Cozy retreats for a winter getaway
Mittens and hot chocolate season is upon us, and if you’d rather spend a quiet afternoon by a fire than brave the crowds at a major ski resort, these snowy getaways are for you. Picture yourself in a luxurious treehouse in the Vermont woods, or a quiet cabin in the Catskills, or a retro motorcycle lodge nearby Grand Teton National Park. Consider a new boutique hotel in Rhode Island from which you can tour Gilded Age mansions decorated for the holidays. Or check in in a stately one newcomer to Germany and browse Christmas markets in places you thought only existed in fairy tales. From Bavaria to Wyoming, winter wonderlands await.
Barnard and Weston, Vt.
Twin farms
This luxury estate in Barnard, Vt., about 15 minutes north of Woodstock, recently added eight places to stay that are likely to capture the imagination of travelers looking for tranquility and perhaps a little childlike wonder. Known as the Treehouses – the first new accommodation category the property has introduced in 30 years – each is approximately 800 square meters in size and cantilevered approximately 14 to 20 feet above the ground. Observe birds from your private balcony, take a dip in the oversized bath, enjoy a breakfast with farm ingredients in the dining area, curl up with a book by the fireplace and fall into the evening in the king bed.
The eight treehouses – each reached by its own wood and metal pedestrian bridge – are designed to blend in with their natural surroundings and complement the intimate property’s other accommodations, including four rooms in the main house, ten cottages, a lodge two-bedroom and a four-bedroom farmhouse. As you descend from your nest, take the cues of the season. Spend a few hours with a puzzle, or settle in for a game of chess or checkers. Visit the Furo, a saltwater bathhouse heated to 104 degrees, in the middle of the woods. Work out in the fitness center. Explore the property’s more than 300 acres where you can try out winter activities such as ice fishing, snowshoeing and fat tire biking. Once you’ve worked up an appetite, don’t hesitate: your meals and drinks are included. There is no set menu in the large dining roomwhile it has been redesigned Twigsan a la carte menu changes monthly and may include pastas, stews, soups, pies and Vermont cheese.
Twin Farms allows guests aged 14 and older. Rates include all meals, drinks, cocktails, wine and use of on-site recreational offerings and equipment. Treehouse prices range from $3,500 per night for two people; Winter rates for the main house are $2,600 per night for two people.
The Weston
Drive about an hour south of Twin Farms and you’ll find the town of Weston, where you can hunt for treasure in the aisles of the long-standing Vermont Country Store and spend the mornings in the fresh air of the nearby area Green Mountain National Forest. The Weston hotel was officially opened here in November and has nine rooms and suites (the suites have a private terrace) with a cozy interior, including English and American antiques. Although there is plenty to do outside, if you don’t feel like braving the elements, you can stroll down to the spa. There is also a yoga studio and fitness center. The hotel restaurant, the Left Bank, offers French country dishes such as oysters, onion soup gratin and steak au poivre, as well as chocolate mousse and tarte au fromage and other delicacies for dessert. Rooms are available for booking Wednesday through Monday, with prices starting from $450 per night. Holiday bookings are also available from December 20 to December 31.
Newport, RI
Gardiner House
Just in time for this year’s festivities, there’s a new place to be. Gardiner House, a waterfront boutique hotel, opened in November with 21 rooms and suites, some with harbor views, all with dreamy tones and bamboo and rattan accents. It’s a short walk from from the hotel to the shops, bars and restaurants of Thames Street, and to the Sailing Museum, which opened last year. But for some of the most beautiful views of Newport Harbor, you don’t have to go anywhere. The hotel’s Studio Bar has a fireplace where you can keep warm on cold nights with cocktails and conversations. Appetizers include warm olives, hummus, yellowfin tuna, arancini, charcuterie and Kobe beef sliders. Prices from $725 per night.
Shandaken, NY
Shandaken Inn
Built in the late 1920s as a golf course clubhouse and reborn as an inn, this Catskill Mountain retreat beckons with a fireplace inside and more than 40 acres outside. In addition to the 15 rooms and suites, some with fireplaces, the inn is now expanding to include three detached cottages. Each cottage strives for “rustic charm,” as the inn puts it, and measures over 1,300 square feet. with two bedrooms, a kitchenette, a washer and dryer and mountain views. (After a soft opening, the cottages’ grand opening is scheduled for January 1.)
Stroll outside for a stroll, or grab a chair and enjoy s’mores around a fire pit. Rent snowshoes ($24) or workout in the 24-hour gym. Dinner is available most days of the week at the Clubhouse Restaurant and Bar, where you can relax with burgers, beers, small plates and main courses that feature local ingredients and vary with the day and season. Prices from $274 per night for a room; from $980 per night for a cottage. Daily breakfast is included.
This 1960s motor lodge is just 10 minutes from Grand Teton National Park and about two and a half hours from Yellowstone National Park. Recently it has become part of Outbound hotels, an emerging hotel group offering affordably priced properties in locations close to nature and vibrant cities. There are two outbound hotels so far (the other is in Mammoth Lakes, California) and more are in the works, including properties in Stowe, Vt., and Yosemite National Park.
The Virginian Lodge features 165 retro-style rooms, some with bunk beds, and 20 suites (there’s also a seasonal camper park). But the real fun happens outside your sleeping quarters. Collect in pop-up igloos and hot tubs, or around a fire pit for s’mores. Take a dip in the all-season pool. Walk to town stores And restaurants and visit the parks in the area and hot springs. Go to to meet other guests and locals the Virginian Saloon, where cocktails and beer are paired with karaoke nights. Bee Billy’s Burgers You will not only find pub dishes such as burgers and waffle fries, but also falafel and Greek salad. Save room for soft serve ice cream. For food and drinks on the go, Medieval drink has adventure essentials like coffee and grab-and-go breakfast burritos. Stop by the walk-in and drive-through window for wine, beer and sloshies, a local favorite made with spirits and ingredients such as sugar, ice and frozen fruit or juice. Prices start at $118 per night, plus a $20 per night resort fee (excluding tax).
Munich, Germany
Rosewood Munich
Those winter scenes you may have read about come to life Bavaria, where historic towns are blanketed in snow and strings of lights glow over open-air markets. It is there, in the capital Munich, that Hotels and Resorts of Rosewood has opened its first hotel in Germany. Housed in two restored buildings – the former headquarters of the Bavarian State Bank and a former residence known as the Palais Neuhaus-Preysing – the 132-room and suite property offers a contemporary take on Baroque and Rococo styles, as well as a grand starting point for exploring the beauty of Bavaria.
To celebrate the holidays, as many locals do, simply step out of the hotel and take a stroll through Munich’s Old Town, including the main square. Marienplatzwhere you can explore a Christmas market. Day trips to historic and picturesque towns with their own Christmas markets are just a train ride away. Nuremberg, for example, is about an hour and a half from the hotel. A train ride of about two hours will take you to Regensburgwhere Regensburg’s old town and the Stadtamhof district are on the edge UNESCO World Heritage List. If it’s too cold to travel near or far, stay put and be pampered at the spa, swim in the indoor pool or work up a sweat in the gym. The hotel also has two courtyards, the Palaishof and the Wintergarten, where you can hang out with friends and strangers over a cup of tea.
For brasserie dishes, including regional specialties from Germany and beyond, such as Wienerschnitzel, Bavarian risotto, dumplings and roast Bavarian pork with acorns, try Brasserie Cuvillies. Then spend the long winter evenings with cocktails and live jazz at Bar Montez, named after Lola Montez, the dancer, actress and politician who had an affair with King Louis I of Bavaria, among others. “The minor events in the career of this remarkable woman,” The Times wrote in her 1861 obituary, “would furnish material for a dozen romances.” Prices start at 700 euros per night, or about $760.
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