidden gems, we love to connect: @GillianWesleyNS
Or on Facebook: The Local Traveler
