On the 4th of May, my son proposed to his girlfriend on an arched bridge over a small lake in the resort town of Serenbe, just a short ride from Atlanta. Their pictures and comments about the place made us want to check it out.
We had heard there was a theatre there, so we decided to take a break from all that is going on right now and make the two hour plus trek to Serenbe.
While the kids went for spa time, wine tasting and getting engaged, we went for food and theatre.
The Inn at Serenbe looks like a large farmhouse. Check in is handled at a small cabin in front of the main house where I was greeted by a fun staff and rustic décor that immediately took me away from the hustle and bustle of day to day life.
I had picked my guest room in the main house, although there are separate cabins that are available with 2, 3, and 4 bedrooms. Online you can choose your room, each one a different size and décor.
I picked our room because of the huge window seat, full of pillows and flooded with light from the bay window it is nestled into. The large, white, farmhouse styled bathroom had a whitewashed wooden floor that featured a hand painted “rug” of flowers. The room also had a large walk in closet that I used as my personal dressing room.
Our bed was soft and covered in a white, down filled duvet as well as tons of pillows. The rest of the room décor was filled with antiques, a comfy chair and a small writing desk surrounded by bookshelves with more antiques and books.
We rented one of their golf carts and decided to find the lake and footbridge, which then led us on a walk to find the labyrinth. The woods were dotted with statues and eventually opened into a large wildflower meadow. The labyrinth was underwhelming (maybe because we have such a beautiful one at our church) but we had a nice walk to get there. As is usually the case, the fun was in the journey, not the destination!
We strolled back to the golf cart and rode past the barns with goats and rolling fields of horses, into the small town where we shared a delicious Tuscan chicken sandwich at the general store. I then slipped into the small independent bookstore. After some quality time looking at books, picking out a few to purchase and an interesting discussion with the man who owns the store, I was back in the golf cart with Tim and headed to the Inn for tea time.
Each room includes a hot buffet breakfast and tea time from 4-5 each afternoon. In the winter they also have bonfires in the evening. By the time we got back, it was near the end of the time allotted for tea so we went to our room to rest a minute and change clothes.
Dinner at The Farmhouse restaurant was quite the experience. I had made reservations for their prefix meal for those attending the theatre. The meal included 3 courses and each course had two items for you to select from. I made our reservations for 6 so we would not be rushed, but when we got there we were in the restaurant all alone! Guess we were kind of early.
I had seen the menu online and had already made my choices, but the menu I held in my hand was not at all like the one I had seen. I quickly tried to make new choices just as the hostess came back to say she had given us the wrong menu! So back to our original choices. We had a hard time deciding which menu looked the best.
Tim tried a cold almond soup that I felt sure he would not like, but I then had to tell him not to lick the bowl since other people had joined us in the dining room! He loved it! My tomato burrata salad was beautiful and delicious.
For dinner I had the grouper and Tim had lamb. Both meals were tasty and photo worthy, although I forgot to take pictures before I dove into the meal. For dessert we both picked the coconut cream pie although I am not a huge fan of coconut. I was glad I got it because it was a tart with a flaky crust, a silky cream filling and fresh coconut shavings on top.
After dinner we headed to the real reason we decided to spend some time at Serenbe- the theatre. Serenbe Playhouse doesn’t have a house at all. They do their productions in found spaces around the community. We were seeing HAIR at the other end of the wildflower meadow from where we had been walking earlier in the day. The group was also presenting a production of POCAHONTAS during the day on the other end of the property in the woods.
The HAIR production was big- a cast of 12 professionals as well 4 interns on a large stage set with tall scaffolding, a trap door, a large ramp, a band onstage and suspended silks used for a couple of the numbers. The energetic, highly talented group used every inch of the structure as well as spending time down off of the stage with us in the audience.
HAIR is a show I think people either love or hate, they either get it or they don’t. In this day and age it definitely plays differently than it did back in the day when I first saw it. This production was as good as any I have seen and the weather that night could not have been any more perfect. Considering it is the end of July in Georgia, it was downright cool this particular evening.
Our front row seats put us right into the action, interacting with the performers several times.
There were t-shirts to buy and the bar was in an old bus painted up for the occasion that had drinks ranging from water and soft drinks to their specialty Tequila Sunrises, Jello shots and more.
The whole evening was one to remember.
The next morning we ate a large breakfast at the Farmhouse buffet, complimentary with your room, including eggs, grits, bacon, potatoes, fruit, muffins and biscuits. Then it was back on the golf cart for another swing through the 3 “villages” that make up the community. The service at breakfast, as well as dinner the night before, was great and everyone we encountered during our stay was helpful and fun.
I was sad to check out and head home- the next time we will stay longer, see another show and take advantage of more of the shops, spas and restaurants in town. I know that this is the 10th anniversary season for the playhouse and for the first time they are doing a holiday show in December- we will be back for their next season for sure.
Since it is so close and convenient, I see the possibility of little getaways to this locale becoming a regular thing for us!!
