Memorial Day Jaunt to Greenville, SC

Mmmmmmm dinner at the Melting Pot!

Mini Golf with my daughter at Frankies Fun Park

Being treated as a VIP at the Hilton

Quick Tips:

Research your plans before you arrive. There are numerous hotels/motels all over the city and the prices and accommodations vary widely. We found ourselves driving by some hotels many times on our various outings, and wondered if they might have been a more convenient choice.

I would also suggest driving beyond those restaurants situated at the Interstate exits. They are almost always busy, and there are many very nice choices with just a little further drive away.

Best Way To Get Around:

Most of the major hotels have shuttles from the airport and there are restaurants within walking distance, but to explore you will need a car. During our weekend the traffic was not bad, but the police were out in force, and did not hesitate to stop to ticket speeders.

The Hampton Inn Greenville-Haywood is an older building. When you walk in the lobby the ‘breakfast area is to the left and the main desk is to the right. The lobby was being remodeled while we were there, so I really cannot comment on how it usually looks, but it is rather small compared to other Hamptons I have stayed in.

The building is L-shaped, with elevators in the middle and stairs at either end. The stairs in the front of the building open into the main entrance, but the stairs at the far end open up outside, and the keycard entrance does not work – so if you go down them you are locked out of the building and have to walk around to another entrance. The beds were VERY hard. When I called down to ask about it I was told that they had just begun to replace the softer beds because of complaints that they were too soft. When I asked if I might have a room with the softer beds I was told that they had no way to know what rooms had which mattresses.

The room we were given was very small, and the bathroom tiny, with a coffeemaker precariously perched on the edge of the corner sink vanity! The wall of the bathroom, next to the tub, was stained and dirty (it came off with a damp washcloth). It was a smoking room, and was stuffy and smelled of cigarette smoke, and while the air conditioning unit worked well to chill it did nothing to ‘freshen the room, and the window is made to not open, so no relief was to be found there. The TV offers Nintendo games (at the usual per hour cost).

The pool is very small, and kidney shaped, but it is well placed in the back of the building and receives evening sun. It was cleaned the evening that we were there, and gave the appearance of being well maintained. The lobby is small, and the carpet was being replaced during our stay, so it was a bit of a mess, but they had a sign stating that it would be done by the next day. The breakfast/lobby area is very small for the number of rooms. We slept late and decided to skip the breakfast, but it appeared to be the standard continental fare.

There are numerous hotels in a very close proximity – including the Hilton – so I would not make this property my first choice with so many nearby options. I was disappointed, having been treated to such nice Hilton properties recently that this one was a disappointment. It is located directly behind O’Charlies, almost next to the Hilton , and down the street from The Melting Pot .

The Hampton Inn Greenville I-385 - Woodruff Rd. is recently built. When you enter the lobby you will find the desk on the immediate right, with the breakfast area/lobby on the left. There are numerous tables that seat four people each, plus a sofa and a few comfortable stuffed chairs, facing the eternally on TV.

The rooms are all fairly large, very clean and nicely appointed. Ours was on the fifth (top) floor and facing away from the highway – towards Frankie’s Fun Park (something those traveling with children will want to be aware of – for the bright lights are very enticing -- heck they called to us!). We also faced an ABC store directly across the parking lot. They have a small exercise room, and a tiny outdoor pool. The pool is poorly situated, being just beyond the front entrance and on the highway side of the hotel. We didn’t see anyone use it during our stay. I would not have used it since it was right by the main entrance and the highway, but I guess it is better than not having any pool!

They provide a complimentary ‘expanded continental breakfast’ from 6-10 AM. I wondered about the use of ‘extpanded’, and how long it would really run since the hotel was full, and I am a late riser. We arrived about 9:45, and were enticed by the smells greeting us as we approached down the hall. They had just run out of biscuits, but were rushing to provide more. The biscuits were going so quickly, not only because they were light and fluffy, but because of the wonderful sausage gravy that was also provided. The woman maintaining the food was very apologetic about the delay, and she was working swiftly to serve all. There was also a wide variety of cereals, breads and pastries and even a variety of flavored creamers. Since people were still arriving at 10, I was impressed to watch her serve them with a friendly attitude even though she was trying to put things away.

All in all it was a very nice place to stay. All the people were friendly, and the accommodations were very nice. We were not upgraded, but they apologized for the fact that they were so full and could not upgrade us and promised that they would the next time we came by. While it was a bit disappointed to not be upgraded it was nice to have the disappointment acknowledged! I truly enjoyed this visit and would not hesitate to stay here whenever in the area.

This was my first stay at Hilton Greenville & Towers or really any Hilton (proper) in many years, and I was really looking forward to it. It was disappointing to find that the Executive level was closed for the weekend, but understandable since the hotel was all but deserted. I had requested a room with two beds and the desk person asked me if I would be interested in a larger room, but with one bed. He explained that they did not have the larger rooms available with two beds, but their usual rooms were very nice. I decided to trust his judgment and ended up thrilled with a wonderful suite.

As I said our room ended up being a suite, and it was magnificent! There was a changing room entrance to the bathroom, where the vanity/sink was located. My daughter was thrilled to find not only a phone extension in the bathroom, but a small TV! I was not as thrilled to notice that there was also a scale. There were thick, fluffy bathrobes in the closet that were very comfortable – they did include the notice that they could be purchased for $50 each.

I like the customer service channel on the TV, which allowed me to view our bill any time of the day or night. Both my daughter and I feared that we had ordered a movie, by accident, while looking to see what was available, and the front desk personnel had a wonderful attitude when we called to check on it. There was a keyboard for use for Internet TV, at the cost of $10 for 24 hours, and a game joystick for use with games you could order on the TV.

They list an indoor/outdoor pool, and we were disappointed to find a small pool enclosed in a room with sliding doors and screens. The setting was nice, being behind the hotel and well landscaped. There was also a small whirlpool, that was clean, but otherwise unimpressive. The exercise room, right next to the pool, included free weights which is a nice change. The also offer free passes to Gold’s Gym.

When you enter the lobby the desk is tucked away on the far right and the restaurant and bar are to the left. The bar is open to the lobby and unfortunately the smell of the smoking in the bar is apt to extend into the lobby. You also have to walk by the bar area to enter the door to the restaurant . It is a pretty lobby. There is also a hotel shuttle to and from the Airport.

This Hilton is a very nice place to stay. They have rate specials that can bring the cost close to a lower tier property, do check these out for a special treat. Everyone in the hotel was gracious. I would stay there anytime I was in the area!

The Melting Pot is another chain restaurant that we just stumbled upon. It is located in the corner of a small strip mall, and my daughter spotted it as we were driving by. The sign interested her because it stated "A fondue restaurant". We were dressed in blue jeans and nice shirts, and felt under-dressed but were greeted warmly. We were asked if we had a reservation, and when we said that we did not were told that it would be a 15 minute wait. There was a small bar just off the front entrance, where smoking is allowed. There were also a few small-upholstered benches in the entrance hall. We asked for, and were given a menu . At first glance the "fondue for two" seemed expensive at $50, until we realized all that it included. We also realized that it would be more than we could eat. We asked if we might be able to have the cheese fondue and dessert and were answered with a smile and ‘Cheese and chocolate, no problem!’

We were seated in a small booth for two with an electric burner and pot built into it. The tables seating 2-4 people had one burner, while the larger tables seating 6 had two burners. The waiters/waitresses moved swiftly between tables, but when they were at a table they were relaxed and friendly.

When our cheese fondue arrived at the table our waiter explained each step in creating the mixture. We loved experimenting with the different items we were given to dip into the cheese. We had three types of bread, many vegetables and slices of tart apple.

At the end of the cheese fondue we were both full, but not stuffed. We were happy with our decision for that left plenty of room for desert – and we are so glad we did not miss it! We choose Bailey's Irish Cream Dream and savored each bite! I loved the pineapple, but we both agreed that the brownie was decedent! My daughter loved the strawberries and bananas so much that she asked for seconds (to get the last drops of chocolate out of the pot) and was quickly provided with them.

When we were seated there was not an empty table in the place, but it was designed in such a manner that you could not make out the conversations from the other tables. Dining at the Melting Pot is a wonderful experience and one I would suggest you do not miss!

Since we were staying at Hampton Inn we decided to try the O’Charlies that is located directly in front of it, on Haywood Road. When we arrived it appeared to be very busy from a distance, but once we came down the hill, into the parking lot we could see that there were plenty of parking places. It was rather noisy when we entered, even though the main part of the restaurant was only ½ full. I asked the hostess for a table for two, in smoking if they had such a section. She said, ‘Yeah, just grab a seat in the bar’ and waved her hand over her shoulder in the direction of the bar.

The bar area was up a few steps from the ‘main floor’ with booths around the side and the bar against the middle of the forth wall. After about 10 minutes, having not been approached about placing an order, we were about to leave when a young woman asked if we would like something to drink. She was waiting on the tables outside that were very active since it was such a nice evening, and was really hustling. We placed an order that was shortly brought to us by the bartender. The bartender was fairly attentive once we had placed our order, and was a nice young man in general.

The silverware was totally spotted, thankfully there was no sign that it was not clean, just very spotted. The food was very nice, but very little garnish, or presentation. My daughter had the loaded potato soup as an appetizer, and it was very rich and very good. Our steaks were cooked to the degree we ordered and were nicely (not overwhelmingly) spiced.

There are large windows all around which allows for plenty of light, but the open seating, with many large tables makes it rather noisy. There is a waitress/waiter station in the middle of the room that seems to be a resting/gathering area for the employees rather than a staging area for serving. The bar is to the side as you enter and contains the standard television sets and sports memorabilia. There is also an outside area where paper plates and cups appeared to be the method of serving.

This is not a place I would make any effort to return to, and would make an effort to try one of the many other options in the area. It is reasonably priced, and maybe we were just spoiled by our wonderful experience at the The Melting Pot (just a few blocks down the road) the night before.

Since we were staying at the Hilton we decided to try their restaurant. It was the Sunday night of Memorial Day weekend, and I I believe that is why we had an unusual experience of being only one of two groups in the place for dinner. It was rather eerie, but they did not stint on the wonderful presentation! The Vercitti Ristorante Italiano entrance is in the left corner of the main lobby of the Hilton.

There was no one waiting by the door (as I am sure there is during ‘normal’ dining hours) and it was a bit of a wait until the waitress came out from the back. She was very apologetic about us having waited and brought us to our table. The decoration is stylish without being heavy. There is a banquette and freestanding tables. The house wine was wonderful. There was not an expansive menu, but there was a nice variety. My daughters choose chicken and pasta while I choose I shrimp and pasta. The pasta was cooked to perfection and tossed in a light coating of oil and spices. The chicken had been grilled, but not dried out. The shrimp were beautiful large shrimp that had been fully cooked, but almost melted in your mouth with their tenderness.

We were unfamiliar with some of the desert offerings and asked the waitress. She gave such wonderful descriptions that we ordered two different ones so we could try both. As it turned out, we really did not like either of them, but they were beautifully presented, and the mixture of flavors was very nice. It was disappointing that when I asked if I might have a grasshopper from the bar for desert I was informed that they did not have any crème de menthe, so could not make one.

This was a lovely experience, in a gracious setting. We had breakfast there the next morning and experienced the level of well presented and prepared food. We did have a bit of a disagreement with the waitress about the use of the complimentary passes, but that was quickly straightened out. (She said they were for the buffet, but upon our instance looked further and verified that we could use them for any breakfast).

I highly recommend this for an outing in fine dining!

We arrived at FRANKIE'S FUN PARK after dinner on a Friday night on a holiday weekend, so the whole place was very active and busy. It was interesting to see the police car sitting right out front as we approached the main entrance. It turned out that they were inside as security guards, and their presence was not invasive, but blatant. You have to walk thru the game room to reach the area to buy tickets for the other activities. The prices are reasonable, but there are often coupons available at 1800Discounts.com. We bought two games of miniature golf and then had to decide between the three available courses, they all looked so inviting.

We decided on course Number 1 and did not regret the choice. It was a nice course. All the courses had family groups of all ages. There were many groups of teenagers, couples and small groups. A few of the younger children in the family groups were very excited, and a bit rambunctious, but none were ‘running wild’. Each of the courses were similar, but we never felt that we were playing the same one over again.

The go-car tracks were very active and well monitored. All three were running fully, but no one was waiting for a long time for their chance to drive. The batting cages were busy too. The game room was full, but again there was such a variety of activities that many choices were still open, and there were no lines for any of the machines.

We really had a great time here! I would recommend it for everyone! There is even a snack bar for those that need a break from all the activities.

Don't be intimidated by a full parking lot -- the lot is very large, and was very full when we came by that night, but while all the activities were busy none gave the feeling of being too crowded. We almost missed out on some great fun -- when we saw the huge and full parking lot, but were sure glad we didn't let it intimidate us to not go in and have all the fun we did!