A Weekend In Serenbe, Georgia

What the heck is Serenbe? That was our first thought after we heard about it a couple of years in the past. An area buddy named Kelly was transferring to this “wellness neighborhood” exterior of Atlanta and informed us it’s an excellent place for a fast getaway with the children. And shortly after that dialog, we realized that our pals Vern Yip and Craig Koch are additionally constructing a house there. So, fast-forward 5 years, we lastly visited over Spring Break and had a good time.

Okay, so now let’s reply that preliminary query.

What Is Serenbe?

Serenbe (rhymes with “Heron B.”) is a small “New City” neighborhood about 45 minutes south of Atlanta in a rural city known as Chattahoochee Hills. It’s type of a mixture of an upscale-feeling suburban growth and an eco-conscious resort within the countryside. There’s a concentrate on well-being and connection to nature, together with on-site options like an natural farm, a number of farm-to-table eating places, and 16 miles of nature trails.

We didn’t know if we must always count on sprawling farmland or dense city facilities and actually, it’s kinda each. The primary sights are these quaint “hamlets” with outlets, eating places, and houses inside strolling distance of each other. However between them are horse pastures, wooded trails, and bigger heaps known as “farmettes” that also provide you with a way of remoteness. There’s a variety of dwelling sizes and kinds, from fashionable condos to retro bungalows which makes for heaps to take a look at whenever you drive round (in a golf cart, which is the preffered technique of transportation for locals and guests alike).

There may be an Inn you possibly can keep at, in addition to a number of Airbnbs, however general Serenbe felt extra full-time and residential than we anticipated. We requested a neighborhood they usually stated about 70% of its occupancy is full-time, which differs rather a lot from our seaside down (which is extra like 50/50 and even decrease relying on the world). We additionally got here of their low season (mid-March) so maybe it has a extra tourist-y vibe throughout the summer season. Both means, it was nice for us as a result of we stay in a trip vacation spot that will get fairly busy over spring break, so the slower tempo was really very nice.

The place To Keep In Serenbe?

The Inn at Serenbe is the one resort however you can even discover leases by means of websites like Airbnb and the official Serenbe Trip Leases web site. Some Airbnb outcomes might present up as “Palmetto, GA” and a few will not be inside Serenbe correct, so you should definitely test the itemizing if that’s necessary to you. Being on web site offers you simpler entry to trails & outlets, and also you’ll additionally be capable of golf cart between hamlets extra simply.

We ended up being extraordinarily fortunate that Vern & Craig allow us to keep within the rental they’ve (which is the place they keep whereas their Serenbe house is being constructed, since they stay full time in Atlanta). Sherry had texted them for Serenbe suggestions after we began planning our journey they usually insisted that we keep at their place, because it wasn’t getting used. They’re severely the kindest people on the planet.

What To Do In Serenbe

Our 3 days in Serenbe have been a splendidly chill expertise stuffed with – as tacky because it sounds – nice alternatives to decelerate and join with nature and one another.

Get Exterior

Serenbe gives a whole lot of excuses to be exterior: trails, playgrounds, even waterfalls. And far to our shock, the principle exercise our children requested every day was enjoying in a close-by stream. Our children are 10 and 14 and we have been fairly shocked to comprehend that this little stream can be an enormous draw for them. But it surely saved them busy for a pair hours every day – simply enjoying with rocks and dirt (our daughter made legit pottery with clay from the riverbed), strolling throughout fallen logs, skipping stones, and so on.

The paths & streams have been very paying homage to the Virginia suburb I grew up in, so I’m unsure each child would discover Serenbe’s babbling brooks as fascinating as our children did. However I suppose it was novel sufficient in comparison with the sandy seashores they’re used to in Florida.

Past the character trails, our children additionally beloved the little playgrounds peppered all through the neighborhood (once more, one thing paying homage to the suburb I grew up in – and one thing we questioned if they’d outgrown). However Serenbe’s playgrounds appeared deliberately retro and easy – fundamental swings & slides vs elaborate plastic playplaces – which completely charmed our children. They even ended up enjoying on this little lean-to manufactured from sticks for some time.

The best “fashionable” playground options in Serenbe are a few in-ground trampolines, together with one atop a hill known as “Sundown Level” that overlooks the stables. They beloved them.

General, there wasn’t something particularly elaborate or distinctive about these varied out of doors facilities, however there gave the impression to be some magic within the old school simplicity of them, and the truth that they have been scattered round Serenbe (to the purpose that many children would “trampoline hop” to every spot after dinner within the night).

Experience Horses

With all the stables and pastures round, it appeared solely pure to splurge on a household horseback trip. Plus, it was Sherry’s birthday – so why not spend it atop a horse?

We booked a 1-hour tour by means of Serenbe Path Driving, which was good for novice riders like us. My daughter and I had performed one thing related final summer season on our journey to South Dakota, however this was our son’s first time on a horse! He was nervous, however Crystal (our information) and Dakota (his horse) have been superior. By the top, he stated it was his favourite a part of the complete trip!

The trip took us alongside among the Serenbe trails with sufficient sights (a waterfall! cool homes!) and terrain (steep-ish hills!) to make it partaking & stress-free on the similar time.

Hit the Spa

Sherry’s different birthday current whereas we have been there was a calming journey to the Spa at Serenbe with our daughter. Once we known as to guide, the girl on the cellphone gushed a lot concerning the Reiki remedy over a typical therapeutic massage that Sherry took her recommendation and that’s what they every loved for an hour (together with hanging out within the infrared sauna earlier than and after the remedy, and ordering some macarons). However each our daughter and Sherry ranked their spa expertise as their favourite a part of the journey!

Hire Bikes or A Golf Cart

You’ll be able to simply get round Serenbe with out a automobile. We solely used it at some point after we ventured out to a close-by park. Our buddy Kelly – the one who moved there full-time a couple of years in the past – loaned us her golf cart and our children beloved that we might all scoot round city in it. Had we been there longer, I positively would have introduced our bikes (or rented them), though it’s pretty hilly so getting round might be a little bit of a exercise.

Go See A Waterfall

Okay, so this one is technically exterior of Serenbe, nevertheless it was positively well worth the 15-minute drive (there are a few smaller waterfalls in Serenbe too). We went on a 2-mile-ish hike at Cochran Mills Park that took us previous quite a few waterfalls, together with this spectacular cascade proper at first. It was a bit of steep and overgrown at components, however our chihuahua did it, so I wouldn’t say it was too difficult!

FYI – the paths we took (the Orange trails) are throughout the principle highway from the car parking zone.

Store the Shops

We had a enjoyable afternoon of exploring among the outlets in Serenbe, though they’re pretty restricted – particularly relating to issues that youngsters get pleasure from. So the outlets didn’t take up a lot time, however they have been good pit stops on our walks.

In all probability our two favorites have been Typo Market and the Hills & Hamlet Bookshop. They’re each charming & quaint, and Typo Market packs a whole lot of cute curiosities (stationery, decor, toys, and so on) in a small retailer! Sherry additionally ducked into an upscale dwelling decor retailer known as Mister & Mrs Sharp to oogle the products. She left with two little gold fortune cookies (one for every of our children) that hinge open, and you’ll write a bit of observe for them inside. Right here’s an affiliate hyperlink to a model of what she acquired that you would be able to get engraved on Etsy.

The place To Eat in Serenbe

Very similar to the procuring choices, the eating choices in Serenbe aren’t quite a few, however we loved each meal we had – particularly from the place we ate thrice!

Blue Eyed Daisy

Blue Eyed Daisy is an off-the-cuff spot that was a brief stroll from our rental and we ate breakfast, lunch, and dinner there (not all on the identical day). They solely serve dinner a few nights every week and we caught their weekly “Burger Night time” on Monday, which Vern and Craig stated we couldn’t miss. My Dubliner burger was the very best burger I’ve had shortly.

Halsa

Halsa is a Swedish-inspired restaurant that positively had our favourite “vibes” of all of the eating places. It’s a bit of pricier, and the “clear” and “vegetable-forward” menu may not be each child’s favourite, however we preferred our lunch a lot that we got here again the subsequent day for breakfast!

The Hill

The Hill is a barely nicer, however nonetheless informal dinner spot the place we ate on our final night time. Like the opposite eating places, it boasts native farm recent substances and can be a superb date night time choice too. Our children shared a pizza, Sherry crated her personal “tapas” from the apps & sides, and I completely loved my “beef stack” that ended up being code for a burger.

Nigel’s Fancy Bananas

We’ve been large followers of this frozen banana & gelato store ever since a mutual buddy of ours & Kelly’s opened her first one in Florida a couple of years in the past. Serenbe is its third location, so after all we needed to cease in. It by no means disappoints and the chocolate-covered bananas sprinkled with issues like graham crackers & marshmallows or a melted peanut butter drizzle are nice. We counted this as lunch as soon as day (at dwelling each every now and then, it’s dinner, together with another random snack that we eat afterwards).

Different Locations To Eat

One other common eating spot is The Farmhouse on the Inn, however we have been informed it’s a bit dressier and we didn’t pack for the event. There are additionally espresso outlets like Birdhouse Espresso Room and Minro Studio that may be a cafe and ceramics studio the place you possibly can take pottery workshops (however that was closed whereas we have been there). There’s additionally a pizza place known as Radical Dough that we’d’ve beloved to attempt, nevertheless it was additionally closed whereas we have been there.

A Journey to Serenbe: A Abstract

We had a good time in Serenbe. We didn’t actually know what to anticipate, apart from it all the time being known as having a “farm” feeling and being a pleasant gradual place to loosen up. It lived as much as the nippiness, connect-with-nature vibe we’d heard about – and I believe its distinction to our every day atmosphere was particularly enjoyable for our children. Our daughter is already asking to return and check out goat yoga!

Anyhow, right here’s a fast rundown of our journey in bullet kind:

The place to Keep:

What to Do:

Buying & Eating:

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