From our house, it’s just shy of two hours to drive down to Baltimore. My husband especially is familiar with the route; Under Armour (based in Baltimore) is one of his clients and he’s there almost once a month.
He’s been talking about taking the kids to Baltimore for a weekend for ages but somehow it hasn’t come together. Until recently, when I received a generous invitation from the folks at Visit Baltimore and the Baltimore Marriott Waterfrontto visit for the weekend.
I hadn’t been to Baltimore in years and I certainly hadn’t been with kids so I was interested to experience everything Baltimore had to offer a family. The short of it is that we experienced a lot, and there was a ton still to do that we missed! Baltimore has a ton to offer for families and it’s a charming little city that I think is underrated.
Where to Stay
I want to start with the Baltimore Marriott Waterfront. My husband is a consultant so he’s on the road a lot and he primarily stays at Marriott Hotels. He has Platinum Elite status because he travels with them so often. We have cashed in points and stayed at many Marriott Hotels over the years and I have to say that this particular Marriott may be one of my favorites. It’s definitely Marriott luxury at its finest.
Dining:Apropoe’sis the American restaurant within the Marriott and we dined there each morning for the breakfast buffet. It was spectacular. We also stopped each hour at the bar for a happy hour. The design of the restaurant is hip and upscale and has a fun vibe to it.
Location: You simply can’t beat the location of theBaltimore Marriott Waterfront. It’s in a section of Baltimore called Harbor East – there’s fabulous shopping & dining all around. Plus it has a stop right out front on the harbor for the water taxi (more on that later) so you can very easily get around via the water taxi or just simply by walking. In fact, we dined one night in Little Italy which was only 1/4 of a mile away.
The Rooms: But back to the Marriott. We were upgraded to the Presidental Suite and we were really living large in this room. I’ll just let some of the photos speak for themselves here.
The staff: the staff was so accommodating. One woman at the front desk spent a good half hour talking to me about Baltimore and everything she thought we should do with our boys when she clearly had other things she could have been doing. Another time, one of the women working at the bar was experimenting with cool Frappacino flavors and asked my boys if they wanted to taste test something for free.
Bottom line is that this is a fabulous Marriott and I will stay there again when visiting Baltimore.
What to Do
We started out Saturday with the Maryland Science Center. This was RIGHT up my boys alley. They love science and they love getting hands on: two things that are in abundance at the Science Center!
One of the highlights of the visit was the SciLab, where children 3rd grade and older can have a hands-on laboratory experience and perform several experiments.
Beyond the SciLab, everything was very interactive and this is a great museum for kids of all ages.
We made a quick stop at the Ripley’s Believe It Or Not! Museum after leaving the Science Center. We probably walked through the whole thing in 45 minutes and it’s definitely cheesy but entertaining for kids, especially ones my boys ages (11&8). Here’s my oldest, Nate, with a replica of the tallest man in the world:
Of course, the National Aquarium is not to be missed if you are visiting Baltimore. Nate wants to be a marine biologist and to study sharks someday so visiting the aquarium too was a no brainer for us. The National Aquarium has a wonderful collection of sea & land animals.
Eating Out: I wanted to make a quick mention of the dinner we had on Friday night when we first arrived in Baltimore. We went to a place calledOuzo Bay in Harbor Eastwhich is an upscale Greek restaurant. I am still dreaming of this meal – it was phenomenal. All 4 of us love seafood and Ouzo Bay does not disappoint. Everything was amazing but the best was Cole’s Ahi Tuna and the flaming cheese appetizer. I’ll leave you guys with these photos to make you hungry. If you do visit Baltimore someday, do not miss this restaurant.
To plan a trip to Baltimore, visit Baltimore.org for more information on all there is to see & do there.
Disclaimer: My family received a complimentary stay at the Marriott and some of the sights (not all) we visited in Baltimore were comped. As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own.
That looks FABULOUS. We were invited to experience the Baltimore Marriott as well and had to decline due to our crazy schedule, but I am DEFINITELY going to make it a point to visit sometime. And that Presidential Suite looks AMAZING!
That hotel room is gorgeous! Fantastic details – like that beautiful floor. This sounds like a great weekend with kids. I know mine would love SciLab and the Aquarium.
oh my goodness – that HOTEL!! super fab!
Whitney! That room is amazing! Delaney is dying to go to Baltimore….her very first baseball card was an Oriole, so she’s a fan…. I love that your family had so much fun – what a great peek in to the city.
First of all can I please have a bite of some of that glorious food?? It looks so gourmet and delicious! And being the mom of a ten year old boy- I now know where to go when I visit Baltimore- I am sharing these pics with him- he will FREAK over Ripley’s and The Maryland Science Center!!
I went to the University of Delaware and during that time I visited Inner Harbor and Baltimore quite a bit. You have inspired me to take my boys back for a visit. Love Marriot and the waterfront looks amazing!
WHITNEY!!! This looks like an amazing weekend!! I LIVE 30 minutes from Baltimore and never saw it quite like this. Thank you for sharing. I will definitely add this hotel and these sights to our ‘must-visit’ list this fall!