After spending such a fun and entertaining weekend last year at the Renaissance Birmingham Ross Bridge Resort in Birmingham, Alabama, we decided to make #SummerAtTheCastle a family tradition. This luxurious golf resort and spa is a perfect destination for a family-friendly getaway.
Since moving to Mississippi over three years ago, Birmingham, Alabama became one of our favorite places to travel. We thoroughly enjoy Birmingham's food scene, especially places like The Heavenly Donut Co. and Edgar's Bakery. 
But, our ultimate favorite thing about Birmingham is Marriott's Renaissance Birmingham Ross Bridge Golf Resort & Spa.
Last weekend, we spent our second summer enjoying "Summer at the Castle" at Ross Bridge. When we arrived, we were thrilled to see that our room reservation was a suite with a balcony that overlooked every view the resort has to offer -- from the breathtaking woodlands with the beautiful sunrise, to the greens of the golf course, to the colorful resort pool!
I loved the enthusiasm of our boys for the room and how excited they were to check out every corner!
They thought the pull-out sofa in the living room was the coolest thing, and couldn't wait to sleep in it!
This was the perfect set-up for us so the boys could go to bed earlier while Ben and I retreated to our separate room with our own television.
Although we ventured out a couple of times to experience a few Birmingham food spots, we spent most of our time at the resort pool. There is so much to do at the resort, especially during their "Summer at the Castle" series, we really didn't need to leave.
During "Summer at the Castle" the resort offers kid-friendly activities like cupcake decorating, a water slide, parrot showing and dive-in movies; as well as adult entertainment such as specialty drinks from the lounge and dancing at night. But, again, as a family we are all about that pool!
In fact, for the last entire year, whenever we talk about Birmingham, Judah thinks we are talking about the Ross Bridge pool!
We arrived the resort on a Friday night. Ben and the boys immediately changed into their swim clothes and headed down to the pool while I ventured out to the Ross Bridge housing community to check out their Friday night Farmer's Market.
The resort is located right in the middle of the residential Ross Bridge community that houses gorgeous European-style homes. During the summer months, the Ross Bridge community holds a farmer's market on Friday nights from 3PM until 7PM.
When we drove by and saw the food trucks there, I knew I had to check it out. Normally, I would have brought Ben and the kids because there are bounce houses, too. But, it was super hot and the boys were ready to get to the pool. So, I walked from the resort to the market and enjoyed taking a few photos of the event. I then hurried back to join my family at the pool.
Since summer evenings are lighter later, we were able to enjoy at least an hour of swimming! There was a wedding hosted at the resort that night, which was fun to watch from a distance! If I were planning a wedding, I'd definitely consider the Ross Bridge Resort!
The next morning, Simon woke up ready to go back to the pool. He climbed up on the sofa to peek out the window overlooking the pool! But, we first had to run to our favorite Birmingham donut spot, The Heavenly Donut Co. After that, we hurried back to the resort, changed again into our swimsuits and headed down to the pool for a few hours.
We ordered sandwiches poolside, then I brought Simon up to the room for a nap while Ben and Judah ate at the pool and swam a bit more. I would watch them from our balcony while relaxing in the patio furniture. It was fun to see Judah going up and down the water slide, over and over again!
After taking a break from the pool and snatching dinner and shaved iced in Birmingham, we spent one of the most enjoyable evenings at the pool again swimming and watching the dive-in movie, Penguins of Madagascar.
I loved sitting in the shallow pool while watching the movie with my kiddos. After a while, the boys wanted to wrap up in towels and watch the movie up close with complimentary bags of popcorn.
Evenings at the pool felt so magical! But, mornings were equally as fun and relaxing. Look at the view of night verses day. Both just beautiful!
We are so ready to go back to Renaissance Birmingham Ross Bridge Resort! While going through our photos, Ben and I kept telling each other how much we want to be there again right now. 🙂 We'd love to experience it during another season, like Christmas or an anniversary, too! I'll keep you informed if we do! But, at this time, it is definitely our favorite family tradition spot that's within driving distance yet feels like a long-distance getaway.
Click here to read more about the Renaissance Birmingham Ross Bridge Resort and the "Summer at the Castle" activities we enjoyed last year.
Thank you to Renaissance Ross Bridge who supplied a room for us to stay over the weekend. I did not receive payment for this review. All opinions and content are mine.
