Mr. & Mrs. Vnuk Check In At The Castle Hill Inn

I decided to surprise my wifey for Valentine’s Day and take her away to Newport, Rhode Island for a three-night stay at the luxurious, Castle Hill Inn. I wanted to go all out for this Valentine’s adventure. I’ve wanted to stay at the Castle Hill Inn since I first met my wifey over four years ago. I couldn’t afford it then, but I’ve learned how to make experiences like this become a reality (more on this at the end of the blog). 

During our stay, we got to become proper ladies and gentlemen and were called Mr. and Mrs. Vnuk by each staff member at Castle Hill. We learned that the finer things in life can be just “lovely” and rather “wonderful.” We had to adjust to our new lifestyle, especially the twice-daily maid service. Mrs. Vnuk was caught rather off guard with the nightly turndown service as she often left various garments and wardrobe thrown around the room thinking that nobody would see them after we left for dinner. Mrs. Vnuk can be quite messy you see and when we returned from our dinner I would often hear, “Oh my, this is so embarrassing, someone was in here and picked up and folded all of my dirty clothes!” 

Mrs. Vnuk also learned how to drink proper tea and even figured out how to use the espresso machine in our room. It was quite cold one evening and the terrible wind kept blowing out the pilot light in our fancy gas fireplace, so Mrs. Vnuk would get on the phone to express her discomfort. She was rewarded with two visits from maintenance, delivery of nightly tea, as many cozy blankets as she desired and a hot bath in her lavish soaking tub with bath salts and botanicals from the spa downstairs. The staff at Castle Hill also recognized Mrs. Vnuk’s love of treats and sweets so they brought her as many of the famous Castle Hill Chocolate Chip Cookies as she could eat. We even left with the recipe.

In the bathroom, Mrs. Vnuk had her own beauty station with her own chair, lighted mirror, and jewelry shelves. She does not have such a wonderful mirror at home, so I would hear Mrs. Vnuk often remarking, “Oh my, you can see everything in this mirror. Is this really what I look like? I’m glad you can’t see all of this, my husband.” Now, keep in mind that Mrs. Vnuk does not often wear makeup so when she sat down at her beauty station she said, “Wow, this could be really useful. It’s too bad I forgot to bring my makeup.” Oh, the trials and tribulations of being a proper lady. We discovered that looking good is very important and required many wardrobe changes throughout the day. For example, we couldn’t walk down the stairs from our mansion suite to the breakfast lounge wearing our sweatpants and hoodies. We had to present ourselves wearing items like trousers, shoes, and business casual tops. Workout clothing was not tolerated at a breakfast that included sugar cubes, salmon toast, and lobster hash. In the evenings, I always had to wear a shirt and tie and Mrs. Vnuk wore such lovely dresses. It was not easy being a proper lady when the weather outside was below zero, and Mrs. Vnuk had her legs exposed and couldn’t walk very fast in her heels.

Our stay at Castle Hill Inn was definitely both lovely and wonderful. The staff exceeded our expectations. We made some friends and would love to return to that upscale lifestyle. So, you may wonder how such a blind guy like me could afford this experience? I’ve learned that such expenditures can only come as a result of a practice called living below your means. My wifey and I practice this daily and I have learned how to build up my saving muscles as opposed to the spending ones. If anyone is interested in how you can afford such amazing experiences, the place I would recommend you begin is to read or listen to a book by Dave Ramsey called the Total Money Makeover. You’ll discover that the key to living below your means is to not have any debt. Read this book and perhaps one day, Mrs. Vnuk and I will share a lovely dinner with you at the Castle Hill Inn. We simply can’t wait for your delighted arrival. Maybe Mrs. Vnuk will remember to bring her makeup this time.