Disclosure: This is a sponsored blog post however all opinions are my own!

Now that I’m working full time, I try my best to get out of town during the long weekends. Therefore on the Thanksgiving weekend, I decided to head up north to see the beautiful fall colours. #smartmove.

On our drive up north we stopped into Bracebridge and Gravenhurst in search of butter tarts. As you can see from the photo…mission accomplished!!

Staying at the Holiday Inn Express & Suites® in Huntsville was a great decision so that we could really enjoy the long weekend.  Plus it was the perfect location as it’s just 30 minutes away from the entrance to Algonquin Park.  

But before booking, I became an IHG® Rewards Club member which is the largest guest loyalty program in the hotel industry!! When you like to travel like I do, these loyalty programs come in handy.

Here’s a few things I learned about the Holiday Inn Express® :

For starters, IHG®  (Intercontinental Group – which Holiday Inn Express is part of) has a unique program called: Winning In Sleep and I LOVE TO SLEEP.

IHG’s brands, are doing more for their guests to ensure they are well-rested. For example, here’s five Sleep standards that they have focussed on:

1. The bed

2. Noise levels

3. Temperature in room

4. Lighting in room

5. Cleanliness of the room

I also learned that the Holiday Inn Express®  has a Snoozapalooza program!
What is Snoozapalooza? On weekends between September 17 – December 18, Holiday Inn Express® hotels across Canada, the United States and Mexico will extend the hours of their Express Start™ breakfast bar from 7 a.m. – noon, and extend check out hours until noon on Saturdays and Sundays. Guests are encouraged to sleep-in. (gotta love it)

It’s pretty evident that the Holiday Inn Express® is committed to ensuring their guests get a good night sleeps.

Take a peek at these pillows!! Notice that the embroidery says: FIRM or SOFT

I also enjoyed this booklet in our room with more tips on how to get a good nights sleep.

Naturally we needed a good night sleep so we could take advantage of visiting Algonquin Park. I’m so glad that this is how we chose to celebrate Thanksgiving Weekend. It was truly a wonderful getaway with perfect weather, scenery and accommodations.

For More information

Website: www.holidayinnexpress.com.

Twitter:  http://www.twitter.com/hiexpress

Facebook www.Facebook.com/holidayinnexpress

I didn’t grow up celebrating Thanksgiving but this doesn’t mean that I didn’t want to take advantage of the long weekend. So off I went to Taboo  to take advantage of some peace and quiet and to enjoy the beautiful Fall season.

Naturally I had to start the trip with a stop at  Webers  to enjoy one of their famous hamburgers.

The weekend was all about food and snapping photos of the scenery. What a perfect time of year to take a lot of photos. I simply couldn’t stop.

I even managed to get off the couch and stroll thru Gravenhurst, Bracebridge and Bala too! Naturally there was a goal. ..to find the perfect butter tart! Sadly Marty’s World Famous Cafe was closed but I managed to find 2 butter tarts to compare.

The butter tart on the right is from The Chancery Lane Co.  (33 Manitoba St, Gravenhurst, ON 705 645 424).  This butter tart is actually called: Rick’s Handbaked in Muskoka butter tarts.

The butter tart on the left is from Gravenhurst Bakery. (14 Brock St, Gravenhurst, ON 705 687 2579.

In my humble opinion: I preferred the butter tart from The Chancery Lane Co. (pastry, filling and flavour)

When I wasn’t busy eating butter tarts I was busy in the kitchen cooking up a storm. I brought up some goodies from Yummy Market as well as a bag of root vegetables from Cookstown Greens. Seriously there was no shortage of good food.

The weekend also included Season 2 of Prisoners of War  which can be found at Videoflicks. I watched Season 1 in Vegas and now I had the chance to watch Season 2 at Taboo. Why is it that I love watching a TV series while Im away? LOL

The best part of the weekend was returning back to Toronto to find out that I had received a Hoptorial Six-Pack from Muskoka Brewery. Each pack features two bottles of the brewery’s famous IPAs. I opened up a bottle of the Detour immediately as a way of reminding myself what a fantastic weekend I had.

Cheers!!