Mystic Aquarium is a marine aquarium in Mystic, Connecticut. It is one of only two U.S. facilities holding Steller sea lions, and it has the only beluga whales in New England. Special exhibits include a ray and shark touch pool, an African penguin exhibit, a jelly gallery, and the Jurassic Giants dinosaur exhibit.
We were lucky enough to enjoy the Aquarium backstage experience. An up-close encounter and interaction as we got to meet and feed the California sea lions. We watched the sea lion show while sitting VIP. Ava was part of the show and did tricks with the sea lions. She absolutely loved it! Then we met the beluga whales which included the famous Juno. The largest beluga whale exhibit in the US. We learned about the whales, the kids performed tricks with them while the trainer guided us. Then last but not least for our family photo in which Juno photobombed us. It was a great, so funny!
We stayed steps away from the Mystic Aquarium at the Hilton Mystic, minutes from downtown too. This hotel is off I-95 filled with the historic charm of maritime New England. The Hilton Mystic is right across the street from Mystic Aquarium and Olde Mistick Village shops. Within 10 minutes, reach the downtown harbor and Mystic Pizza. Foxwoods Casino is 20 minutes away. This hotel has a courtyard with fire pits, free five-mile shuttle, and a pool with dive-in movies.
We booked a connecting room for our family of five. The extra space of the two rooms made things much more comfortable. King bed in one room and 2 Doubles in the other room. My kid’s favorite part of the hotel was definitely the indoor pool. At night we all watched a dive-in movie by the pool. The Hilton Mystic followed all covid guidelines, clean stay program, and was very clean.
For dinner we ate at Mangos Pizza in Olde Mistick Village. The pizza is made in their wood burning oven and it was delicious! The service was amazing too. Gianna loved the shark bites and the salads were huge. Definitely have to check it out.
The Irons Restaurant and Bar located inside the Hilton Mystic we ate at for breakfast. The Irons tips its hat to Mystic Seaport’s sensibility for casual excellence. The Irons delivers with abundance and quality. Anchored by locally-sourced seafood, creative classics, and dishes to share, the rotating menu reflects the best seasonal and local ingredients available.
Olde Mistick Village had a family friendly ice sculpture event going on all weekend. We enjoyed walking around and shopping. The girls favorite was getting crystals from the Crystal Bar at Becca Rose. This retail store is a natural wellness shop. So many cute finds from bath bombs to fluffy blankets and it smelt amazing in there.
My family and I highly recommend booking tickets to the Mystic Aquarium and staying at the Hilton Mystic Hotel for an overnight. Click here to book!
Upcoming Events at the Hilton Mystic:
- Breakfast with Penguins at Hilton Mystic. Saturdays in March included with Friday overnight Breakfast with Penguin Package https://bit.ly/HiltonPenguin
- Breakfast with Pirate Grinnell and his Mates, Saturday & Sunday April 17/18 with overnight stay package on April 16/17 http://bit.ly/PirateHilton
- Weekday Splash Package https://bit.ly/WeekdaySplash
- Easter Brunch – Safe, Covid Friendly Easter Brunch, April 4. Reservations available at theironsmystic.com
- Easter Dinner to-go – Available to pre-order for Easter Dinner, April 4
- April Vacation Weeks include pirate encounters, picnic to-go pre-orders, dive-in movies at The Pool, PJ Movies in our Ballroom – socially distanced, and pop-up treat bars during the week.
- Outdoor Summer Concerts on our patio, June – Labor Day
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