Family Gatherings & Getaways
After such a challenging year, who doesn’t feel like wrapping their arms around family, friends and fun? The holidays are the perfect time for multigenerational family travel, a time to share the love with “kith and kin” (that’s Old English for “friends and relatives,” dear readers).
Whether you choose a beautiful beach, a ski resort or working farm, as long as you are with the ones you love, it will be magical. “We were together,” Walt Whitman said. “I forgot the rest.” But of course it always helps to choose a fantastic spot. Here are some great ideas for family getaways.
Colorado Springs, Colorado
In 1918, mining magnate Spencer Penrose decided to invest his vast fortune into building a luxury resort in the Colorado Rockies. At that time, the Broadmoor set a new standard, and even now, as an iconic family destination, luxury is still an important part.
With its circular driveway, dramatic Italian marble staircase, and 744 rooms on 3000 acres surrounding the picturesque Cheyenne Lake, The Broadmoor is a place to find calm amidst a bustle of activity. The clamor of children roasting marshmallows for s’mores around a roaring fire-pit and dogs scampering in the snow are juxtaposed with an almost endless offering of activities that includes hiking, tennis, bowling, biking, a 350-seat movie theater as well as a 43000-square-foot fitness center and spa.
Penrose’s original vision included a menagerie of wild animals on the property, which has been relocated to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo nearby, where guests can visit hippos, giraffes, otters and elephants, and an award-winning Electric Lights Safari with an 85 light-sculpture exhibit that is nominated for USA Today’s 10 Best Zoo Lights in America! Other local excursions take you to the depot of the Pikes Peak Cog Railway or spelunking at Cave of the Winds.
The property itself features three swimming pools, horseback riding, paddle boats and no less than 18 restaurant and bar choices from that span classic fine dining to grab and go--something for everyone and every generation.
—Rona Berg
Naples, Florida
In southwestern Florida on the Gulf of Mexico, The Ritz-Carlton, Naples is a go-to spot for families, adventure seekers and spa aficionados. Following a refresh last year, the property is equipped with a Moët & Chandon vending machine in the lobby; a newly revamped beachfront restaurant, Gumbo Limbo; private beach cabanas with a private cabana butler; a gorgeous course of swimming pools; and water sports such as stand-up paddleboarding and WaveRunners (think guided tour of the area and dolphins playing in the wake). At the spa, book the Well Aging facial, with Ayuna products to cleanse, exfoliate, treat and detoxify skin, or reflect and regain balance with a personalized treatment plan with the Intuitive treatment. Post-treatment, lounge poolside on the rooftop spa deck with a smoothie at the on-site café.
—Jennie Nunn
Stein Eriksen Lodge Deer Valley
Park City, Utah
Styled after a Norwegian ski chalet, Stein Eriksen Lodge offers a jaw-dropping alpine setting, tucked between the mountains at Deer Valley Ski Resort. It was named after a great Norwegian Olympic skier, Stein Eriksen, who scored a bunch of gold medals in the 1950s, before he left Norway and headed to Park City with his family to put acrobatic skiing on the map.
The Lodge offers ski-in, ski-out access, along with snowboarding, dog sledding, and many other activities perfect for the family to share. Take a deep breath of sweet mountain air and you will never want to leave.
The lodge has a European flavor, with large rooms featuring natural elements like wood and stone. They range from double queen beds with a small outdoor patio to three and four bedroom suites, complete with kitchens, fireplaces and heated floors to help you defrost after a long day on the slopes.
Once indoors, you can warm up in the hot tub—many of the rooms feature their own—or enjoy one of the hotel’s 145 stone fireplaces, in the common rooms. The 23,000-square-foot spa has 16 treatment rooms, plus two couples’ rooms, sauna and steam, when you want to leave the kids with the grandparents and enjoy a massage.
St. Lucia, Caribbean
BodyHoliday Saint Lucia is designed to be the most rejuvenating wellness holiday on offer with an all-inclusive experience comprised of daily spa treatments, complimentary classes and more. Offering a choice of 155 well-appointed rooms and suites plus four private villas, award-winning spa experiences, a plethora of dining options and activities, these all combine to create a highly personalised beach holiday of wellness like no other.
BodyHoliday became the very first overseas destination spa over 30 years ago and has continued to lead in the wellness field ever since. The resort, which has a 33-treatment room wellness centre, is renowned for its unique approach to health, fitness and wellbeing, and is firmly committed to delivering on its promise ‘Give us your body for a week and we’ll give you back your mind’.
Guests are offered everything from world leading medically endorsed preventative therapies, through to Ayurveda, beauty and pampering treatments, and a range of activities on land and in the water, that keep one busy from dawn until dusk. The resort facilities boast a PADI-Certified Dive School, a range of motorised and non-motorised watersports, tennis, golf, archery, a state-of-the-art fitness facility and studio, as well as a number of other activities that take guests through their paces both on-property and outside the resort, all geared towards optimising their wellness.
Experiences at BodyHoliday are designed for guests with the expert guidance of the on-resort team, but the guest is encouraged to choose their own program and personalise it to their liking according to what kind of experience they desire. BodyHoliday can be a haven of serenity or a hive of activity, yet it works with the same goal in mind – to change lives on person at a time through a life-changing holiday of wellness.
The ultimate on-property wellbeing experience available is BodyScience, led by on-resort Physician Dr Sahab Jamshidi, is dedicated to the pursuit of optimal wellness by combining the preventative Eastern approach to wellbeing with cutting-edge Western diagnostics modalities. A completely tailored program according to the needs of the guest, BodyScience provides the tools to help one move towards optimal health.
At BodyHoliday the range of inclusive activities and approaches on offer reflect the ebbs and flows of real life, allowing for a real shift in perspective for people to incorporate into their lives back home. Guests can find a balance and choice, from strict weight loss diets to indulgent fine-dining, high intensity workouts with Olympic athletes to sleep-inducing Ayurvedic massages; the list goes on.
Proof that BodyHoliday places an important emphasis on socialisation and a has a considered approach to programming at the resort throughout the year is evident through engaging theme months including September Solos, Jive-June, WellFit Families (July-August), WellFit boot camps, October Yoga and Pre-Christmas Restorative Break.
Visit www.bodyholiday.com.