Ironworks is Much More Than a Your Usual Hotel

I needed to make two trips to Indianapolis when I was dealing with the IPhone debacle. The mall where Apple is located is not near the downtown area I am used to in the city. It’s also about two hours from my house, making it a long roundtrip to do in a day.

On my first trip there with my friend, Amanda, I noticed Ironworks Hotel when we got off the highway. It was a hotel I had wanted to go to for a while. I arranged an overnight stay for my next trip to Apple.

Ironworks is located in the Keystone complex. It’s filled with businesses and restaurants. Since it was a Sunday, most of them were closed and we decided to eat before we went there.

It doesn’t take much to convince me to go to Cheesecake Factory—we don’t have one at home. Amanda took the waitress’ recommendation and ordered the fish tacos. I’m someone who loves to try different things, but I always get the same dish at Cheesecake Factory. It’s because it’s so unusual and something I don’t have anywhere else.

The Soft Corn Tamale Cakes consist of three polenta cakes, topped with sour cream, avocado, and two types of salsas. It’s actually considered an appetizer, but I can rarely finish it as my full meal. I did this and we had to take the cheesecakes to go for a snack later.

We then headed to the Ironworks Hotel. I knew it was special as I had been to its sister property nearer to downtown Indianapolis, Bottleworks. They are both part of the Geronimo portfolio.

Ironworks is the only boutique hotel in that area. It’s luxurious while maintaining a casual atmosphere. I am not the only one who feels that way. Ironworks has received a Michelin Key, AAA Four Diamond Award, and TripAdvisor’s Best of the Best Award.

The hotel’s design is a dedication to the industrial period, which is even shown in the black and white photograph in the elevator. Their theme is work hard and play hard and Ironworks makes it all easy.

It’s always nice to get a suite, but it’s been a rarity since I’ve needed a wheelchair accessible room. We had one at Ironwood. It was huge and as unique as the hotel. It was styled as a loft, in a corner, filled with windows, and a television that could be accessed from the bedroom and the living room.

The room also had a large, wheelchair accessible bathroom. The walk-in shower was bigger than most, and they had the hose easy to reach by the chair, but not the shampoo and conditioner (something I encounter a lot). The closet had lowered bars, and we found two comfortable robes in there too.

Teddy came along on this trip. The hotel accommodates dogs and left him two bowls, one with bottles of water and the other with a bag of treats with an Ironwoods bandana! He wasn’t the only one. We had a welcome basket with wine, chocolates, water, and snacks. It was not just any wine, but a Grateful Dead Anniversary edition of Gnarly Red.

 

Before we left in the morning, we ordered breakfast from Rize, which was right downstairs. The breakfast sandwiches were large and went well with the lobby coffee, which even has an assortment of flavored syrups and milks.

 

 

I was hosted for this stay, but opinions are my own.

Girls Fun in St. Joseph, Michigan

When I first saw the schedule the St. Joseph Tourism Board had laid out for my friend Lynn and me, 

I have to admit I was a bit overwhelmed. It was a very full day. But, it turned out to be an extremely fun one.

After a good night’s sleep at the Inn at Harbor Shores, we headed to downtown St. Joseph. We started off fueled, thanks to Caffe Tosi.

Lynn had a plate full of fruit and granola and I went for plain yogurt with a luscious almond horn on the side.

The second place on the agenda was actually the home of another bakery, but not one for us. FuzzyButz is actually a pet bakery, where owner Mary Schaut creates treats for her four-legged friends.

We were incredibly impressed with Mary’s creativity as we walked around, looking at items such as Sweet Potato Pie flavored treats; ones made to look like burgers, fries, and cannoli; peanut butter squares (peanut butter is actually a base for most of her items); and even squares that taste like lamb stew.

Before we left FuzzyButz we were able to go into the kitchen production area to see where all the cookies and treats are made.

Next, we were off to check out the offerings at a few of the downtown boutiques, DK, Friends by Design and Perennial Accents.

Each store has distinctive items for women, from clothing to shoes and accessories. It was nice to hear that all the shops work together to make sure they can collectively provide unique things for everyone to buy -- and wear.

We continued the girls theme, though Revive was a spa like no other I’ve been to.

Jonathan took us around Revive and I’m sure he heard “wow” out of me quite a bit! I had never seen a place like this.

Although Revive does have regular treatments that you would find in other spas, they are also a “self spa.” 

I had never heard this term before. Basically, it meant that you rented out the room and the equipment to use yourself.

Among the options were spray and UV tanning, a Lumiere Facial machine, a relaxing massage chair, Red Light Therapy, and a Hydration Station.

Lynn and I were able to each pick a complimentary treatment (the costs are very reasonable, beginning at about $30 a session).

I went for the Red Light Therapy, which is said to help combat aging while also reducing pain and inflammation. 

I wouldn’t say it cured anything, but I did feel good and my skin looked a bit better when I came out of it and met back up with Lynn, who was in the massage chair.

By this time, we were really hungry and it was a good thing because the menu at The Buck, Burgers and Brew looked fantastic.

Owner Ken Kozminski came over to say hello and show us the menu, which included the option to create your own burger with beef, ground turkey, chicken breast, or black bean patties, then top it with anything from old fashioned American Cheese to cream cheese and a variety of sauces.

I didn’t need to make my own burger because there was one that immediately caught my eye: The Harvest Burger. It is a turkey burger with apples, cranberry jam, and brie cheese.

It was one of the best lunches I’ve ever eaten. Lynn was equally satisfied with her Turkey IPA Ruben, made with avocado and coleslaw.

After lunch, it was time to taste some more Southwest Michigan wine. Two tasting rooms were located right downtown so it was easy.

Baroda Founders Wine Cellar had some good wine, such as their Lake Side Breeze Demi-Sec, and also fun wines.  I really liked Smorleaux, a red wine infused with marshmallows and milk chocolate.

At White Pine Winery, I agree with the awards given to their fruity pinot grigio.

Lynn and I walked down to the Silver Beach Carousel. I happen to love Merry-go-rounds so I was looking forward to this all day.

We met with Carla and she told us about the history of the carousel, which has hand-carved horses and a brass ring machine, and dates back to 1910.

A century later, a fundraising campaign is underway to restore the carousel, but it still looks quite beautiful. I got to take a ride before we left.

Our final stop of the day was at the beach. I still find it hard it’s believe that Lake Michigan is as big and beautiful as it is.

We walked along the sand for a while and enjoyed the quiet. I always find myself enjoying beaches more in the spring and fall than the crowded summer.

We drove back to the Inn at Harbor Shores and had an early dinner. St. Joseph had been wonderful, but it definitely wore us out.

We’d be leaving Southwest Michigan in the morning and heading back to Illinois, where we were checking out Hotel Arista in Naperville.