There aren’t many spa hotels that are also home to lions, tigers and cheetahs but everything at Nemacolin is designed to surprise and delight, with a touch of whimsy. This luxury resort is tucked in the Laurel Highlands of Pennsylvania, about 65 miles south of Pittsburgh and just 11 miles away from Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater.

Nemacolin is surrounded by more than 2,200 acres of land and is best described as a lavish adventure playground suitable for all ages. The resort is home to three lodges, all with a distinct look. My base, Fallingrock, was inspired by the geometric shapes and organic architecture of nearby Fallingwater. Our spacious suite, which had a muted gold and cream color palette, offered plenty of room for my family of four, consisting of my husband and boys aged 11 and 15. We all enjoyed getting spoiled with nightly cookies and scented bath bombs delivered on a silver platter by our butler, Mark.

Elsewhere at the resort, bright color and extravagant design reign. The recently renovated all-suite Grand Lodge is a luxurious take on a hunting lodge, complete with a grand staircase and sumptuous decor, such as bathrooms clad entirely in marble.

Beyond the whimsical design, the resort stands out for its mind-boggling variety of daily activities offered, from golf and clay-pigeon shooting to cooking classes and off-roading Jeep tours – and we needed activities. As any parent of teenagers knows, it can often feel impossible to pry kids away from screens and to connect IRL but Nemacolin made it easy for us. 

We packed our stay with adventures that allowed us to reconnect and have fun with some friendly competition. An upscale seafood dinner of oysters and pan- seared scallops at Aqueous was followed by a late-night glow bowling session at The Peak. What made it extra special (and teen-approved) was the lane screens which turned our photos into animated emojis. 

Our favorite family activity took place at The Fun Zone at the Hardy Girls Gym. The vast, hangar-like space was once the dance studio of the founder’s daughters. While my husband and I could not compete with the core strength and agility of teen boys on the gym’s Ninja course, we loved trying to annihilate each other during a virtual reality laser tag game.

A surprise hit was a private pasta-making class where Eddie, our patient teacher, taught us how to roll out pasta dough until it was nearly translucent and then cut it into strips of tagliatelle. The reward was tucking into a lunch of handmade pasta topped with house made tomato sauce.

Any family vacation should also include some alone time, so while my husband and boys settled into a poolside cabana, I checked into the Woodland Spa and Salon, a glass and wood structure designed according to Feng Shui principles. A 90-minute Laurel Rebalancer massage, which included a scrub with fresh herbs, left me with soothed muscles and baby-soft skin. Not wanting to get back to reality just yet, the treatment was followed by a matcha latte and a light salad in the Fireside Lounge.

For those in need of more, Nemacolin is also home to a Holistic Healing Center, offering an integrative approach to wellness. Salt-water float therapy and infrared light therapy is available, but I opted for an acupuncture treatment to tackle seasonal allergies. Although I am a regular devotee of acupuncture, Dr. Jerry Lin was the first acupuncturist who asked me what I saw in my mind during the treatment.

And the lions and tigers? These big cats were rescued from facilities that were closing and now live in the resort’s Wildlife Habitat, along with Iranian red sheep, buffalo, wolves, and foxes - just another element of magic and surprise at the resort.