*All thoughts and opinions are my own.*

Inn at the Mill

My husband and I celebrated our 2nd anniversary with our daughter in Fayetteville, Arkansas, this week. We stayed at the Inn at the Mill in Springdale, which was just over 10 minutes from downtown Fayetteville. We stayed here on our first-anniversary trip, also, and we loved it. The landscape around the hotel is beautiful! The staff are very friendly and personable.

We were in a standard room with a king bed and sofa bed. There was plenty of room. You did not feel cramped. The bed was very comfortable (even when sharing it with an 18-month-old). There was a sink and closet right before the entrance to the bathroom.

My daughters animals at the foot of the bed.
Desk in the corner.
Couch opposite the desk.

The hotel has complimentary wine (or beer) and cheese every night. The staff even brought out grape juice just for our 18-month-old. They have a good selection for breakfast, as well, including deli meats, cheese, fruit, pastries, cereal, muffins, and breakfast sandwiches.

My daughter’s breakfast
Waterfall outside of the hotel

We had a great stay! It was just as wonderful the second time around as it was the first. I highly recommend them for anyone visiting the area.

Golden Dragon Buffet

Unfortunately, there are no good Chinese restaurants near where we live. During our first anniversary trip, I suggested we stop at the Golden Dragon Buffet for lunch and I am so glad I did. Everything is fresh and hot, and there are so many options! We have made it a tradition to stop here for lunch on the first day.

My fortune describes me perfectly.

They have the traditional Chinese dishes, a sushi bar, lots of fresh fruit, and a Hibachi grill. If you want good Chinese food, then this is definitely worth the stop. My husband almost always makes himself sick on their crab wontons.

Powerhouse Seafood

We spent the first day relaxing in the hotel and giving our daughter a break from her car seat. It was a 3-hour trip and that was a lot longer than she wanted to be still. So, we (me, hubby had to drive) enjoyed the wine and cheese offered by the hotel and then we went to Powerhouse Seafood for dinner.

There were plenty of options on their menu at reasonable prices. I ordered the grilled chicken with a baked potato, my husband ordered a crab cake with fried shrimp and red beans and rice, and we ordered chicken tenders with broccoli and carrots for our daughter.

My dish was underwhelming. There was no real presentation with the food, and my chicken lacked a lot of flavor, but it was juicy. My husband enjoyed his food and had no complaints. Our daughter was supposed to have grilled chicken tenders, but they brought out fried chicken tenders. However, she enjoyed her carrots and broccoli (and some of Daddy’s crab cake and Mommy’s baked potato).

My grilled chicken and baked potato.
My husband’s fried shrimp, crab cake, and red beans ‘n rice.
Our daughter’s chicken tenders with carrots and broccoli.

Since we were celebrating our anniversary, we decided that we would enjoy dessert at the restaurant. However, our waitress brought out the ticket, dropped it off at our table, and left before I could tell her that we were wanting dessert. It took a while before she came back and I was able to tell her what we were wanting, and she seemed a little aggravated that she had to go back and change our ticket.

We ordered the brownie and ice cream. It looked amazing when it came out. I love a nice warm brownie paired with cold ice cream, but this brownie was not warm at all. It was a little disappointing, but it was still pretty good without it being hot. Our daughter immediately stuck her hand right in the whipped cream when it was placed on the table. I usually do not allow her to have sweets, but since it was a special occasion, I let her have a few bites and she loved it!

Brownie dessert.

Overall, the restaurant had decent food but the waitress lacked personality or basic manners. Her section was not that busy and it we saw very little of her. I would not let mediocre service deter us from a second visit, however, the food just was not impressive enough to make us want to visit again.

The second day of our trip, we went to Bentonville and visited a few museums including the Crystal Bridges Art Museum. Be sure to subscribe so you do not miss my opinions on these museums in my next post.