Sprawling Resort in Pennsylvania Dutch Country

Lancaster Host Resort sits on 225 acres in Pennsylvania Dutch Country, a scenic farmland region known for its Amish culture. Some of the area’s best attractions are located within walking distance of the resort, including the Amish Farm and House, which features an authentic one-room schoolhouse and an 1803 stone bank barn. The nearby American Music Theatre hosts touring Broadway musicals, rock concerts, and holiday shows. The resort is also just across the street from Dutch Wonderland, a popular family theme park that dates back to 1963.

Lancaster Host Resort’s beautifully landscaped grounds include a 1.9-mile walking trail and a championship golf course that’s open seasonally. Arnold Palmer, Sam Snead, and Jack Nicklaus have all played on the course. Many guest rooms offer views of the resort’s pastoral surroundings, and all feature TVs and free WiFi.

The resort has a handful of restaurants that serve classic regional cuisine; your $10 dining credit is valid at any of the onsite restaurants and bars. At Vistas, a casual eatery with views of the golf course, you can enjoy a breakfast spread that includes scrambled eggs, sausage, and home fries. Next door, Legends American Grill offers hand-cut steaks and fresh seafood specialties ranging from caramelized sea scallops to pan-seared salmon. 

The resort is also home to Stitches Comedy Club. Past performers have included Drew Carey, Lewis Black, and Darrell Hammond.

Lancaster County, Pennsylvania: Crossroads of Amish Culture and German Heritage

Lancaster County sits in the heart of Pennsylvania Dutch Country. A number of Amish families—many of them descendants of the German immigrants who settled in the region in the 18th and 19th centuries—still farm the land here, living and working by the same timeless principles and unadorned methods they’ve been using for generations. On a drive through the area, you’ll see covered bridges spanning the Conestoga River and probably share the road with a horse-drawn buggy or two. At stops such as Kitchen Kettle Village, you can watch experts canning jellies, jams, and relishes and sample homemade baked goods.

To tour the countryside in style, take a ride aboard a coal-burning steam locomotive on the Strasburg Rail Road. As the train chugs past farmers tending fields and cattle grazing on hay and strudel, parlor-car attendants serve cocktails and snacks to passengers in the dining car or in first class. Across the street from the station in Strasburg, the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania chronicles the history of the track via rotating exhibits and more than 100 locomotives and railcars.

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