For those who have been following along you know that I am married with two small kids – they are 6 and 3. Like any couple with young children, we are in the thick of it. My husband and I need to make a big effort to carve out time, get away and enjoy an evening or weekend that doesn’t involve picking up toys or fetching snacks. So, when The Royal invited us for a stay, we were thrilled at the chance to reconnect in such a beautiful space, sans children.

Located just under an hour away from Kingston in Picton, The Royal Hotel is a perfect mixture of classic and modern. The 146-year-old building is on the main strip surrounded by some of the best restaurants in Prince Edward County and a small distance to many amazing wineries and breweries.

We arrive just after 3pm on a cold and quiet Saturday. After parking just behind the building (they have guest parking!), we enter the impeccably mid-century modern designed space and walk to main reception for check-in where we are greeted by kind and friendly staff. They offer and pour us each a glass of sparkling from local winery, Hinterland. These are the touches that matter to me, some prefer a digital experience but I love speaking to a person upon arrival. The glass of bubbly is also a nice touch!

We make our way to the elevator where we use our key card to access our floor (great security feature). As we enter our room, my eyes immediately spot the fireplace and then widen when I turn my head and see the massive soaker tub right in the middle of the space. The room is cozy with plenty of comfortable seating to unwind and settle in.

A perk of the timing of our visit is that Countylicious is running. This means the Royal’s restaurant downstairs is offering a three-course tasting (until April 13!) featuring the highlights of this season’s harvest. The Royal is also connected to Edwin County Farms which means all meals feature organic ingredients grown just a few kilometers away from the restaurant, taking the definition “farm to table” dining very literally.

We make our way downstairs to our reservation around 8 pm to the dining room that is stunning with an unobstructed view to the kitchen for guests to see each dish calmly and meticulously prepared.

My husband started with the meatballs and I had the mushroom salad featuring the juiciest lions manes! We both ordered the steak frites – the jus on the steak was so rich and flavourful and the fries were perfectly crispy. I finished with the sour cherry gelato while my husband had a cannoli (chef’s old family recipe!). I need to note how attentive the team was to my food intolerance. I am regrettably lactose intolerant and they made sure that none of my dishes contained dairy. I must admit that I hate this food intolerance and often play it down. I also get so jealous when I see my husband enjoying the items I can’t eat but I appreciated that they made the effort to sub ingredients for me and I didn’t miss the dairy one bit.

We ended our meal with an Amaro tasting. I learned that amaro is a type of Italian liqueur that is flavored with herbs and is often enjoyed after a rich meal to settle the stomach. It did just that! Three samples from their vast collection were thoughtfully curated for us to smell and taste and I was delightfully surprised by how much I enjoyed the second sample, the Camatti from Genova. It was so smooth and sweet and velvety to sip. I really loved this unique feature.

After dinner, we made our way back to the room where I hade the longest soak with a bath bomb, hopped into my robe and enjoyed the fire.

I had the deepest sleep in the soft, comfy bed. I really appreciated the 11am checkout – we didn’t feel rushed to get up. The blackout blinds helped us ease into the morning spent sipping French pressed coffee before going downstairs for breakfast. Breakfast is the perfect finale to our stay. We ordered the the Royal Breakfast which had the perfect spin on a traditional breakfast plate- the potato pavé, fresh sourdough and wilted greens were highlights for me.

Overall, it was a great mini getaway! Beautiful room, great meals and friendly staff. Since we went during off season, we had a very quiet visit. If we were to visit during the warmer months, I think we would have taken advantage of the central location of The Royal a bit more. We would have went for a long walk in Picton after checking in. And after checkout on Sunday, we would have hit up a winery or patio. Our wedding anniversary is in June, and this is the perfect place to properly celebrate this summer!

Keep up with The Royal: @theroyalhotelpicton

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