A white heart-shaped balloon follows me around the Fairy Godmother’s secret lair at Barnsley Gardens resort in Adairsville, Ga. It trails behind when I turn left, shadows me to the right, and bumps my nose when I reverse. I giggle. “It means love is coming your way,” she says. “And as you know, a Fairy Godmother never lies.”
Fairy is no figment of the imagination. Nor is she a clever holiday season gimmick. Denise Webb has been one of the resort’s best-loved assets for the last te years. Her illustrious title and magical powers were bestowed by former owner Prince Hubertus Fugger of Bavaria. “He sat me down on a very special rock in the woodland gardens and made me a Fairy Godmother,” she says. “Then he gave me my own very special crystal wand and charged me with enchanting people’s stay.” She’s extended her powers to become the Furry Godmother too, catering to the four-legged “children” guests wag along.
With a fertile mind constantly dreaming up magical schemes, Fairy brings a new dimension to Barnsley Gardens, named one of Conde Naste’s Top Ten Small Luxury Resort for 2009. Her home base—the 1,400-acre resort in the North Georgia foothills—is nothing less than a magical site all year long. The guest cottages, spa, restaurants and non-denominational church form a quaint English-style village framed by the well-manicured greens of the championship eighteen-hole golf course, the haunting ruins of Godfrey Barnsley’s palatial home and a garden with 166 varieties of heirloom roses. Add 900 acres of pristine woodlands, meadows, and lakes for golfing, horseback riding, fishing, canoeing, and hunting and you have a dream resort just an hour’s drive from Atlanta.
The holiday festivities began Thanksgiving evening and continue through New Year’s day. Milk and cookies parades, cookie decorating, soap bubble wars in the village, games with the Grinch, and lady bug tea parties make Barnsley fun for all ages.
Special plans are afoot for New Year’s Eve. “New York has the giant Ball Drop; Atlanta has the Peach Drop. “We’re having a Frog Drop (as in ‘if you want to marry a prince, you must kiss a frog’),” she says with a twinkle. As if that weren’t enough excitement, there will be froggie favors and froggie games and lots of people fun.
Perhaps it’s the magic wand, perhaps it’s the magic in the North Georgia air, but just being around Fairy is fun. “Adults come here to be kids and kids come to be adults,” Fairy says. “My job is to create memories.”
And does she ever! Her love spells include Memoirs of a Geisha (candles, parasols, champagne and Geisha outfits), Fiesta, No Siesta (margaritas, sombreros, mariachi band cutouts); Bubble Bliss (bubble bath in a balloon-filled room and champagne). The latest is Love Me S’more, complete with the yummy marshmallow, graham cracker and chocolate snacks . Fairy will even shop for busy execs and fill the couple’s room with the flowers he likely forgot to order. She’ll also dream up one-of-a-kind tailor-made experiences.
Before leaving, I beg Fairy to teach me to become a Fairy Godmother too. “It’s not hard,” she says. “Anyone who does good things for others without asking for a ‘thank you’ can be a Fairy Godmother. You don’t even need a magic wand.”
