With summer approaching, I know it is time for me to book hotels tied to my son’s baseball tournaments. One of my favorite destinations is Mystic, CT. Located just off Interstate 95, with proximity to Boston, Hartford and New York City, Mystic, Connecticut is an ideal destination for the entire family. Each year when my son plays a tournament in the area, we try to see at least one of the great family-friendly attractions in the area including the Mystic Aquarium, the Mystic Seaport, Historic Downtown Mystic, and Olde Mistick Village.
Like last year, I plan to stay at Hilton Mystic which is not only budget-friendly (based on family-geared package rates) but it also puts families in The Heart of Mystic with attractions in walking distance. Hilton Mystic is an ideal choice for a family-friendly coastal Connecticut hotel where travelers can enjoy an award-winning onsite restaurant featuring a dedicated children’s menu. Guests are greeted by a Captain Grinnell The Pirate on Friday check-in. With an on-going schedule of kid-friendly Buccaneer Island activities at Hilton Mystic, the hotel’s authentic salt water pool features dive-in movies on a pool side big screen and a free outdoor concert series on property all summer long.
The IRONS Restaurant & Bar on site is a destination renowned for innovative dishes and drinks, locally sourced foods, award-winning chowder, and live, local entertainment including a free summer concert series. Chef O’Regan‘s seasonal menus feature meats from local Stony Ledge Farm and Firefly Farm; breads and desserts from Sift; seafood from Sea Well; semolina pasta from Olde Mistick Village; cheese from Meadow Stone Farm; and mushrooms from Seacoast Mushrooms. The IRONS has an amazing seasonal menu and all the popular summer dishes will be back again this year including lobster mac and cheese with paccheri pasta, lobster béchamel, butter poached lobster with toasted spice panko bread crumbs, and a Maine lobster roll (hot or cold) with hand cut fries and coleslaw (I am getting hungry as I write this). The restaurant is renowned for its tasty burgers and offers a $5 burger special on Tuesdays. This vibrant gastro pub pays tribute to Mystic's renowned Irons & Grinnell Shipbuilders of yore. The restaurant incorporates reclaimed shiplap, floor planks, brick, iron and canvas in its redesign. There is a central rectangular bar and an open-air courtyard with gas-flamed fire pits, striped sofa seating and color-changing rope lighting.
It's a mere 232 steps from the lobby of Hilton Mystic to the Mystic Aquarium, one of three U.S. facilities holding Steller sea lions and it has the only beluga whales in New England. Special exhibits include a ray and shark touch pool, an African penguin exhibit, a jelly gallery, and an "Exploration: Wild" ecosystems exhibit. Through inquiry-based teaching and hands-on activities, education programs encourage people to use and develop skills such as observing, hypothesizing, experimenting, and drawing conclusions.
Across the street from the hotel is Olde Mistick Village, featuring 40 unique shops like Extra Virgin gourmet olive oils, vinegars, spices and aged balsamic, Bestemors Scandinavian imports, Munson's Chocolates -Connecticut’s largest retail chocolate manufacturer, and Taylor's Sports, a paradise for MLB, NFL, NHL and NBA fans.
Hilton Mystic is minutes from the Old Mystic Seaport – a recreated 19th-century seafaring village, with quaint New England buildings staffed with historians, musicians, storytellers and craftspeople who bring the town’s seafaring past to life. Mystic Seaport is the nation’s leading maritime museum. Founded in 1929 to gather and preserve the rapidly disappearing artifacts of America’s seafaring past, the Museum has grown to become a national center for research and education with the mission to “inspire an enduring connection to the American maritime experience.”
The hotel is less than 2 miles from downtown Mystic shopping and dining district where visitors can browse a unique selection of clothing, books, home decor and more at 80 independently-owned shops. Visitors can also experience a diverse culinary landscape and even go kayaking along the Mystic River. Hilton Mystic offers a courtesy shuttle to Downtown Mystic.
There is plenty to see and do in Mystic, CT and while I will spend a lot of my time watching baseball, I am looking forward to seeing all the other great attractions!
MK Chappaqua received complimentary accommodations at Mystic Hilton in exchange for this article.
