It’s All About Me—Westbrook, CT

Best Things Nearby:
Long Island Sound, outlet shopping in Clinton and Westbrook, the Aquarium at Mystic, the subbase at Groton, and the Coast Guard Academy at New London.

Best Things About the Resort:
There are loads of amenities offered here: tennis courts, indoor and outdoor pools, ocean views, game room, lounge, workout room, Jacuzzi, sauna, and a lounge with entertainment on Friday and Saturday evening. On Sunday, the restaurant has a brunch that has been voted "Best in Connecticut." Room service is also available.

Resort Experience:
Water’s Edge is a four-season resort and spa. Located on Long Island Sound, it seemed like the perfect place for us to take a "none vacation." I work about 4 miles away and Al about 15. Compared to my usual 30-mile drive, I felt like that alone would be a vacation. You have a choice of accommodation, as there are hotel rooms as well as villas. Water’s Edge is part of RCI and offers timeshare options. We had a one-bedroom villa with a loft. Our unit could sleep six if you include our sleeper sofa.

Our week was Friday to Friday, check-in after 5pm on Friday and check-out at 10am. Since our week included Valentine's Day, we received a complimentary $25 gift card to a local jewelry store, which I thought was a nice touch.

All the villas that sleep six are on the second floor, and there are no elevators, so keep that in mind when packing. Also, you cannot park near the villas; it isn’t like a motel. It can be a bit of walk, so, again, be careful what you pack. We walked into our kitchen, dining, and living room combination and were very impressed. It is quite lovely, with a large table, partial kitchen (there is no oven), and couch and comfortable chairs.

Our bedroom has a king-size bed, club chair, telephone, dresser, and TV with remote (though it is a small one). There are two lamps and a pole lamp. The closet has a safe, iron, and ironing board.

Upstairs there is a loft bedroom with twin beds and a lavatory, perfect for children. On the lower level, our bathroom is very good size, with two sinks and a tub. Everything is in good repair, and when we couldn’t figure out how to plug in our TV, engineering sent a man up within 5 minutes, and even he had a hard time finding it.

There is an on-site spa, and I will make a separate entry on my visit there since I have booked several services. One downside is that there is no wi-fi in the villas. I was able to connect my laptop through the telephone in the bedroom, but the connection was painfully slow. I guess it's better slow than not at all, but I have gotten quite spoiled and I expect every place I stay to offer it.

There are sliding glass doors off the living room onto a deck with two chairs and a table. In February we won’t be using it much. Unfortunately, our unit was smoking and we were never told it might be. Be sure to ask for nonsmoking if you have an allergy.

• Unit Type: 2 Bedroom
• Activities: Excellent
• Amenities: Excellent
• Unit Satisfaction: Excellent
• Family Friendliness: Excellent
• Service: Excellent

The Sunday Brunch at Water’s Edge has been voted the best in Connecticut on more than one occasion. I can’t verify this since I didn’t have the brunch. I can tell you that the breakfast buffet is outstanding. Your choices include cold cereal, yogurt, fresh fruit, bagels, danishes, muffins, scones, several types of bread, scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, potatoes, raisin French toast, fabulous waffles with strawberry or raspberry sauce, and made-to-order omelets. Everything is beautifully presented and tastes great. Fresh-squeezed orange juice and coffee are served to the table.

While we were finishing up, the buffet was in the process of being set up. The dessert table was enough to get my mouth watering. There was also an amazing heart-shaped ice sculpture.

Given the fact that we had the worst snowstorm this year on Sunday, February 12th, we decided that we would dine in for dinner. A look at the room-service menu gave us a clue what to expect. There are two options available in the winter, on of which is the lounge where you can order light bites, hamburgers, sandwiches, salads, etc. We opted for the main dining room, even though it is a bit (okay, more than a bit) pricey. I started with a Stella Artois and Al ordered a Mic Ultra. The breadbasket is divine. Very crusty and served warm, the basket has two very distinctive types of bread, one white and one a seeded variety, but not rye; it looked more like sunflower seeds. Whatever it was, it was delicious and we asked for and got a second basket.

I decided to have the butternut squash bisque as a starter and the crab-cake appetizer as my meal. Al ordered the sirloin steak. The soups came served in an acorn squash half with duck confit on top. It was very good, but a very small serving was $8. Thank goodness for the edible bowl.

My crab cakes were good, but the first set arrived cold and had to be sent back. The second set was warmer but certainly not piping hot. They were good-size crab cakes and there was a acceptable ratio of crab to filling. The sauce that was served with it was alright, but there really was not enough of it for me to get a true idea of its taste.

Al’s steak was perfectly cooked and won approval from him. I ate his dandelion greens, and they were yummy.

I had purposely saved room for dessert and the creme brulee was worth waiting for. Topped with perfect fresh fruit, it was creamy, with the crunch of the burnt-sugar crust. Service was perfect, and we were well attended by all the servers in the room. Michael, who we had met at breakfast, was also serving dinner due to the storm, and of course he remembered us. We joked with other diners about the snow blocking our view of the water, but even without the view, it was a pleasant experience.

Luigi’s is an institution in Old Saybrook. The DiBella family has been serving great food and pizza for 50 years. I received a gift certificate for Christmas, and Valentine’s Day seemed like the perfect time to put it to good use. Luigi’s is located on Route 1 only a short drive from Water’s Edge. We arrived early, shortly after 5pm, and received a table at the window. There are also booths as well as dining in the bar area.

In celebration of Valentine’s Day, there was a special menu that featured, among other things, a Luigi’s Bellini. I have never heard of a bellini, but who could resist the combination of champagne and peachtree schnapps. Wow, I think I have found my new favorite drink. It’s an inspired combination; the champagne adds that something special to the schnapps.

I chose the Italian flag pizza for my entree. It is a white pizza with mozzarella, ricotta, fresh basil, and sliced fresh tomato. Being me, I added pineapple and asked for a thin crust. Al chose the prime rib special and opted to have fresh broccoli instead of the baked potato. While we were waiting, a basket of warm bread was delivered and eaten with great relish. Al’s special came with a house salad, which included greens, chickpeas, yellow squash, cucumber, tomato, and onions.

My pizza arrived first, and it was a beauty, with a very thin golden crust and plenty of good fresh toppings. I managed to eat about half and took the rest back to our place to have for breakfast. Everyone knows that cold pizza is the real breakfast of champions.

Al was very impressed by his prime rib. Not only was it perfectly cooked, but it was huge. This was not for the faint of heart. It must have weighted at least a pound. Not to imply that it was bigger than THE Al could handle; he made short work of it.

We didn’t have any room left for dessert, but if we had, there was a fantastic-sounding chocolate creme brulee with fresh strawberries, Mike’s cheesecake, mini cannolis, and, my usual favorite, the toasted almond ice cream.

The menu here is varied, combining all the usual Italian favorites, like veal parmigiana and homemade ravioli, with what you always find in a shoreline town, fresh seafood. On my last visit, I made a meal of the antipasto, and certainly their grinders (okay, subs) are worth giving a try. As I looked around the dining room, I saw one of the owners, Michael, visiting with an elderly couple reminiscing about visiting Luigi’s when they first moved to Saybrook over 40 years ago. They recognized the booths as having been moved from Luigi’s original location. Other tables held families and even a few young lovers. This is a place where everyone can find something to please them. I know I always do.

I have to admit that New Deal was a bit of a surprise to me. It wasn’t at all what I expected. You enter the building into the tap room. If you prefer a quiet dining experience I suggest you ask to sit in the restaurant. We didn’t know the difference so we sat in the tap room. The room is dominated by an oak bar, and a rather young crowd was sitting around it. I should say a young and rather rowdy crowd, not in a bad way but there was a high level of noise.

We got a booth along the wall and the first thing I noticed was the rather tacky thick paper table cloth, at least the napkins were cloth. The second thing I noticed was the $12 meal deal for Monday through Thursday. For $12 you have your choice of entrees—Sirloin steak, two pork chops, two chicken breasts, or salmon all served with salad, choice of potato or onion straws, and a glass of wine, a 12oz house beer (which was Coors) or soda. This seemed like a hard to pass up special.

I chose the two chicken breasts which can be had a variety of ways, Cajun, barbecue, teriyaki, or marinated. I chose Cajun with the roasted potatoes, and the poppyseed dressing on my salad, and a glass of white zinfandel. Al took the sirloin steak (now there is a surprise) roasted potatoes, ranch dressing, and the Coors.

While we waited for our meals we were served a basket of dark bread that tasted of molasses and honey flavored whipped butter. The bread was tasty, but would have been much better had it been served warm.

The meals were okay. I would love to say that it was fabulous, but it wasn’t. There was some skin left on my chicken breast which may have helped keep it moist but which I found disconcerting when I tried to eat it. There was a nice coating of Cajun spice, but it was nothing really exceptional. The onion straws were the winner as far as I was concerned. The roasted potatoes were just that, no rosemary, no onion, no flavor. The salad was a mix of lettuce with the predominant variety being iceberg. Served cold and fresh but with nothing out of the ordinary.

Al’s steak was cooked just right, but was tough. It was after all Sirloin, not New York Strip, or Delmonico.

Service was good, though we were never offered refills on our drinks. We finally asked for glasses of water. No effort was made to sell us dessert, actually it was never mentioned , nor was coffee.

At the end of the day what we got was a good deal. For the price, it was better than I expected.

One of the beauties of staying at Waters Edge is that we could go to work and just come here after. Today we hit the work out room right after work and then the hot tub. Once we were showered and dried we headed to the lounge for dinner.

The sun was just setting and I have to say that the views from here are every bit as good as in the main restaurant. We took a table with both chairs facing the ocean. You have the choice of ordering from the lite bites menu or from the regular dining room menu. We ordered an appetizer of fried calamari as we looked the menu over.

It arrived without any sauce. That was a mistake on our servers part. He returned very shortly with a rather unusual very thick tomato based sauce. It was thicker then cocktail sauce, more intense, and had a little bit of a kick, it was interesting, very interesting. Mixed in with the calamari were several types of peppers, all spicy. It was a small portion piled on a bed of greens to disguise the fact but it was very good.

I chose the house salad for my entree with the Gorgonzola and peppercorn dressing. Al ordered the signature burger. It has thick cut bacon, onion confit, and cheddar cheese. One thing we only realized later was that our server Anthony didn’t offer to bring us bread, it’s just as well, their bread is to die for and we would surely have eaten it.

We ordered a Mic Ultra and a Stella. They came in icy glasses, they were terrific. I love a really cold Stella, it just about had ice floating in it.

My salad was beautiful with a nice mix of greens, grape tomatoes in both red and yellow and some vegetable cut into straws on top but it was red so I can’t quite figure out what it was. The dressing had nice chunks of Gorgonzola in it and the peppercorn was also very visible. There was a little crostini leaning against the salad on my plate.

Al’s burger was a beauty with a big toasted roll and a large tomato slice and lettuce decorating his plate. It was perfectly cooked and the thick bacon was flavorful.

We finished up our meal with a roasted pear and apple tart with vanilla bean ice-cream. What more can I say, it was served warm and the contrast between the two fruits made for an interesting melange of flavors. It was the texture that allowed me to distinguish one from the other. We didn’t realize that we would get happy hour beer prices so the bill was a nice surprise. I have never had a $2.37 Stella, not even in Belgium.

Shopping:

The Shops at Water’s Edge offer the option to do some world class spending without even taking out your car. While not in the resort itself, they are a very short walk across the parking lot. Thanks to the $25 gift certificate I was given as a Valentine’s welcome gift, I had to check out Bernie Fields Jewelry Store. I was very surprised when I saw the gift card. The Bernie Fields Jewelry Store that I knew had closed recently and since this was where Al purchased my engagement ring 39 years ago, along with several other pieces of jewelry over the years, it was with great sadness that I saw them leave. Imagine my surprise when I walked in the shop and saw familiar faces. Cutting to the chase, I now have a very cute garnet and silver bracelet as a souvenir of my week at the resort. Thanks to Water’s Edge.

Pool and fitness center.
While Kasey and I were indulging at the spa, Al, John, and the hooligans went off to visit the pool. We had a heck of a time finding the entrance to the pool. You need to go through the gift shop. There are separate locker rooms for men and women. The men are downstairs near the entrance , the women are downstairs halfway down the wall on the right of the pool. There is a separate sauna and steam room for men and woman. Within the pool area there is also a hot tub, a very good size hot tub. The pool was warm and the boys had a great time. Also right off the gift shop is the health club. This is a serious workout room with plenty of machines to choose from. You need to sign in and give them your room key in exchange for a locker key.
Playing for Children and Adults
For the kids there is a game room with a nice selection of arcade style games. This is also where you may rent DVDs. They are in a machine and you put in your credit card and receive your movie. The selection was acceptable, but not too extensive.

For the adults there is a business center where you have access to high-speed Internet. To get into the business center you need to get a special key at the desk. This key allows you entrance for 24 hours.

If you are going to be here for a week, or even a weekend, on Saturday morning there is a special introduction to inform you of what is happening in the area by activities director. In addition to a continental breakfast you will be provided with a full itinerary of things that you can do, not just in Westbrook but all over Connecticut... This is not a sales pitch, so relax you will not be pressured into becoming timeshare owners, it won't even be mentioned. Surprisingly enough no one mentioned purchasing a timeshare the entire week we were here.

The Spa-
I have a full entry on my experience but this is a full service day spa, and offers massages for both men and woman as well as a full array of other services.

During the warmer weather there is an outdoor pool and also an outdoor dining area. There are two tennis courts. And lets not forget the Long Island Sound which is right where this resort is located. There is a private beach with all sorts of water related sports available.

How could I resist? Especially when Al offered to pay. I booked my services 2 days before we arrived, and I suggest that you do this as well. It may just have been because this is the weekend before Valentine’s Day, but by Thursday there was already nothing available at all for Saturday. I booked a scrub and a facial for 2pm, and Kasey ordered a manicure and a pedicure for the same time period

We arrived about 20 minutes early and Kasey was escorted to the relaxation room to await her service. I was shown to the locker room and given my robe and jelly slippers. After changing, I joined Kasey in the relation room. It is dimly lit with wicker furniture and an artificial fireplace in each of the two rooms. There is a pot of hot water and lots of tea choices as well as some granola bars. There are magazines to read while you wait.

I hardly had time to get comfortable when Stacey arrived and asked if I minded going early. Not me. She showed me to the room and explained the shower to me. I opted for the body only not the over head and she explained everything that she was going to be doing. She gave me the optional sexy paper bikinis, and then left the room while I removed the robe and positioned myself face down on the table.

This is the first time I have ever been brushed. This helps to exfoliate the skin. Then the warm scrub was rubbed all over my body, one section at a time. My unruly hair refused to be covered by a hairnet so at one point I had to hold it while she did my back. I was then left alone to take my shower, and then placed myself back under the sheet on the table.

Now it was time for the moisture cream. By now my whole body felt as soft as a babies bottom. It took a lot of effort on my part to get up and put my robe back on and head for the relaxation room. After a cup of green tea I was restored enough to happily follow Carmen into another room for my facial and eyebrow waxing (ouch).

The eyebrows were done first and then my eyes were covered, and steam was applied to my face. In the meantime, my hands and feet were massaged with lotion, placed in plastic and inserted into warmers. It’s a very decadent feeling. Carmen asked if I would allow extraction (sure) and then began to clear out any clogged pores. This was followed by the application of a gel exfoliate, and then my face was buffed with a mechanical brush. This was followed by warm rinse, and a moisturizing mask, then a facial massage. The last thing out were my soft feet.

I dressed again and headed back to the relaxation room. If I was any mroe relaxed I would have been out cold. Kasey arrived with her toes done in a French manicure and her nails a glowing gold tone.

Both of us dreaded heading back out into the cold snow, and ending our special afternoon, but all good things must end. With tip, my afternoon cost $201.20, Kasey’s was $140. Both of us felt it was an afternoon well spent.

To see a list of the services supplied by the spa you can visit the web site at http://www.watersedge-resort.com/spa.htm