The Hotel DuPont and the Brandywine Valley

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Read my disclosure policy.

Anyone that reads my blog probably can tell I like contests.  I usually enter blog contests, because the odds are so good, but sometimes I enter larger sweepstakes.  A few months ago I was lucky enough to win a sweepstakes sponsored by the Brandywine Valley Visitors Bureau.  I won the grand prize – a 2 night hotel stay at the Hotel DuPont.  So before Thanksgiving my husband and I dropped our kids off at my parent’s house and took off for 2 days in Delaware.

I have never stayed at an upscale hotel like the Hotel DuPont, and I was blown away by the luxury of this hotel.  We were given a corner king suite, and it was both enormous and elegant.  My pictures don’t do it justice, but it had a large sitting room with a table, chairs and a sofa.  It was much more luxurious than anything we had stayed in before, even on our honeymoon.  The entire hotel was gorgeous, and the staff probably thought we were strange, because we walked around the whole building, exploring and checking out all the common areas.  The hotel was built in 1913, and the craftsmanship is impressive, especially in the wood carvings.  It was also amazingly well maintained and clean.  It is hard to believe it is almost 100 years old.

When we first found out we won a trip to Delaware we weren’t sure what there was to there.  It turns out there are many historic sites and houses with gardens.  Our favorite was the Hagley Museum.  This is the original home of the DuPont family in the US, and it is where they manufactured gun powder for years.  The property is very large and has a lovely house and garden up on hill.  They had just decorated the house for Christmas, and there were Christmas trees, wreaths and Victorian toys set up through out the house.

We enjoyed touring the house and garden, but our favorite part was the gun powder works.  Since both my husband and I have engineering backgrounds we enjoyed seeing the machinery and learning how gun powder was made.  My husband especially enjoyed seeing the machine shop which was powered by water.  The volunteers were extremely knowledgeable and friendly, and showed us everything.  Getting to see black powder gun powder exploded was the highlight of the day.

We had a great time in Delaware, and it was nice to get away by ourselves for a few days.

anne

Hi, I’m Anne!

I love to cook and I want to share my recipes with you. I believe cooking should be approachable and fun, not a chore. I want to make simple recipes using everyday ingredients that you can make again and again, whether it is for a busy weeknight, a summer cookout or a special dessert. Read more...

Leave a Comment