Kennywood absolutely loves going all out around the holidays, and no event is perhaps more extreme than the Phantom Fright Nights in the month of October.
During this event, Kennywood transforms itself into a theme park of horrors with several haunted houses, many scare zones, and several of the park's best rides open to enjoy.
When our friends at the park invited us out to enjoy the scares, you know we had to go.
We always dread early morning flights, so when we had the opportunity to stay at the Pittsburgh Airport Marriott recently on the night before a 7am flight, we jumped at the chance.
With recent renovations, a restaurant with an emphasis on seasonal and local ingredients, comfortable rooms, and a park and fly option, there's plenty at the Pittsburgh Airport Marriott to make your travel less stressful.
The Runner Stone Mill House restaurant at the Pittsburgh Airport Marriott hotel is an excellent addition to the Pittsburgh hotel dining scene. While it's relatively easy to find good hotel dining in the downtown area, as you move outside the city limits it definitely becomes trickier.
Luckily, the Runner Stone Mill House hits all the right points to help fill this void.
It's got a sleek, modern decor with different seating options ranging from high tops to more intimate lounge-style seating, and it's got a great craft cocktail list and a seasonal dining menu that uses fresh, local ingredients with lots of house-made touches.
When I normally think of convention center hotels, my first thought is of a place for business travelers coming in for a conference or large meeting. What I often do not think about is that these hotels can also be spots for visitors coming in for a weekend to explore the city.
My visit to the Westin Convention Center in downtown Pittsburgh did coincide with a conference, but the property helped me redefine my image of a convention center hotel. For those who want to be in the heart of it all and even have a great view to boot, regardless of why you're visiting, the Westin Convention Center should definitely be on your radar.
Pittsburgh's iconic view from Mount Washington is known far and wide as one of the world's best skyline views. We don't know a Pittsburgher who doesn't love it, and rarely hear of visitors who don't make a special trip to the neighborhood just to check it out.
What this iconic view does not have, however, is a hotel with that same vista. For whatever reason, be it political, monetary, or otherwise, it just hasn't happened.
But there is one hotel that will get you close, and that is the Sheraton at Station Square located at the base of Mount Washington. So when we were invited to this hotel to stay the night, you know checking out the view was high on our list.
So how does this hotel stack up, view and otherwise? We share it all below.
There are some experiences in any city that come along once in a blue moon, and then there are some that are even rarer than that.
Despite the number of Pirates games we've attended over the years, enjoying the game from a VIP suite was one of those rare experiences we were only recently able to have.
But be warned– once you attend a game in a VIP Suite, PNC Park will never be the same again.
Note: Kennywood has announced at the Steel Curtain will be closed for the duration of the 2024 season.
As far as day trips from Pittsburgh are concerned, perhaps the most popular of all is visiting our regional theme park: Kennywood!
When the folks at Kennywood invited us out for a visit during the 2016 season, we jumped on the opportunity. I am a roller coaster enthusiast who loves the most extreme experiences imaginable and Angie, well, she agreed to join me with the promise of potato patch fries- something she has been craving since her last visit several years prior. So on a gorgeous July day we made the trip out of the city to take in as many flips, dips, spins, and fries as possible.
But why should you make the trip out to this park? We share our favorite reasons below.
When it comes to neighborhoods to drink at in Pittsburgh, odds are good your first thought is not Squirrel Hill. This popular neighborhood for college students, Jewish delis, and Asian restaurants has a few bars, but is not as bustling in nightlife as other neighborhoods nearby.
This is now changing, and the tiki lounge Hidden Harbor is one of several new additions to the neighborhood worth checking out when you are in the mood for a drink!
When it comes to learning about the history of the natural world around us, there is certainly a lot to take in.
For those who are interested in the animal kingdom especially, Pittsburgh has no better place to visit than the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Oakland- home to a wonderful selection of exhibits featuring dinosaurs all the way to modern day animals, and everything in between.
Toss in a few more unique exhibits from the natural world, and you have the makings of an incredible day out in the city.
One of the things I love about Pittsburgh is that many of the city's famous innovators have given back in incredible ways. Â
As perhaps the most famous of all Pittsburghers, Andrew Carnegie spent the later years of his life giving back to the city in many philanthropic ways, converting his fortune into such city staples as the Carnegie Library system, the Carnegie Institute of Technology (now Carnegie Mellon University), and the Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh- to name a few.
As with all items carrying the Carnegie name and legacy, you can expect great things from these places as Carnegie had a track record of doing things bigger and better than anyone else.
When it comes to his legacy at the Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh, notably the Museum of Art, you notice this as soon as you arrive.  This art museum is one of the country's best.