After tossing around some ideas, Michelle, Alicia, Meghan, Daisy, and I ended up booking a suite at the Royal Sonesta (they gave us a small discount but we paid for the room), making reservations for dinner at The Blue Room, and making reservations for brunch the next morning at ArtBar. Other than that, we left the weekend unscheduled.
We met around noon on Saturday and checked in. Then we headed up to the 9th floor to drop off our bags, and as soon as I saw the name plate outside our door (Artist Suite), I realized we had been upgraded. Instead of just an executive suite, we got to stay in one of the premiere suites. It was exciting to walk in and see the spacious two-room, two-bathroom suite decked out with artwork and a stunning view of Boston.
We tore ourselves away from the view and headed down to ArtBar to have some lunch. It was busy, but we somehow snagged a table on the patio, which is beautifully decked out with orange placemats and orange and beige umbrellas, contrasting with dark wood tables.
I'd been to ArtBar for dinner a few times but was always a little jealous that I was never in the area at lunchtime. Deciding to take full advantage of this lunchtime visit, I ordered the 1/2 sandwich of the day and soup of the day, which came with a choice of fries or a salad. I went with the salad, which ended up being a great choice -- with its grape tomatoes, cucumber slices, mixed greens, and balsamic dressing.
My plate arrived featuring a chicken Caesar wrap, a small bowl of salad, and a small bowl of eggplant-tomato soup. The wrap was so fresh, with crunchy romaine, perfectly moist chicken, and just the right amount of Caesar dressing. The soup and salad were light and tasty accompaniments.
Just as we were finishing eating, ArtBar sent over some champagne. The bubbly was just the thing to kick off our weekend together.
When we got back to our room, with the intention of changing into bathing suits and heading down to the pool, we saw that a tower of cheeses, meats, fruit, and bread had been delivered, along with some specially made bottles of Corpse Reviver #2. Our treats were accompanied by a card from Amanda (Royal Sonesta's Web media manager) and Troy (food and beverage manager), thanking us for choosing to celebrate with them and explaining that the Corpse Reviver's intended purpose was to serve as an eye opener or "hair of the dog" -- just in case.
Even though we had just had lunch, we couldn't help digging into the tower, and it provided us with plenty to snack on that day. (I kept going back for pieces of goat cheddar.) We ended up popping open a bottle of bubbly (or two) to go with our snacks, and needless to say, we did not head to the pool for another couple of hours.
We spent the early evening lounging at the pool, mostly enjoying the hot tub, and then headed back upstairs to get ready for dinner and some pre-dinner drinks. (It was such a blessing to have two bathrooms for the five of us to use to get ready!)
To be continued...