9. Chicago, Illinois
There are few places that do Christmas better than the Windy City. The Chicago Botanic Garden’s Lightscape is a mile-long path where the night comes alive with color, imagination, and sound, from a choir of singing trees to a spectacular waterfall of light. Head to Illumination at the Morton Arboretum and drive the two-mile paved path amid interactive lighting effects. Don’t miss the 30th anniversary of ZooLights at Lincoln Park Zoo, where you’ll see musical light shows, live ice-sculpting, and train and carousel rides.
At Swissôtel Chicago, the Santa Suite is available for individual family visits this year through the Your Newest Holiday Tradition package, which turns the 2,000-square-foot Presidential Suite into Santa’s Chicago holiday home to host seasonal activities. The package offers a personalized visit with Santa, as well as sweets and treats, including a hot chocolate bar.
10. The Peabody, Memphis
Spend the happiest time of the year at the “South’s Grand Hotel.” While the Peabody sits in the heart of Blues City, you can’t help but have a jolly Tennessee Christmas here. Start Christmas day with the hotel’s famous brunch, and celebrate making the nice list with the unlimited hot chocolate offered by their Home for the Holidays package. As a general rule for your stay at this Memphis institution, you can’t miss the Peabody Duck March, but you should especially attend a viewing on the big day, when the mallards’ fountain is specially decked out with a bouquet filled with poinsettias and lit by the lobby’s thousands of twinkling lights.
11. Middleton Lodge, Yorkshire, UK
If you’re looking for a stay this Christmas with all the countryside charm of a Hallmark movie, look no further than Middleton Lodge in Yorkshire. Spend the night at rooms housed in the estate’s old dairy, original orchard, and walled gardens. Come Christmas Eve and warm yourself by the fire during afternoon tea with mulled wine in the in-house restaurant, Coach House. Then on Christmas Day, tuck into a quintessentially North Yorkshire lunch with salted duck eggs, roasted pork belly with all the trimmings, and figgy pudding. And if you still find yourself craving activity after exploring the 200 acres of parks in your wellies, there’s a heated pool complete with lounge area.
12. The Fairmont Olympic Hotel, Seattle
The Fairmont Olympic Hotel, Seattle was built in the 1920s and this massive Italian Renaissance hotel is breathtakingly opulent, as its tasseled sofas, domed ceilings, and gilded chandeliers will attest. Additionally, the friendly front desk staff display the sort of courtly etiquette befitting the palatial surroundings. Now, imagine all that with the lavish energy of the holiday season. The Fairmont decks itself out to the nines, welcoming its guests with beautifully decorated trees and all sorts of festive finery decking the halls. And if the cold starts to bite, head to the hotel’s pool: It’s enclosed in a glass solarium, which means the water stays at a toasty 83 degrees and you can simultaneously get your laps in as you soak up some winter sun.
13. Wisconsin
In downtown Milwaukee, look out for the Holiday Lights Festival, which features thousands of colorful and animated displays. Then travelers can hop on the Jingle Bus to experience the scenes around town, including at Cathedral Square Park. In Lake Geneva, bundle up and experience the arrival of Lake Geneva’s giant ice castle, located at the Geneva National Resort: It’s a gigantic frozen funhouse, where visitors can explore tunnels, slides, and other interactive features, all made of ice. For a quintessential downtown experience, join the town of Lake Geneva’s annual holiday tree lighting; keep your eyes peeled for appearances from Santa and his reindeer roaming around the streets of Lake Geneva on weekends in November and December.
14. The Fife Arms, Braemar, UK
Fife Arms can seem imposing at first—the hotel has the figure of a classic Highland hunting lodge-turned-hostelry, stalwart and stony. But step over its mahogany threshold and you’re immediately embraced by the space’s comforting warmth, a feeling that is only amplified by holiday cheer. On Christmas Eve, arrive and be treated to afternoon tea before taking in the parade of Cairngorm Reindeer as they make their way across Braemar. Head back indoors to roast chestnuts and decorate the trees. Then on Christmas Day tune into the King’s Speech in the Drawing Room after a hearty breakfast and four-course lunch. The Fife Arms has long been known as the social heart of its Scottish village, and especially during the holidays, it’s easy to see why.
15. Denver, Colorado
Unwrap the magic of the holidays in Denver with millions of twinkling lights and special events. Enjoy a family outing to the Denver Zoo Lights, or a fun day of shopping and ice skating. The annual Denver Christkindl Market, a traditional European holiday market, will return this winter at Denver Civic Center Park. Merrymakers can savor the season while enjoying authentic glühwein (mulled spiced wine), Bavarian-style biers, European coffee, or hot chocolate, all while shopping for unique artisan gifts and holiday treats.
16. The Berkshires, Massachusetts
The Red Lion Inn in idyllic Stockbridge, Massachusetts, transforms into a charming festive scene echoing Norman Rockwell’s renowned 1967 painting Home for Christmas. Decor throughout the hotel includes dozens of live Christmas trees, wreaths, kissing balls (super-sized mistletoe), poinsettias, hundreds of yards of garland, and handmade wreaths crafted from recycled material. For much of December, pianists and harpists in the hotel lobby will play holiday favorites. The Inn’s iconic front porch, dressed for the season, will be home to performances by holiday carolers.
At nearby Naumkeag, a storied country estate that dates back to the Gilded Age, the Winterlights event sparkles with thousands of shimmering, artfully designed holiday lights. Minutes away is NightWood at The Mount—Edith Wharton’s home—a sound and light experience that transforms the place into a fantastical winter landscape for the holidays. Not to be left out is Hancock Shaker Village, where a pop-up market featuring goods by regional artisans runs throughout the holiday season.
17. The Lodge at Woodloch, Pennsylvania
Located just ninety miles from New York City, this destination spa resort in northeast Pennsylvania has a private lake, plenty of chances to pamper yourself at its extensive spa, and more than 500 wooded acres that can catch and wear the season’s snowfall like the chicest mink coat. In addition to the traditional seasonal festivities you might expect (caroling, the lighting of evergreens, etc.), as well as the usual on-site activities like biking and hiking, The Lodge also offers cool unexpected lessons like birding and archery. Naturally, its spa and salon facilities are ready to welcome you any time for some rest and relaxation.
18. Sunriver Resort, Sunriver, Oregon
Sunriver is the real-life embodiment of a picturesque holiday scene—everything is covered in snow and twinkling lights. To accommodate all types of merrymaking, the resort is offering a wide variety of festive celebrations and experiences. For something a little different, check out their Holiday Glow Party at the Cove, a DJ-ed dance party in the resort’s pool area featuring wearable glow sticks and other twinkling gear. For a more classic affair, try a horse-drawn sleigh ride through a wintry, powder-white glade on the property. On Christmas Day, there will be buffets and dinners throughout all the accommodations at Sunriver, but if you need to grab your holiday meal and get back on the road, the resort is selling holiday dinners to-go. If you’ve got some time to linger, however, you can grab brunch with Santa.
19. Breckenridge, Colorado
There’s plenty to do in Breckenridge, Colorado, where you can easily slide and snowboard into the holiday spirit with the rest of the town. The usual activities include the lighting of 250,000 twinkling LED lights throughout the town in December and a promenade of holiday trees decorated by community businesses. On top of all that, the Breckenridge Ski Resort was voted one of the best ski resort destinations in the United States by Condé Nast Traveler readers in our Readers’ Choice Awards, so you should definitely make a plan to visit. The resort’s ski area spans five peaks of the Ten Mile Range and features 187 trails, from easy-going greens and meandering blues to challenging bowl runs that wind above the treeline—perfect for anyone looking to get a taste of a winter wonderland.
20. Woodstock, Vermont
The Woodstock Inn & Resort decks the halls for the season in such a way that the main lobby resembles a postcard of a Vermont holiday: plush velvet ribbons, a nine-foot wood fireplace flanked by two giant decorated wreaths, and the main evergreen tree, which is grown on property. In fact, the resort prides itself on making decorations from materials onsite, including dried flowers grown at the organic Kelly Way Gardens, as well as natural materials like grapevines, evergreens, birch branches, pinecones, and dogwood, which are harvested from the woods. The resort also builds a life-size gingerbread house in the main lobby, surrounded by a winter wonderland scene of trees and poinsettias.
