Trip Report: April 23 to May 8, 2003
by Ted & Sylvia Blishak
TO PITTSBURGH AND GREENVILLE, SC
Thursday. May 1, 2003 Hershey, Pennsylvania.
The drive from Harrisburg's Amtrak station to Hershey was short and easy. Planning the route in advance was made easier with my new Microsoft Streets and Trips software. This was especially useful in find the Hotel Hershey, as it is a low-key resort without large signs directing you to their entrance. But with Streets and Trips I had a printout of a map with me, as well as a mental picture of the hotel's location as I made the short twelve-mile drive.
Hotel Hershey is perched upon the highest hill in the vicinity, about one hundred feet above the countryside, surrounded by gardens and woods. It was after 1PM by the time we arrived, so we just parked and sought a dining venue. Entering the century-old grand hotel's main entrance we found ourselves in a simulated Spanish courtyard with a two-story vaulted atmospheric ceiling, decorated with heavenly bodies, and illuminated with tiny white lights representing stars. In the center of the courtyard, a fountain splashed soothingly. A short stroll through the colorful Spanish-tiled lobby took us to the Circular Dining Room overlooking a riotously colorful tulip garden. Milton Hershey, the founder of Hershey Chocolates, and the builder of the hotel, believed that no guest should ever be seated at a corner table, thus the circular room. (In actuality, it is really a semi-circle, with views outward in all directions from large windows. The large center panes are clear, giving the illusion that they are open, while the edges are stained glass with birds and flowers. While this description makes it sound rather gaudy, it is really in excellent taste and kept in perfect repair.)
A luncheon buffet of the highest quality was in progress. After our 5:30AM bowl of oatmeal at the William Penn, followed by a cookie on the train, we were ready for a substantial meal. Every course that we selected was superlative. The diners were quiet, and soft classical music wafted from hidden speakers. (What, no soprano saxophone music for lunch? This must be one of the few restaurants in the country that does not assault your eardrums with that deliberately annoying instrument.) The service was quiet, unobtrusive, and unhurried, just the way a grand hotel should be. The Hotel Hershey is now a member of the Preferred Hotels of the World.
After lunch we checked into our non-smoking King room which overlooks Hershey Gardens. Admission to the Gardens is included for all guests of the hotel. As you check in you also have your choice of three
types of Hershey Bars: milk chocolate, dark chocolate, or almond. Evening turndown service includes Hershey Kisses and a classical music CD. The evening skies darkened with a Pennsylvania rainstorm with lots of lightning and rolling thunder. This is a rare experience for Sylvia, so we sat on the porch and watched and listened as it rolled by.
Friday morning we visited the Gardens. Designed as a rose garden and opened in 1937, it is not in bloom yet, being too early in the season, in spite of the heat and humidity. However, it is a riot of blossoming trees and tulips of every imaginable color.
Although there are no longer tours of the Hershey factory, there is a simulated tour available at Chocolate World, just down the hill from the Gardens. At Chocolate World, you are seated in a moving car, as in many amusement park rides, and taken for a narrated tour of the chocolate manufacturing process which is quite amazing. For example, did you know that the basis of chocolate is cocoa beans from Ghana and Indonesia, and combining them in various proportions produces a variety of flavors? There is also some humor here, as you are taken through a "roasting" process with infra-red lights surrounding you as if you were a bean. Chocolate aromas envelope you as you approach the "presses", which look like wringers on an old-fashioned washing machine. This is a free 12-minute attraction and you are even given a tiny Hershey bar at the end of the tour.
Other amusements here, which will open later in the year, include a new Children's Garden, and a park full of thrill rides and roller coasters. There are at least two golf courses in the area which are open now.
This is just a brief sketch of what a visit to Hershey (a neat company town with attractive homes and shops, and street-lights shaped like candy kisses) offers the visitor. It is conveniently close to the Amtrak station at Harrisburg and will appeal to visitors of all ages, making it a great destination for the whole family.
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