Are you looking for a romantic getaway with your partner, or a great spot for girls weekend? Or, maybe you’re looking for some time to yourself on a solo trip.
No matter what you’re looking for, we think you’ll find your perfect weekend getaway at French Lick Resort, located in French Lick, Indiana!
We are not affiliated with French Lick Resort. We were not paid to visit, nor for this blog post. We receive no benefit from sharing our experience at French Lick Resort. We are sharing our opinions based on our personal experience.
Location & Why French Lick
Okay, so what’s so great about a historic hotel located in middle-of-nowhere Indiana? Guys, I can’t adequately express what a fabulous weekend we had!
Before we dive in, I know you’re probably wondering where the heck this place is located. French Lick, Indiana is located two hours south of Indianapolis, and only a little over an hour drive from Louisville. From the Cincinnati area our drive was about 3 hours. If you drive from the St. Louis area, you’re looking at a 3.5 hours drive.
And, I’m sure your second burning question is, how’d you end up in French Lick? Well, West Baden Springs Hotel, one of the two hotels at French Lick Resort, served as the location for his company’s leadership team retreat. Conveniently, spouses were invited! It didn’t hurt that his company footed the bill for the long weekend, too.
We had no clue what to expect, although I had heard positive feedback. However, from the moment we walked into the breath-taking atrium spanning 200-feet, we were nothing but impressed.
There is a historic charm crossed with modern, high-end amenities, complete with friendly hospitality that created a relaxing, indulgent experience.
In other words, a perfect weekend getaway!
A Brief History Lesson
Why is a resort nestled in the woods in rural Indiana? In 1845, French Lick Springs Hotel was built and drew in the wealthy, who enjoyed the nearby sulfur springs. Due to the hotel’s great success, five years later another health resort was built just one mile up the road, and eventually named West Baden Springs Hotel.
Over the years the two properties added golf courses, churches, spas, and the dome you see today.
Despite it’s current state, West Baden Springs experienced fire, partial collapse, and abandonment over the years. The two hotels were refurbished and re-opened to the public in 2006 thanks to Indiana Landmarks and some philanthropists focused on historic preservation for a cool price of $600 million.
Things to Do at French Lick resort
What’s great about French Lick Resort is the property is self-contained, and provides trolleys to get to different areas of the resort. Once you park your car everything you need is onsite. If you happen to enjoy an impromptu adult beverage you’ll appreciate not having to drive anywhere!
The dining options were impressive, including fine dining, casual, as well as grab and go and room service. No matter what price point or environment you are looking for, you can find several options. I especially loved grabbing an iced-coffee and enjoying the gardens from a rocking chair on the covered porch. Bliss.
Are you a golfer? His work group was impressed with the golf courses.
French Lick Springs Hotel has a casino onsite, and spas at both locations. And, if the kids happen to be with you, there are activities for them as well!
We enjoyed outdoors like the pool and an awesome trail ride from the stables. There are also trails on the property if hiking is your go-to.
Whether you are looking for activities to keep you busy, or want to chill and relax, you can easily find your vibe here. Whatever you do, don’t miss enjoying the atrium at night with the different colors!
Our Weekend Getaway at French Lick Resort
If you’ve read any of our travel-related blog posts, you’ve noticed staying in fancy hotels is usually not our thing. We’d rather be out in our RV, DIYing it, exploring nature, away from the hustle and bustle, etc.
Although, don’t get me wrong. I’ve always appreciated nice hotels from a very young age, and would rate our hotels based on how nice the pool was…
Which is exactly why I think we enjoyed our experience so much… For once we had a change of pace where everything was taken care of for us. All we had to do was show up and enjoy the experience.
And that we did. We started with lunch at Ballard’s in the atrium before he and his colleagues spent the afternoon playing a round of golf at the Donald Ross Course a few minutes away. I spent the afternoon at the pool and settled into our swanky hotel room, which had a lovely view of the atrium with the glass dome.
That evening after a more formal group dinner, I couldn’t resist exploring the grounds a bit more as the sun was setting. I enjoyed the gardens, and took note of the huge covered porch with tons of rocking chairs overlooking the grounds. It was the perfect spot to enjoy my morning coffee the next day.
While he and his colleagues did work retreat things for the first half of the next day, I enjoyed a solo, slow breakfast in the dining room and lounged by the pool. The second day I even got in a great workout in their fitness facility, which had all the equipment and more I needed!
One of our favorite activities was the group horseback ride threw the woods. I grew up with a horse, but haven’t ridden in years! Needless to say the next day my body let me know it had been awhile since I’d been on a horse. Yikes!
Importantly to me, I could tell the horses were well-cared for based on the conditions of the stable and interacting with the staff. Whenever animals are the attraction, I worry about how they are treated. Our guides shared fun nuances about each of our horses, such as the fact mine (Dooly) crossed his front legs and slowly pranced whenever he went down a hill. Our ride was awesome, and I can’t give enough praise to the staff at the stable.
That evening we enjoyed a very nice dinner at 1875: The Steakhouse, just a short trolley ride away at French Lick Springs Hotel, and enjoyed some time hanging out with the group at the onsite casino. And nope, we didn’t spend (or win) any money if you were wondering.
In a Hotel During a Tornado Warning
Our last full day included unexpected twists and turns. We knew the weather forecast for the area called for potential severe storms, even tornadoes. After enjoying a sunny early afternoon by the pool, our weather app alerted us to a thunderstorm warning with large hail.
We had parked our truck outside. Not good. He decided last minute to move it to the parking garage at the other hotel.
While he was moving the truck (and taking the trolley back), I was cleaning up and getting ready for another dinner out. Until my weather app alert went off again. Tornado warning.
Oh dear. I threw on shoes and texted him to let him know we had a tornado warning. I had no idea if he had made it to the parking garage or where he was. About this time, hotel staff came on an intercom and urged everyone to head to the lowest floor to go into the hotel basement due to the tornado warning.
As I started to make my way down (I wasn’t getting in an elevator), he called me. Thankfully he just made it back before the baseball sized hail started, which we could hear striking the glass in the atrium. If it sounds like a scene, it was.
Long story short, we made it to the basement and waited it out with hundreds of other people.
Afterwards, the hotel quickly announced the atrium was closed due to shattered glass from the hail striking the windows, and then rain pouring in. Employees were mopping up water and trying to sweep up glass.
We had six vehicles at the hotel from those who traveled to the resort for the work retreat. Two vehicles (including ours) moved to the garage before the hail started. Unfortunately the other four vehicles experienced significant hail damage, including two that were undrivable due to shattered windows. It was bananas! We had never seen hail that size before.
Needless to say the severe weather took the mood down quite a bit, so we hung out at the bar for our last evening.
The next morning we said goodbye and headed home!
I bet we all have our own favorite weekend getaway locations. I’d love to hear from you in the comments… Where is your favorite weekend getaway?
In real time, we had an amazing fourth of July weekend! My nephew was born, I saw Taylor Swift in concert for the Eras Tour (incredible!), and we had a lovely backyard BBQ with family.
In one week (ah!) I’m heading to the Upper Peninsula in Michigan with my mom. We plan to spend time in Munising, Houghton/Copper Harbor, and Marquette areas. If you have any tips, restaurants, etc. for our trip I’m all ears!
You can bet I’ll have a future blog post about how to spend a week in the UP!
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