For a luxurious holiday getaway, look no further than the Four Seasons Westlake Village. If you stay there on Friday or Saturday night over the next few weekends, your family can enjoy its Winter Wonderland, as well as a gourmet Italian buffet dinner and dessert at Mercato, the market-style dining experience.

Let It Snow has turned into a wonderland of winter-themed activities for families. Once you go through the portal to Let It Snow, Olaf and the Minions greet you for a photo op! Then follow the signs to the fun activity stations set up along the Look Out outdoor bar area:

Holiday train rides
Hot chocolate and coffee station
S’mores at the fire pit (helpful elves are standing by)
Santa’s house – visit Santa, take a pic, and get a candy cane
Cookie decorating with Mrs. Claus
Pizza, adult beverages, and snacks for purchase
Ice skating!

There is a small ice skating rink set up downstairs just outside the indoor pool. It’s a fascinating construction – made with fiberglass panels, skaters glide along on the skates provided and when they fall (because they will, let’s be honest) there is no cold ice to hurt or freeze them! My kids loved this and wanted to go back for more after dinner! Plan your visit well, because this is a popular activity, but staff keeps the line moving with skater time limits so everyone gets a turn.

The activities make for a fun evening, and the icing on top is the festive sprinkle of snow that happens about every 15 minutes.

Let It Snow tickets are available to overnight guests who purchase the Winter Wonderland package. But Mercato Italiano, the bustling Italian evening in the hotels lobby restaurant, is open to anyone.

At this buffet, we enjoyed the top-notch customer service we can always expect from the Four Seasons. We started with drinks – a Paso Creek merlot for me, and a Ladyface Alehouse dark amber for my husband. The kids loved their lemonade and chocolate milk served in “fancy glasses.” Warm bread is served with Ojai Olive Oil and balsamic vinegar, another local favorite.

Servers recommended that we start with the antipasto side of the buffet, which actually turned out to be my favorite. The marinated mushrooms and artichoke salad, and the bruschetta, were good enough to bring me back for seconds, even after I had tried the entrees! Then we moved on to pasta, which was the kids’ favorite (of course), and I liked that there was a gluten free penne to try.

The star of the entree section, for my husband, was the seafood cioppino, with mussels, clams, shrimp and crab. For me it was the lasagna. For the kids, well, it was making pizza with Chef Jim!

For dessert, gelato flavors included pumpkin cheesecake and toffee crunch to pair with delicious custards and pastries. You’ll have to make sure to leave room though. It’s easy to indulge here! Reservations are wise, and cost is $31-50 per person.

My family enjoyed Let It Snow as guests, along with complimentary dining at Mercato Italiano, to facilitate this feature. All opinions are my own. And my husband’s and children’s.