The Goring Showing Its Christmas Spirit
Photo Courtesy Of The Goring
Instead of spending precious holiday time untangling lights, fighting traffic or waiting in long lines, these luxurious hotels offer a way to treat yourself and your family, from delicious meals to an exclusive night out at the ballet. Thanks, Santa.
Montage Laguna Beach
Overlooking the Pacific Ocean, this Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star stunner provides an alluring setting to celebrate the holiday season. For the gift giver who really wants to wow, the resort’s Beach Breakfast and Baubles Holiday package (a three-night minimum over New Year’s Eve) is just the ticket. Each morning, you’ll enjoy complimentary breakfast, but the big draw is the Lugano Privé experience, where the resort’s in-house jewelry experts will customize a case of Lugano jewelry for your special someone, creating a bespoke shopping opportunity where your significant other can keep as many or as little of the items as she’d like.
Chatham Bars Inn Resort and Spa
Chatham Bars Inn, located in one of Cape Cod’s most picturesque seaside villages, hosts a slew of holiday events this year, from the gingerbread house workshop (December 19-20), when the resort’s culinary team spoils guests with freshly constructed holiday treats, to a lavish Christmas Grand Buffet on December 25 at Four-Star eatery STARS. Dishes inspired by the Four-Star inn’s eight-acre farm will showcase the best of area’s produce. Stay overnight and feast even more at the third annual beach barbecue on December 26.
Sanctuary on Camelback Mountain, Photo Courtesy of Sanctuary on Camelback Mountain
Sanctuary on Camelback Mountain
The Mi Casa, Mi Chef package at this Four-Star hotel in Scottsdale is the ultimate present to yourself or your favorite epicurean. Your home base will be one of Sanctuary’s six private mountainside estate homes (units include everything from a private pool to a game room). From there, join a chef for a chauffeured visit to a local farmers market to pick out ingredients for your three- or four-course dinner, which you can either help to prepare in your house or just watch as the chef does the work. Should you decide to leave all of the culinary handiwork to the professional, you and your guests can use your free time to indulge in a 60-minute spa treatment before joining the toque for the big holiday meal.
InterContinental Hong Kong
Among the many special culinary offerings at this Five-Star treasure this season — the hotel provides cooking classes, Christmas caroling, holiday lunches and much more — the exclusive Le Chocolat Alain Ducasse line might be the sweetest. Reserve your space at the Lobby Lounge’s Afternoon Tea Set in December to sample the selection of decadence made with a special dark chocolate blend from the famed dessert maker. Three delicious options from InterContinental Hong Kong executive pastry chef Cyril Dupuis include a chocolate mousse inspired by Ducasse’s Benoit bistros in Paris and New York.
The Umstead Hotel and Spa
This month, the Five-Star gem just outside of Raleigh holds a series of tasty events, ranging from a Caviar + Champagne evening (Dec. 18) with samples of bubbly that have earned “Special Club” recognition (Henri Goutorbe, Gaston Chiquet, Pierre Gimonnet and Marc Hebrart), to lavish Christmas Eve and Christmas Day dinners at Five-Star Herons. The festive, four-course affairs will feature dishes such as lobster agnolotti with sunchokes; pheasant with poached grapes; and beef rib-eye with coffee and carrots. Finish with classic seasonal desserts like a holiday bûche de Noël.
The Ritz-Carlton, Lake Tahoe, Photo Courtesy of Christopher Cypert
Holidays at the Ritz
From Washington D.C. to California, Ritz-Carlton knows how to celebrate in style. In our nation’s capital, the Four-Star hotel’s Holiday Bed and Breakfast package includes a deluxe room or suite, a gingerbread ornament prepared by executive pastry chef John Quinn, breakfast for two and valet parking. The Ritz-Carlton, Lake Tahoe will show its festive spirit all December with gingerbread houses, family movie nights and Café Chocolat, an exquisite pop-up that promises to warm you up après-ski with cocktails, housemade chocolate treats, fondue creations and a hot chocolate bar. At The Ritz-Carlton, Half Moon Bay, holiday activities include Breakfast with Santa (Dec. 22), a Christmas Eve dinner at signature restaurant Navio and a Family Christmas Brunch on the big day, where the jolly old elf himself will join in on the culinary fun.
The Goring
Anyone dreaming of sugarplum fairies should book this London Four-Star property’s Nutcracker Exclusive package, which includes a stay at the historic hotel, breakfast, plus tickets to the English National Ballet’s The Nutcracker at the London Coliseum. Upgrade to the Belgravia Suite for the chance to not only reserve a box at the theater, but also earn a rare opportunity to either meet one of the ballerinas from the cast or take a backstage tour before the performance.
The Chatwal, A Luxury Collection Hotel
When it comes to December 25, and all the excitement surrounding it, few cities deck their halls quite like New York City. The Chatwal, a 76-room beauty in The Theater District, is doing its part for the seasonal act with its Miracle on 44th Street package, a deal spreading cheer in the form of overnight accommodations in The Chatwal’s Barrymore Suite, a carriage ride through Central Park, tickets to The Radio City Christmas Spectacular, a private tour at FAO Schwartz, daily breakfast at The Lambs Club and much more. About the only thing that isn’t stuffed into this vacation stocking is an invite to the hotel’s Christmas Carolers Brunch (every Saturday through Dec. 20), but we’re thinking you’ll be so full with delight from touring many of the city’s iconic holiday treats that you won’t even notice.
