Cherry Valley Lodge is a Unique Central Ohio Resort

35 Miles east of downtown Columbus in central Ohio, you will come to the 18 acres of the Cherry Valley Lodge, which are very unique in ambience. Walking through the hallways of the Cherry Valley Lodge in central Ohio, I got the impression that I was in a hunting lodge, because it’s decorated in game hunters-themed motif. Yet once I was outside in the patio area of the Cherry Valley Lodge (which opens from each ground floor room), I found myself in a botanical garden/arboretum that can be walked around in as if one would do so in a central Ohio park or shared communal backyard. This is the only hotel property in the USA that is an Arboretum & Botanical Garden designee by the American Association for Arboreta and Botanical Gardens.

An incredible array of some 2,000-plus plantings and 400 species of plant-life exist at this unique Ohio family resort. These plants and trees, which are indigenous to the region, thrive on the property’s two such arboreta and botanical gardens, because the resort is set up in a figure eight layout. The resort gives children free cracked corn to feed the ducks who frequent the ponds, which reside at the center of each nature haven. The serenity I felt here was something that others will venture all the way to the Himalayas in search of, but finding nirvana is a lot easier and more economical by heading to Newark, Ohio!

This family-friendly resort contains some 200 oversized rooms, including 16 suites with Jacuzzi tubs. Free WIFI Internet access is available in all the rooms as well as throughout this Ohio venue for your laptop. A fitness center is also available for those who want to keep in shape while vacationing. Other amenities include an indoor heated pool and a game room with a large TV, which will keep the family entertained. The resort lends out bicycles for riding the bike paths that branch out from the property to see more of the state’s centrally-located landscape. Game opportunities include shooting hoops, spiking a volleyball, and throwing horseshoes. The 50,000 square foot Coco Key Water Resort is being constructed on the Cherry Valley Lodge property, and is scheduled to open in December 2006. It will feature 250-plus foot water slides, cabanas, eateries, a grotto-like spa, and a play island for young children.

This lodge also has an onsite dining room where guests can engage in some breakfast, lunch, and dinnertime feasting as well as weekend brunches. The dinner menu contains numerous selections of seafood, lamb, pork, mixed grille, beef, and poultry entrees. I found the Cherry Valley Lodge’s Pork Chop with Spiced Apple Chutney to be very delicious.

This resort property offers a variety of year round and seasonal getaway packages that are festive-, health-, and family-themed. One such package, the “Paws and Relax”, is for dogs and their owners, and includes spa treatments for both. The getaway that I found most interesting is one that I can’t even take part in. It’s known as the “MenoPAUSE Escape” for women in the prime of their lives. Contact the website below for details about all of their getaways.

Cherry Valley Lodge: 2299 Cherry Valley Road, Newark, Ohio. 740.788.1200 or 800.788.8008. www.cherryvalleylodge.com