Date of Visit: March 3, 2019

Looming large above Hershey’s attractions, the stately Hotel Hershey is Chocolatetown’s premier getaway destination.

Opened in 1933, the Hotel Hershey is one of several landmarks constructed by Milton Hershey during a building boom that kept the community moving forward during the Great Depression.

Despite orgins in the country’s greatest financial crisis, the Hotel has always been a place of reserved luxury.

A modern renovation moved the front desk to the ground floor, but it’s the tropical Fountain Lobby that would have greeted guests for decades after the opening. The namesake fountain, an import from Italy, adorns the center of the room.

Despite the Tiffany lamps and antique furnishings, the room appears to be inside-out. High above, everything appears inside-out. The ceiling is painted light blue with whispy clouds. Stucco walls with curved “roof” tiles and faux exterior windows make it feel like you’re standing outside a hotel in Cuba, not Pennsylvania.

It’s an inspiring sight that also serves as a quiet spot for reading and resting. The room also opens onto the front veranda where guests can look out over a skyline of HersheyPark roller coasters and the iconic smokestacks from the original Hershey’s chocolate factory.

Recent renovations have only added to the hotel’s charms. The current lobby, built in what was once the basement parking lot, has been adorned with a stained glass skylight. As an added bonus upon arrival, every guest receives their choice of Hershey bar – milk or dark. And staff always wishes you a “sweet day.”

The main lobby is home to the resort’s retail shops. Signatures – All Things Hershey is the place for souvenirs to remember your visit. Other retailers include a jeweler; Shine, a Lily Pulitzer Signature store; and a home decor boutique.

It is also home to The Cocoa Beanery, a coffee and bake shop that offers  chocolate baked goods and other indulgent (and not-so-indulgent) treats.

The Cocoa Beanery is one of five eateries on the property. Located adjacent to the Fountain Lobby, The Circular has been the signature restaurant at the hotel since it opened. Once a coat-and-tie kind of place, the restaurant now offers a more relaxed dress code, but still evokes a finer dining experience.

A second finer dining restaurant, Trevi 5, is also just steps from the Fountain Lobby. Named for the famed Trevi Fountain in Rome, the restaurant offers Italian finer dining. Across the hall is the Iberian Lounge. Once a reading room, the lounge features a fireplace and an incredible mural depciting a busy dock scene. Walk across the room and feels like the dock is following you, always inviting you to step out and join the scene.

Harvest, the resort’s casual lunch and dinner spot, is located in a newer building behind the main hotel. The building is also home to an aracde to enjoy before or after your meal.

To get to Harvest, guests walk through the formal gardens. The gardens actually predate the hotel by more than 20 years, having grown up around a reservoir to be used for the town’s drinking water. Surrounding the water are gazebos and wooden pergolas along with antique globe lamps to light the way at night.

Next to Harvest are some of the resort’s outdoor amenities (which we didn’t get to take advantage of because of the snowy weather).

Hershey Outfitters connects guests with adventures like The Odyssey ropes course, trap shooting, archery tag, fly fishing and kayaking. The hotel also features its own 9-hole disc golf course, hiking trails and a sports complex that includes courts for basketball, beach volleyball, tennis and more.

The Hotel Hershey is also kid-friendly. The Cocoa Clubhouse is for kids age five and older. It features kids courts for tennis, basketball and swimming along with arts and crafts and ice cream making. Full, half-day and date night packages are available daily from Memorial Day through mid-August (and select weekends and holidays year-round).

The whole family will also enjoy the year-round indoor pool along with the spacious outdoor pool. The outdoor pool complex includes two huge water slides, an Infinity pool for adults and a kiddie spray deck. The outdoor pool complex also has its own dining option, Poolside.

For adults, a day at the spa may be the highlight of your stay. Enjoy treatments that include massages, facials and chocolate-infused body soaks.

Of course a great hotel has to have great rooms. As an old hotel, the rooms are not overly spacious, but they’re not too small. The bathrooms can feel a little cramped, but each comes equipped with chocolate-mandarin flavored soaps, shampoo and body lotion.

Experience the best of the best that the hotel has to offer with a stay in the Milton S. Hershey suite. The spacious room includes two bedrooms, a large sunroom and a private veranda three floors up that offers the best views the hotel has to offer. Or you can do what we did and take a tour of the property – the Milton Hershey Suite is a showcase on the tour as long as it’s unoccupied.

While the pricetag of the Milton S. Hershey suite may out of the price range for most, the hotel’s historic elegance is certainly within reach for most visitors.

And whether traveling alone, as a couple or as a family, a stay at the Hotel Hershey is sure to add even more memories to your Hershey experience.

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