Honestly, I definitely just stumbled across this little gem, Buhl Mansion, as I was doing random online searches for “day spas near me,” following an eleven-hour workday. It’s about 1.5-hours northwest of Pittsburgh in a little town called Sharon. Initially a center for coal mining, it transitioned to iron and steelmaking in the 1840s. As I arrived into town, all I saw were factories and big rigs before I arrived into the downtown area. Frank H. Buhl had founded the Sharon Steel Corporation; which, at the time was one of the Shenango Valley’s main sources of financial stability. An associate of characters such as Rockefeller, Buhl built the “castle” for his wife. The mansion is in the National Register of Historic Places. The bed and breakfast has ten guest rooms, all with fireplaces and jetted tubs for two – it’s definitely a more romantic stay, but I thought, “Hey, I love myself so let me keep the love alive!” It’s funny because prior to my trip, I called to make a change to my reservation and the attendant almost sounded like there might’ve been a mistake when he asked, “Aaaand, the reservation is just for one…?” “Yep!” I gleefully responded. During the stay, my dinner reservation was almost made under Mrs. Woods before someone corrected, “Oh, no, it’s Miss.” Yes, definitely miss at the moment, haha.
I booked the Steel Magnate room for a Thursday night – I definitely took advantage of the “Mid-Week Special,” so I got $100 off and paid $250 for the room (plus taxes and fees). The room was actually a lot bigger than I expected, based off of the pictures on the site. It was a lovely space with large windows that overlooked the gardens.
They require a $150 deposit when you book. Some of the amenities included are:
- Bell service – because of Covid protocols, it’s self-park instead of valet, but they still take your luggage to your guestroom.
- Welcome Tray – fresh fruit, a bottle of champagne and a cute note
- Afternoon Tea and hors d’oeuvres
My spa reservations lasted 8 hours, so my check-in time was at 10:30am on my day of arrival. The drive was fairly scenic, short and sweet. I was mindful not to rush and drove the speed limit the entire way there – which was mostly 70, but cars were still flying past me on the highway. I had a great playlist and sang at the top of my lungs the whole way to my destination.
A little after 10am, I pulled my car into the slender driveway – a little skeptical that my SUV could fit between the beautiful, brick archways. As I stepped inside the foyer, a heard a little bell go off and someone came to greet me. “Hello, Ms. Woods,” she said. She came out to the car to get my bags and instructed me on where to park my car. I drove around the circular driveway, out to the main street, and turned into the next driveway, which led to the establishment’s parking lot, complete with reserved spots for each room.
The main floor has a sitting room, library (my favorite room I saw), kitchen, dining room, sun room and the reception area. The décor was very ornate – statues, figurines and framed paintings adorned every wall; opulent, gold chandeliers hung from the ceilings, and everything seemed to be in its “proper” place. Despite its formal lavishness, the mansion still had a cozy vibe.
*Not all photos are mine
This was my first time staying at a bed and breakfast so I didn’t quite know what to expect, but I really loved the intimate feel of the experience. Everything felt personalized and catered to me in a way that allowed me to do exactly what I wanted to do – relax.
As a re-entered the building from parking my car and checked-in, I was offered a complimentary welcome drink. My eyes widened when I heard “mimosa,” because yes, that’s just what I needed; so, I eagerly traded the cocktail for my cup of Starbucks coffee I was finishing up. As we went over my itinerary for the day and the Covid protocols, I made a final decision to add one more package to my reservation. Buhl offers several add-ons (~$50-$225) such as: Breakfast in Bed, Romantic Garden Escape (champagne, roses, covered strawberries under the candlelight in the greenhouse), several turn-down packages, and the one I opted for – “Keep Romance Alive,” which was the keepsake chocolate tray, soft music, candlelight, bed turned back with a fresh robe and slippers and rose petals sprinkled on the bed. “I’d love to have that set up when I get back from the spa,” I notified the hostess. Prior to the trip, I told a few of my friends I might add that package and we kind of laughed about it, partly because we know I’m “weird” enough to actually do it. “I’ve always thought that’s so sweet and I’m not going to wait for someone to do that for me on a trip, so I’ll do it for myself,” I’d explain. Who knows how long until that experience could be shared with someone else, so in the meantime, I adore, cater to and spoil myself in the way I’d desire someone else to. Being alone doesn’t mean that I’m lonely and can’t live my best life! Plus, this package was $50, and worth it to me as I curated the experience I wanted to have.
Check-in isn’t usually until about 3pm, so my room wasn’t ready for me to go to, but my first stop was the spa anyway. I’ve gone to spas and fairly regularly get massages and whatnot, but I’ve never done a full day. Couples packages at the mansion will set you back $295-650, and individual $170-$525 – the top of the line involving lots and lots of caviar. I originally booked “The Mansion Magnifique” Package ($395) which includes: 50-minute hot basal lava stone massage, radiant stone facial, moor mud deluxe hand and foot treatment and the spa cuisine lunch. I called about a week in advance to set up my spa appointment. When I was emailed the schedule and noticed the 50-minute massage, I had to call back and request something longer. 50-minute massages go by too fast, so that was not acceptable for me at all, haha. They offer 50 and 80-minute massages, so I extended my appointment to include an 80-minute massage to start my day off with. Also, my spa technician had suggested during the appointment that I do the Tropical Escape Deluxe mani and pedi for my particular skin needs, so I did that instead of the mud treatment.
I was taken down a flight of wooden stairs to the spa, which is in the “basement” of the mansion. In the dressing room, I stripped down and put on one of the provided robes and a pair of flip-flops, and locked my purse in one of the lockers. I sat on a couch near a water fountain in the main waiting area and started to doze off to the sounds of the trickling water. The spa supervisor took care of all of my services that day. The massage was first, and then the facial, which was one of my favorite parts of the day. At one point, she placed the hot stones towards the nape of my neck, wrapped a hot towel around my face and steamed my skin and I don’t know why exactly but it was so memorably blissful. Also, shoutout to Ms. Joy (my spa technician) because she recognized my hair is in a kind of weaved style, so she asked me beforehand, “Is it braided underneath… do you want me to skip the cranial massage?” I really appreciated that because I honestly hate when clearly I’m not set up for fingers trying to run through my scalp – because it’s in a maze – and if the masseuse feels too awkward to ask and they attempt to massage my scalp anyway… I just get kind of irked, and then it actually gets awkward. But, I digress.
Following those two treatments, I was brought back upstairs to the sunroom, which I had all to myself. I chose a seat by the window so I could feel the sun on my skin. The spa luncheon included an appetizer, a salad entrée and a choice of dessert.
Afterwards, I went back downstairs for my final 80-minute body treatment, the Lumafirm Firm & Glow Body Wrap, and I had added on the exfoliating scrub, which totaled $180. I had also never done a body wrap before so I said, “why not?” It was interesting, this time I stripped down completely naked (sans a small towel over my breasts and vagina) and I was scrubbed down, and then there were these water jets overhead that the technician used to wash me down. Next, she applied some creams and wrapped me up to marinate for a little while.
Since I was in no rush, I then went into the sauna for about 30-minutes. By this time in the evening, there wasn’t anyone else in the spa, so I was just chillin’. My technician didn’t want me to miss Afternoon Tea, so she went and got me a little bit of every offering and brought it to me. The last two hours of my day was my mani and pedi, and long-story short, I left smelling like mango and coconut, and glowing from head-to-toe.
Okay, side-note – so I slept during most of my early treatments, but it’s so funny because wherever I go, all types of people end up feeling really comfortable talking to me about literally everything, so you spend 8 hours in an intimate setting with someone… eventually I got all kinds of tea about a lot of things – but, client-practitioner privacy! Hahah, smhrh. Anyway, I finished all my spa treatments around 6:45pm, changed and was brought upstairs to my room.
Yes, even though it was a gift to myself, I was beaming and giddy to walk in to the room and see the roses everywhere, the tray of chocolate; the meditative music was playing at the perfect level in the background and the tub was set up with the candles around, bath bombs, etc. I popped open the bottle of champagne and enjoyed a glass, or two, before deciding about dinner.
Now, keep in mind, Sharon is a pretty small town so there weren’t a lot of dining options, nor ones that were open past 6 or 7. Even UberEats options weren’t spectacular – I didn’t take this time off to eat Quiznos. Earlier when I had checked-in, the staff told me about some options. Buhl Mansion doesn’t have a restaurant on-site (but there is a kitchen), but guests have access to the mansion’s sister property, Tara–A Country Inn, which has two dining options – Stonewall’s Tavern and Ashley’s Gourmet Dining Room (which is currently closed); as well as a place called Donna’s Diner. Interestingly enough there is an authentic Haitian cuisine restaurant in Sharon, but it was closed by the time I was ready to eat, and I forgot to stop there on my way out of town. That night, the staff made a reservation for me at Stonewall Tavern, which was about a 15-minute drive away.
I had all intentions of having a “nice” dinner for myself on this trip, so I had packed – not an evening gown, but I did get a little dressed up in one of my favorite floor-length dresses. The staff at Tara’s were also really sweet and personable, and the food was pretty good. I got the 6oz. filet mignon with a portabello mushroom, mashed potatoes and their vegetable medley. Oh! And a glass of one of my favorite wines. I took most of it home, and ordered dessert to-go because I try not to eat a lot late in the evening. My bill was about 40-something dollars.
Second side-note: There’s a recreation area right near the Tara Inn called Shenango River Lake that I thought about visiting but didn’t have enough time.
However, I got my water fix when I got back to Buhl and filled up the jacuzzi tub.
For breakfast, when I first arrived in my room, there’s a libations and food menu and you basically circle what you want, what time you want it and if you’d like it delivered to your room or to eat in the sunroom. Slide it under your door before you go to sleep, and the staff picks it up at some point during the night. My breakfast go-to is French toast, by the way. I settled into the plush bedding and tried to fall asleep.
This day was such a wonderful little getaway – just having that time to myself, my phone was nowhere near me most of the day and my work phone was actually turned off for the first time. I had even told my coworkers – I’ll be reachable Friday, but Thursday I’m falling off the grid. That was all fine and dandy until I got terrible anxiety Thursday night… and got all nauseous and threw off my sleeping pattern; but that’s neither here nor there, hahah.
I called downstairs at like 6am to change my breakfast from the delicious-sounding French toast to a croissant and tea and had it delivered instead of going downstairs. I spent the morning calming myself, lingering in bed, and waking my body up with a nice, hot shower. Check-out was at Noon, but I was packed up and on the road by 11:30am. Can’t even lie, I did have to get back and do some work Friday afternoon.
Buhl Mansion isn’t the cheapest little escape around. My bill totaled $975.29, but honestly, it was worth it to completely pause and take the time to pamper myself; to not think about anything and focus solely on nourishing my Self.
