ALPHARETTA, Ga. — What’s on your weekend getaway to-do list? If shopping, great food, live music, and family fun top the list, head to downtown Alpharetta on your next adventure.
“The destination of Alpharetta is never lacking in fun,” Kendall Bagley from the Alpharetta Convention and Visitor Bureau told WSBTV.com’s Nelson Hicks.
Downtown Alpharetta encompasses 1.7 square miles. In that area, you’ll find 70 restaurants and bars. From beach cuisine to barbecue, scrumptious sweets to Spanish sustenance, there’s an eatery that’s bound to tantalize everyone’s palate.
“Fogon and Lions restaurant is a Spanish-Latin concept,” chef Julio Delgado said. “We have beautiful tapas. Everything is cooked over a wood fire. (We have some) amazing Paellas, churrascos. We have a very diverse menu featuring cuisines from Central and South America and Spain.”
Whether you prefer an elegant dinner, a nice meal out on the patio, cold beers with friends, or a hot dog on the town green, the choice is yours.
Before and after eating, spend some time shopping. Sprinkled in between all the Alpharetta restaurants are plenty of local shops. Find your next great outfit or piece of home decor in one of the 50 shops in the downtown area.
“A big draw to this is that Alpharetta has more options for dining and shopping,” Saleh Akley from The Hamilton Hotel said. “A lot of the smaller mom-and-pop stores really bring a lot of character to the city.”
The best part is, it’s all walkable. Drive in, drop the car off, and enjoy an afternoon and evening of fun without picking up the keys. Turn it into an overnight adventure with a stay at The Hamilton Hotel.
“We offer a great option for people looking to come into Alpharetta, maybe that’s not located directly next to a corporate office or right next to big shopping, but more of the small-town, city feel,” Akley said.
Akley notes the boutique hotel attracts Atlanta area leisure guests every weekend. Carrie’s in The Hamilton just unveiled an all-day menu and will host social hour from 4-7 p.m. each day. With 119 rooms, an outdoor patio and green, a bar, and food offerings, visitors don’t have to leave the hotel on a weekend stay, but if they do, they don’t have to go far for some fun.
Next to the Hamilton Hotel sits Roaring Social, a 1920s speakeasy-themed bar. The venue notes, “As you sink into velvet sofas, taking in the impeccable surroundings, you’ll swear you hear the whispered conversations, laughter, and strains of music of a bygone era. Surrounded by opulence and world-class style, you’ll discover to your surprise that the pleasures of the past are present today.”
Live music, craft cocktails, small plates, and sharables, great conversation, and boutique bowling all fill the menu at Roaring Social.
Just down the street is Fairway Social. If your idea of fun involves sports action, this is your place.
“We offer an awesome experience for everyone in the community to come and play games,” David Gomrick from Fairway Social said. “People may think that it’s just related to golf, but we actually have 16 different games on our simulators.
There’s a large rooftop patio and a golf course called the Back Nine that is roughly based on Augusta National. Play a game, watch a game, and maybe even enjoy the Back Nine on a visit.
“The Back Nine is awesome,” Gomrick said. “So it’s a more cultivated mini-golf experience where you can get a little more out of it than you would at a mini-golf place. The greens have a bank. You have to use strategy to get around certain things. (There are) divots. It just makes it a little more challenging than your standard mini-golf course. It almost makes you feel like you’re out on a mini back nine.
Alpharetta has been voted the “#1 Place to Relocate in America.” Money Magazine listed it in the top 25 best places to Live,” and Southern Living Magazine applauded Alpharetta as one of the “Top 15 Friendliest Cities.”
Don’t miss out on all the reasons why. Head to downtown Alpharetta for your next night away and enjoy a new experience.