Charleston hotel will recreate scenes from ‘The Notebook’ for guests
Have you ever wanted to star in your very own romance movie? If so, the HarbourView Inn, a waterfront hotel in Charleston, South Carolina, offers a package that will make you swoon: The hotel will recreate the most iconic scenes from “The Notebook” for you and your partner. (Yes, this package absolutely includes a rose-petal turndown with a bottle of sparkling wine to dial up memories of Allie waking up to flowers on her pillow.)
The hotel’s Allie and Noah’s Timeless Romance Experience offers a romantic sampler of Charleston, the picture-perfect Southern city with cobblestone streets and secret gardens where much of “The Notebook” was filmed. Starring Rachel McAdams and Ryan Gosling, the 2004 movie was a popular film adaptation of Nicholas Sparks’ 1996 book about star-crossed lovers in the 1940s. (If you haven’t seen it, yet, it’s worth renting or buying).
The plot includes disapproving parents, wartime separation and a generous dose of grandiose romantic gestures. Just don’t try to re-enact the carnival scene where Noah asks out Allie while dangling from a Ferris wheel!
As for the HarbourView Inn’s package, here are some of the highlights:
- A visit to Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream and $25 gift card. Remember when Allie flirtatiously offers Noah a bite of her ice cream cone, dabs it on his face and a sweet (no getting around that double-entendre) kissing scene commences? (P.S., this is the same ice cream maker that recently rolled out an everything bagel flavor!)
- A private carriage ride for two around Charleston’s Historic District to conjure up the scene of Allie and Noah strolling down King Street.
- A stop at The American Theater, which is where Noah asks Allie to dance in the street. Guests can even request to have a personalized romantic saying displayed on the marquee. Need some literary inspiration? How about a line from the book: “You are, and always have been, my dream.”
- A tour at the Audubon Swamp Garden to relive the boat ride Allie and Noah went on. Oh, don’t expect to see any swans. They’re not native to the area, and the filmmakers purchased the ones from the movie as chicks and raised them in a nearby lake.
- A $100 gift card for dinner at High Cotton, where Allie is dining with her new fiancé when Noah walks by. Here’s your chance to check she-crab soup off your must-try Southern dish list.
While the package is great for Valentine’s Day, it’s available year-round. The HarbourView Inn is an ideal basecamp for the romantic getaway. Not only will the hotel help you re-enact a timeless love story, the hotel’s historic rooms are quite romantic, with exposed brick walls, shutters and original artwork.
Now, if only the hotel could help orchestrate a rainstorm for the epic kiss scene on the movie cover.
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