Series: A Girls Weekend on The Jersey Shore

Ladies it is TIME to get away! Leave the kids at home and ignore your work emails, because you and the girls are getting away for the whole weekend.

We’re talking spa, dinner, drinks, dancing, and shopping! And the Bonus? We are not wasting hours on the parkway getting there! We’ll find it all, right here at the Jersey Shore!

Because our Jersey Shore Girls Weekend options are so vast, we’re going to split them into several articles.

Today, we’ll concentrate our getaway on Red Bank because it’s dense with shops, restaurants, bars and lounges and has two hotels within walking distance. We’ll lead your journey with our suggestions, but if you’d like to be your own party planner, Jersey Shore InMotion has a whole area of its site just for Red Bank food, fun and shopping.

Let’s get our weekend planned, shall we?

You’re going to want to look your best and get a little pampered, so lets set some appointments. If there’s one thing Red Bank has a lot of, its spas and salons. The first call you want to make is to Hudson & Canal Salon.  They’re a full service salon where you can get at all! Feel free to book a relaxing massage before you start your day of beauty.  And what would a spa day be without finishing with manis and pedis?

How many times have you had your makeup done and wished you didn’t have to take off those fabulous fake lashes?  They just made your eyes stand out and give your make up that finishing touch! Another great beauty stop is Lashes by Yvonne! If you haven’t had eyelash extensions before, you’re missing out on a unique way to give yourself a fresh new look!

Now that you’ve orchestrated your beautification calendar, its time to get into town. Since it’s a girls weekend, we assume you’ve gotten out of work a little early.  We’ll get you into town early afternoon.

Check in at the Oyster Point Hotel, located on the Navesink River in Red Bank.  It’s just a short walk from town, or, if walking in the cold isn’t your thing, a quick cab ride.

Not only does the Oyster Point Hotel have beautiful views of the Navesink River and tastefully decorated rooms, you’ll also be lying on a cloud with The DUX Bed by Duxiana and fine Italian linens by Sferra.

Head down and meet the girls for a drink  for happy hour at the Oyster’s Pearl Lounge! Enjoy drink & app specials while George Markey plays classic and contemporary piano from 5-9 p.m.

Another great option would be to head over to one of Red Bank’s several wine shops, grab your favorite Chardonnay, Pinot Noir or Malbec and head to The Cheese Cave for $5 Friday! Every Friday, owner Stephen Catania personally selects five unique cheeses for sampling from 5pm-8pm. Remember that remarkable Brie you sampled while in Napa? Odds are, you’ll find it here! Enjoy the assortment of cheeses, perhaps even a charcuterie board or one of their sandwi-cheeses.

Resist your temptation to overindulge, as we still have a dinner reservation and a full night ahead of us!

If you’re looking for a BYOB,  head to either Dish or Patrizia’s for dinner. Both are BYO, and both offer a great meal.

If you’re in the mood for Italian and a festive environment, head to Patrizia’s. If you’ve eaten too much cheese their Family Style menu is out, but their salads, pastas and pizza’s are out of this world.

At Dish, you’ll enjoy a more intimate setting with homemade Italian/Bistro dishes prepared by Chef Anthony Ferrando. It’s a great place to catch up on gossip and enjoy a memorable meal! Just don’t forget to make that reservation.

After dinner it’s time to hit that dance floor! Try the place everyone is talking about, Gotham. The speakeasy type lounge boasts 119 different types of beer, bourbon and scotch. Mainly you’ll be there for the DJ and the dance floor, where you’ll unleash those long suppressed dance moves.

After you’ve dance the night away with your favorite girlfriends, you’re probably going to be looking for a late nite bite to nibble on. And there’s no place better than the newly opened Hansel ‘n Griddle. Yes! The same Hansel n Griddle you remember from when you were at Rutgers 10 years ago!

Morning at the Oyster Point will be GLORIOUS. Hopefully, you remembered to put the phones on silent and managed to sleep in. When you awaken and open the curtains you’ll be in for a real treat! The view you’ll partake in will make it seem as though you’re ON the Navesink River.

But, a girl needs fuel to shop, so you’ll whip around the corner to the cutest French Bakery, Antoinette Boulangerie. Get back your pep with a Café Au Lait (my personal favorite) or Vanilla Latte, and enjoy some croissants (the Ham & Cheese is a great cure for a long night of wine and cocktails), and maybe a Madeline or Macaron.

While getting lost for a moment in a divine croissant, you quickly realize that it’s back to being pampered with that massages you planned the day before!

Now that you’re relaxed, its time to shop! You’ll head back to Broad Street  where you will find numerous places for high end clothing, designer bags, and that pair of Jimmy Choo’s you’ve always wanted. In between shopping, enjoy a nice lunch at either The Bistro, Temple Gourmet Chinese or maybe even back to The Cheese Cave to try that sandwi-chesse you saw last night.

If you’re more of an antiquey kind of girl, my advice is to head west on Monmouth Street. If shore décor is your thing, you have to stop at Candy’s Cottage, where they have everything you’d ever need to make that spare room a bit more coastal!

While headed towards the antiques, make a pit stop for lunch at Runa Peruvian Cuisine. Expect hearty soups, tender sandwiches and enough quinoa to make everyone feel less guilty about last night’s room service chocolate cake.

Then follow Monmouth Street all the way to  the west side of town. There you’ll find several shops with curated collections of local and imported antiques. My fav is British Cottage. You many need to come back with the SUV for your treasures.

At this point, the caffeine from your Café Au Lait has probably worn off. There’s no better place than Rook Coffee on White Street to get a fresh roasted cup of coffee.

You could call it a wrap there, BUT you’ve got one more night in town, so here’s what I’d do. I’d spend it at Teak for Asian fusion cuisine in a city atmosphere that has a nice mix of straight up dining rooms, lounge areas and a hoppin’ bar. The lounge area makes for some of the best people watching in town!

Sunday morning, you wake up sad your girls weekend is almost over, but no Sunday is complete without brunch!

Simply put, The Molly Pitcher Inn has the best brunch on the Jersey Shore. You can’t miss it! Just make sure you call ahead for a reservation.

Now if you’re looking for something more low-key, but still amazing, visit Whipped Café for one of their many crepes or Belgian waffles. Make sure you bring a bottle of Champagne or Prosecco with you, as they’ll make mimosas for you!

Should you find yourself feeling bad about your self-indulgent weekend, and want to bring something back for the young ones, we recommend stopping by Lil Cutie Pops for some cake pops for the kids. They always have an assortment of flavors & cartoon characters that are sure to make the kids forget that daddy may have fed them cereal for dinner the last two nights.

And if they like cupcakes, a visit to New Jersey’s best cupcake shop, Sugarush will have them enjoying a custom cupcake made from their favorite flavors at their cupcake bar!

Sadly, like any good book or movie, all good things come to an end; which means wrapping up this girls weekend. But that’s okay. You’ve done enough talking, shopping, eating and relaxing to get you through to the next one, even if it takes you a year.

Check back soon as we continue to our next stop for our Jersey Shore Girls Weekend!