Couple's Getaway in NC

A small-town weekend full of deep fried foods, creative cocktails and a room with retro décor was just what the doctor ordered.

Patterned tiles welcomed us at first glance of The Durham, a beautiful hotel that captivated us with it’s with geometric chandeliers and vases brimming with flowers throughout the lobby.

After a quick ride in the red carpeted elevator, we opened the door to our room, equipped with a faux-denim comforter, red night stands, chocolates on our pillows and a tube of Burt’s Bee’s on the bedside table.

As you can imagine, it was a mere minute or so before I had my DSLR in hand, snapping pictures of this space before it’s inevitable surrender to my belongings being scattered across the floor. We were both completely prepared for a relaxing evening in this quaint town.

In typical Katie fashion, we arrived without any semblance of what to do in the area, which meant exploration via foot was our best bet. We quickly found that Durham was so simple yet friendly.

Everywhere we looked, there were people enjoying cold beers on the patio or sharing appetizers underneath the lights of a hipster restaurant. One thing I did hear before visiting was that Durham is a hub for artistic folks, clearly evidenced by the agencies and studios lining the streets.

After lots of Google mapping & Yelp surfing, we found ourselves in the seats of ‘It’s a Southern Thing’, reviewing their very southern menu for something to satisfy our growing appetites. At the recommendation of our waitress, we devoured fried pickles and deep-fried deviled eggs for our appetizer. The crispiness of the fried batter paired with the freshness of a deviled egg left both of us considering how we will ever eat traditional deviled-eggs again. All this led to the grand finale of a sloppy joe, packing a spicy flavor atop a crispy piece of Texas-toast, served with ooey gooey mac & cheese.

Needless to say, pants were unbuttoned before leaving this restaurant.

Our demin-covered bed was our oasis for the next hour before lazily making our way to the rooftop bar.

Surprisingly we were able to find a table at this scenic venue, which meant ultimate relaxation for the following hours. What started as one cocktail, quickly turned to two, as the flavor of the apple brandy in The Hitman proved irresistible. The combination of the brandy and humid summer air kept our bodies warm as we lounged beneath the glowing lights for hours.

We sleepily made our way to the room just one floor below, a space that already felt so homey.

The white slip of paper on our desk reminded me of the custom coffee that would be delivered to our doorstep in the morning, which sounded all too delicious. With the hotel pen in hand, I filled out my preferred flavors and slipped that note on our door handle before falling asleep.

The slight clanking of dishes outside our door was my alarm that the coffee had arrived.

7:57 AM. Right on time.

The aroma of coffee slowly filled the room, waking a groggy Peter from his intense sleep.

The hints of chocolate and notes of caramel had me questioning if I was drinking a coffee that the hotel had stolen from an upscale shop nearby. Seriously, these home-ground beans were far from your average prepackaged hotel schtuff. With our now coffee-filled bellies rumbling, the complimentary breakfast downstairs called our names. We opted to try a variety of treats, our favorite being the sugar cake and ginger scone.

And just like that, we were rounding our trip off with a drive around Duke, an impossibly beautiful school, before heading back to Spartanburg.

This short weekend was the perfect escape from reality, with just enough sleep and cocktails to feel like we were on a true vacation.

A huge thanks to The Durham for collaborating with me during this stay. If you can’t tell, we loved staying here and would definitely suggest checking them out for your next stay in north carolina!

Cheers!

xoxo - Katie

This post is in collaboration with The Durham. All opinions are my own.