Check In & Shop

Atlanta's Lenox Square
Heralded as the icon mall of the South since 1959, Lenox Square and its upscale counterpart, Phipps Plaza, continue to improve. Alongside favorite shops, you'll find couture boutiques, white tablecloth dining, home decor stores, and a Tiffany & Co. thrown in for glitter. There are more than 350 total stores. So let's get shopping.

It's a package deal. Call for a shop-and-stay deal at our favorite nearby hotels: the handsomely remodeled JW Marriott Buckhead Atlanta (1-800-613-2051), the new Westin Buckhead (1-800-937-8461), or the elegant Ritz-Carlton, Buckhead (1-800-241-3333). With the Legendary Shopping Package, guests receive a room for two, breakfast, parking, and a $25 gift card for either Lenox or Phipps; from $189 at JW Marriott and from $219 at the Westin. The Bloomingdale's Package substitutes a 15% off gift certificate plus a Bloomingdale's gift card; from $209 at JW Marriott ($50 card) and from $255 at Westin ($65 card). The Ritz-Carlton teams up with Saks Fifth Avenue to offer deluxe rooms, breakfast, parking, and a $50 Saks gift card starting at $319. Getting around. Try the free BUC Shuttle. The 22-seat buses visit hotels and malls every 10 minutes.

Food for thought. Shopping requires sustenance! We adore the Zodiac Room at Neiman Marcus for a girly luncheon spot, but the French onion soup ($5) at Brasserie Le Coze in Lenox sets the standard. You'll like The Clubhouse at Lenox and The Tavern at Phipps for a sit-down sandwich or salad meal. Splurge on dinner at BluePointe; try the peanut-crusted grouper in curry ($20).

Take a load off. Instead of lugging purchases at Lenox and Phipps, call the hotel's concierge desk to arrange delivery of the packages from the stores to your room. Relax at the movies. Take in a movie at AMC Theatres Phipps Plaza's 14-screen complex.

Atlanta: Three To See
All of the shops in the Galleria Dallas offer fabulous finds, but here are three we think are particularly unique.

• Bloomingdale's: Atlanta's newest department store, which sits in Lenox Square, wows with designer labels.
• Frontgate: We love to wander around Frontgate in Phipps Plaza to find furnishings for our homes and gardens.
• MacKenzie-Childs: Whimsify your home decor with tableware and furniture from this shop at Phipps Plaza.