Your whole family’s gathering for the holidays, which means you’ll need a good place to hide — or at least recoup and relax. We tapped our friends at Fathom, who travel to help you travel, for far-flung fantasies within arm’s reach.
Destination: Sea Ranch, California
What’s to love: Built as a thinking hippie’s commune by the new-guard architects of the Bay Area in the late ’60s, it’s a Northern California aesthete’s lo-fi luxe destination for relaxation.
Good to know: The lodge has just undergone a face-lift, but the neighboring homes are in their original condition. See the community pool house for the first examples of supergraphics and run to the bakery for super scones.
Where to book: At searanchlodge.com.
Destination: Austin, Texas
What’s to love: Fall hard for lived-in leather Chesterfield couches, lighted chandeliers hanging from trees, and the old Citroën permanently parked in the middle of the property. A minibar woos foodies and beauty junkies alike.
Good to know: It’s the best place to sleep late. Swedish company Hästens makes the incredible (and astronomically priced) mattresses.
Before you go: Read Fathom’s guide to Austin.
Where to book: At hotelstcecilia.com.
Destination: Asheville, North Carolina
What’s to love: Located twenty miles northwest of the city are sister cottages with handmade stoneware, outdoor cedar soaking tubs, grazing sheep, and farm-fresh eggs for breakfast.
Good to know: If you’ve got cabin fever, head to Cucina 24 for dinner, followed by live music at The Orange Peel. Wedge Brewing Company (by the railroad tracks) is the best in town.
Where to book: At eastforkfarm.net.
Destination: Round Top, Texas
What’s to love: Rachel Ashwell, the doyenne of French country elegance meets SoCal cool-style shabby chic, opened a five-house B&B on 46 acres midway between Houston and Austin.
Good to know: It’s a neat retreat in a sleepy little town known for its twice-yearly (wild!) antiques week.
Before you go: Read Fathom’s guide to Round Top.
Where to book: At theprairiebyrachelashwell.com.
Destination: St. Michaels, Maryland
What’s to love: Paul Newman, Liz Taylor, Christopher Walken, and Warren Buffett have stayed at the spectacular colonial inn on the fabled eastern shore of the Chesapeake Bay.
Good to know: Does the place look familiar? It was the film site for Wedding Crashers.
Where to book: At perrycabin.com.
Destination: Columbia Falls, Montana
What’s to love: Book a room at an Alpine-themed lodge nestled on the northeastern edge of Glacier National Park. Bonus points for ice mountains and grizzly sightings.
Good to know: The Going to the Sun Road, the famous, 50-mile stretch of asphalt, lifts you up to touch the sky as you cross the Continental Divide at Logan’s Pass.
Before you go: Read Fathom’s guide to the best day ever in Glacier National Park.
Where to book: At glacierparkinc.com.
Destination: Truth or Consequences, New Mexico
What to love: Book your bath when you reserve your room at the desert Zen den (a two-hour drive from Albuquerque). The healing geothermal waters come right out of the ground and into your private tub (indoors or out) at 107 degrees.
Good to know: Once you’ve worked up an appetite, head to nearby Cafe Bella Luca, a modern Italian restaurant (run by a real Italian).
Where to book: At sierragrandelodge.com.
Destination: Joshua Tree, California
What’s to love: The hand-hewn, 100 percent solar-powered, five-room desert motel sits in a native landscape. There are vintage records in each room, a communal eating area, fire pits, crisp air, and no good reason to leave.
Good to know: Plan your route and take your time. This place is a magical hideaway.
Where to book: At mojavesands.com.
Destination: New Ashford, Massachusetts
What’s to love: Get a real taste of Japanese ryokan hospitality right in the wooded Berkshire Mountains. Slip into a traditional yukata and house slippers, learn to roll sushi, and expend energy doing laps in the indoor pool.
Good to know: In proper traditional form, guests are showered with small gifts (specialty baked goods, hand towels, tote bags), delicate afternoon teas, and utter peace and quiet.
Before you go: Read Fathom’s guide to the Berkshires.
Where to book: At berkshires-shirakaba.com.
Destination: White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia
What’s to love: This corner of West Virginia has thousands of acres of rolling hills, trees, and nothingness interrupted only by The Greenbrier’s golf courses, horse trails, tennis courts, croquet court, and the enormous old hotel with the Dorothy Draper decorating treatment.
Good to know: The hotel is kid friendly, making it an ideal escape for families.
Where to book: At greenbrier.com.
Destination: South Lake Tahoe, California
What’s to love: Nature lovers and thrill seekers have been using the hotel as a jumping-off point for their Northern California adventures since its June opening.
Good to know: Heavenly gondola is only one block away. As is the twenty-seat Black Bear Inn, the best meal in town.
Where to book: At basecamphotels.com.
Destination: Charlottesville, Virginia
What’s to love: The Shaker suites are like your own little lakeside cottages. The food is out of this world.
Good to know: This part of Virginia thinks it’s wine country, but the awesome cocktails are the thing to drink.
Where to book: At cliftoninn.net.
Destination: Tivoli, New York
What’s to love: A restored 1850s Italianate mansion on a hill (with views of the Hudson River and Catskill Mountains) was done up with vintage decor.
Good to know: Pick up a copy of Herzog and Henderson the Rain King, which Saul Bellow wrote while living at the manse.
Before you go: Read Fathom’s quick guide to the Hudson Valley region.
Where to book: At hamhouse.com.
Destination: Charleston, South Carolina
Good to know: Ask for room 350 (across the street from the main lobby on a floor of its own) for the four-poster canopy king bed and fireplace.
What’s to love: Though you’ll want to tuck into the elegant rooms, hop on a bike and tour the nearby waterfront park and famed McCrady’s restaurant. Make it back in time for nightly fresh cookies and milk.
Where to book: At vendueinn.com.
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