Travel + Leisure's digital project editor Sarah Spagnolo highlights four romantic weekend getaways.
1. From the East: Cape Cod, Massachusetts – Chatham Bars Inn (from $250 a night). Many travelers consider Cape Cod to be a summertime escape, but the destination is serene and dramatic in the winter, without the crowds. At the Chatham Bars Inn, you’ll stay in one of 217 Cape-style cottages on a bluff overlooking the crashing waves. Many rooms have bay windows, gas fireplaces, and oversize soaking tubs. Stay through March for $250/night for two nights, and the hotel will throw in breakfast for two, champagne and chocolate-covered strawberries, and a $100 credit at the streamlined spa.
Le Rêve Hotel & Spa - up to 29% off Playa del Carmen, Mexico Few hotels along Mexico's Mayan Riviera are as private and intimate as Le Rêve Hotel & Spa. This adults-only seaside escape (perfect for honeymoons or frustrated urbanites) features 25 luxury suites—some garden-facing, others with sea views...
Newstead Belmont Hills Golf Resort - up to 40% off Paget, Bermuda On an island known for clear water and posh hotels (not to mention direct flights from the U.S.), this harbor-side Bermuda resort, complete with classic white rooms and breezy terraced pools and pavilions, exudes a sense of unexpected Caribbean cool…
Ends in 4 days!
St. James's Club Resort & Villas - up to 53% off St. John's, Antigua and Barbuda Spread across 100 acres of a peninsula on the island's southeastern coast, this resort's rooms and villas are done in an airy, tropical style, with wicker furnishings, terracotta tile floors, and colorful prints and fabrics. One beach faces east and the other west...
Casa Oceano - up to 35% off Tango Mar Beach, Costa Rica Just 50 yards from the Pacific shoreline, this two-story residence is situated along a near-private, golden-sand beach…
Take a dash of beachfront idyll, add a splash of sultry nightlife and an influx of travelers in search of the World’s Best City (Bangkok, according to T+L’s annual readers’ poll)—this week, Vacationist has its sights set on Thailand. Unwind poolside in Phuket, unplug at a Phi Phi island escape, or take in the raucous Bangkok scene from your perch at an open-air restaurant high above the city lights. Thanks to Vacationist, your trip to Thailand is next.
As a former Colorado resident and onetime liftee (my first job out of college, at Winter Park Resort), I’m a huge fan of skiing in the state. So it was great to hear about the recent storm that dumped up to 10 inches of much-needed powder. It allowed ski resorts to open up new terrain, including parts of Vail’s awesome Blue Sky Basin.
The storm also brought out some great deals at ski hotels—and there’s no better way to end a great ski day than by getting a bargain at a luxury hotel. Here’s a sampling:
• Free night. Stay any RockResort (or other properties in Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Keystone, and Northstar) and get a free night and a $50 gift card. Minimum stay varies, but book by January 31 and travel before April 30. More details here, or call 866-614-7625.
• Another free night. Stay 4 or 7 nights at the Park Hyatt Beaver Creek and get your last night free, plus—here’s the kicker—lift tickets for 2 for your entire say. Get the details here.
• 40% off. Stay at one of the Destination Hotels & Resorts properties, like the Vail Cascade or The Gant, and get up to 40% off some weeks. You just have to be a member of the Destination Delivers program (it’s free).
• 30% off. The Antlers at Vail is offering 30% off during the week of January 28 – February 5 with a 3-night minimum. And yes, this one also throws in a two-day lift ticket. Get the skinny here.
Rich Beattie is the executive digital editor at Travel + Leisure.
A vacation on the west coast without breaking the bank? These three Vacationist hotel deals are a great excuse to head straight for L.A. and Las Vegas—or to go off-the-grid in undiscovered Hood River, Oregon, to see (or ski!) the pristine Columbia River Gorge area. In L.A., you’ll sleep in plush white-on-white beds at Mr. C Beverly Hills after dinner at the newest Cipriani outpost; in Vegas, the Signature at MGM Grand is an all-suite escape where you can avoid the frenetic crowds. And in Oregon, unpack at Columbia Cliff Villas, with views of the rushing Columbia River.
In the mood for a little mid-winter R&R? Wherever you live, chances are there’s an affordable getaway just a short drive away. These domestic deals stretch coast to coast:
The Gastonome’s Beach Retreat Check into the Hotel Shangri-la in Santa Monica, CA, for a hedonistic seaside weekend: book two nights at $475/night, and you’ll enjoy a guided Malibu wine tasting tour for two, a private chef’s dinner featuring ingredients from the local farmer’s market with cocktail pairings, and score a free upgrade to an Ocean View One Bedroom Suite (complete with a chef’s kitchen for any further culinary experimentation). Total savings nabbed: $800. (To book, call (310) 394-2791.)
The January chill means we're craving a warm-weather winter getaway. A few ideas, courtesy of Vacationist: Costa Rica, where the temperatures hover around 90 degrees and the 10-room Rancho Pacifico, set on the southern Pacific Coast near Manuel Antonio, has an open-air spa to take in the rainforest views. In Ixtapa, Mexico, Las Brisas is set on a private beach for quiet relaxation, while the adults-only all-inclusive Rendezvous, on the northern coast of St. Lucia, offers activities from snorkeling to tennis and bike tours—and temperatures in the 80s.
