The holidays are about making memories with the ones you love, and travel is an easy way to do it. Luxury travel expert Elizabeth Walsh, a consultant for Local Foreigner, says, “Our most precious asset is time, and you don’t want to have to cross your fingers that a hotel will be good or that a vacation will be special. You want a sure thing.”
Walsh's gift is matching destinations with occasions, whether it’s a weekend away for ocean air at Sea Island or a milestone trip through the Chilean Patagonia. She shares three of her favorite properties: one for a weekend get-together with the girls or an escape on your own, one for a romantic long weekend, and one for a family vacation with the kids. All three destinations can be reached via non-stop flights from Charlotte.
For a solo trip or a weekend with the girls
Mayflower Inn & Spa, Auberge Resorts Collection Litchfield County, Connecticut
How to get there: 90 minutes from Westchester County (N.Y.) Airport or two hours from New York City
If "pastoral Palm Beach" sounds like your aesthetic, a weekend at the Mayflower Inn & Spa fits the bill. With interiors by Celerie Kemble, the century-old property feels refreshingly spry — a whimsical interpretation of New England history, splashed with hints of the designer's Florida upbringing. Across 28 wooded acres, 35 rooms, and a 20,000 square foot spa, you'll find Puritan portraits and tasseled ottomans alongside wicker rockers and pastel prints. But the resort isn’t all style and no substance; Auberge’s “Friends of the Mayflower” series features months-long residencies by renowned chefs, artists, and creatives. The Well, Manhattan’s waitlist-only holistic destination, now has a second location within the Mayflower’s renowned spa. Its Connecticut setting is picturesque and looks equally beguiling whether it's blanketed in snow or bursting in bloom. It’s a perfect home base for a fall weekend, when the oaks and maples are ablaze in color and the parlor fire is lit in time for cocktails.
For a Couple’s Getaway
Clayoquot Wilderness Lodge Vancouver Island, Canada
How to get there: Seasonal non-stop flight to Vancouver plus a scenic sea plane flight
On 500 acres of Vancouver Island, where the Bedwell River meets the Pacific Ocean, you’ll find Clayoquot, a tented camp surrounded by 1.5 million acres of protected wilderness. If you’ve always wanted to experience the detail and luxury of an African safari, Clayoquot will tap into that same sense of wonder. You’ll be immersed in the romance of the Pacific Northwest’s pristine landscape, and the tents are so fabulously appointed you won’t miss plaster walls, TVs, or iPhones. The food is spectacular, utilizing the freshest catch and produce and prepared in an open kitchen. Travelers spend days kayaking the river rapids, horseback riding the back trails, and hiking up mountain peaks, all with black bears, whales, and eagles nearby. Perhaps the finest quality of this “glamping” experience is the personal service by a detail-oriented staff.
For Celebrating as a Family
Estelle Manor Oxfordshire, England
How to get there: 75 minute drive from London's Heathrow Airport
In the middle of 3,000 acres of rolling Oxfordshire parkland is Estelle Manor, an English country hotel in a Grade-II Listed Jacobethan landmark house with an appropriately grand pedigree. Sister property to Scotland’s famed Gleneagles, the main Manor House looks like it is straight out of Downton Abbey, though the facilities are decidedly 21st century. The 25-meter pool and corresponding bar belies conventional wisdom about British weather, while 85 acres of private grounds offer space for activities like falconry, foraging, and archery. (Kids from age 2 can even drive their own mini Land Rovers through a country obstacle course.) Inside, overstuffed silk sofas sit by crackling fires, and bartenders pour a property martini. For Christmas, no one does it like the English – think the movie The Holiday but with someone to carry your suitcase over the cobblestones.
"You don’t want to have to cross your fingers that a hotel will be good. You want a sure thing.”