Get Out There! 20 Covid-Era Excuses to Travel Again
Wild and free in Italy. Photo courtesy of Hotel Castello di Reschio.
To go or not to go?
And where, and when, and how?
As you wait patiently at home, plan, and/or travel — while negotiating various levels of risk and tests and paperwork — we're keeping track of all the reasons why a nice hotel should be in your future plans.
You're Already Planning Next Summer
Borgo Santandrea
The Amalfi Coast is gorgeous — and open — through October, and it's even lovelier once the summer crowds go home. This season's stunning new hotel filled with beautiful furniture, artwork, and tiles has refined mid-century-meets-contemporary style, rooms overlooking the sea, three restaurants, a large private beach, and a lovely flower garden.
Your Unemployment Is Running Out
Hoxton Rome
Five quick reasons: Italy is open. Tourism levels are lower than usual. It'll make you feel great. The funky new Hoxton outpost is close to the gardens of Villa Borghese. And it won't break the bank.
You Are Desperate to Take a Relaxing Vacation — Without Stressing Out by Planning One
La Samanna, A Belmond Hotel, St. Martin
The French-side retreat is ten minutes from the airport, overlooks calm Caribbean waters, is a beautiful environment, and offers a personal on-the-ground hotel fixer to field and finesse any and all requests from your travel brood. Read more about it on Fathom.
You Found Out You Don’t Need to Be in the Office Until 2022
Santarena Hotel
If a tropical beach setting in a relaxed, car-free community with 40+ kilometers of hiking and biking trails right outside your doors sounds like life in balance, then take your work from home game to Costa Rica. Special offers here include a double room for $50-$75 per night (with free breakfast if you do five minutes of beach cleanup) along with monthly stays.
You Canceled the Wedding and Upgraded the Honeymoon
Château de Versailles Le Grand Contrôle
The hotel was built within the compound of Versailles, and guests get special, private access to the grounds for crowd-free morning and evening tours. Team Alain Ducasse prepares the sumptuous meals; the furniture is authentic to the period. Ever dreamed of living like royalty? Your dreams have come true.
You Need Break After Working From Home Without a Real Desk for 18 Months
Paradero Todos Santos
Escape to this farmland sanctuary for indoor-outdoor living an hour north of Cabo, Mexico, and get to know the community through the hotel's curated experiences and distinct local ecosystems. Read more about it on Fathom.
You Are Nostalgic For a Past You're Too Young to Miss
Yonder Escalante
The stylish new camp in Utah has sleek A-frame cabins, shiny Airstreams, and a drive-in theater with classic cars guests can hop in for movie-watching under the stars. Read more about it on Fathom.
You Perfected the Land Picnic and Now Want a Boat Picnic
Brenton Hotel
This smart-looking home base on the Newport waterfront has direct access to a private, 36-foot Hinckley Picnic Boat for your breezy breakfasts, salt-air lunches, and sunset aperitifs.
You Never Did a Junior Year Abroad and Want That Paris Experience
Cheval Blanc Paris
Part of the classic La Samaritaine department store has been transformed into a sumptuous new hotel overlooking the Pont Neuf. From the pool, you feel like you're swimming in the Seine. From the chic rooftop restaurants, you'll feel like you have the best seat in town (because you do). No college kid ever had it so good.
You Want Europe, But the Sustainable Version
LJs Raxtó
How about a luxurious Mallorca refuge with its sights set on being the greenest hotel in the Mediterranean?
It's Your 30th Birthday and You Want Everyone to Know
The Goodtime Hotel
You will not be able to stop taking all the Instagram-perfect photos at this über-cute Miami design hotel. It's good enough for co-owner Pharrell, not to mention people of "all interests, genders, backgrounds, beliefs, and abilities," (as per the hotel's accessibility statement), then it's literally good enough for anyone.
It's Your Milestone Birthday and You Don't Want Everyone to Know
Hotel Castello di Reschio
No matter how old you feel, you've got nothing on this 1,000-year-old castle between Umbria and Tuscany. (If only we could all age this well.) Get a gang together to stay in a few of the meticulously restored farmhouses on the massive estate. Ride horseback, swim in the lake, pick wildflowers in the meadows, and feast like you can only do in the gorgeous Italian countryside.
You Crave High-Flying Drama
Columns
The iconic manse on St. Charles Avenue in New Orleans has been totally refurbished and (gorgeously, sumptuously, colorfully) refreshed in the hands of a new owner — though the old spirits can still be felt around the place.
You Had a Pandemic Baby But Can Now Drink Wine
Montage Healdsburg
The new Sonoma resort located amid 250+ acres of vineyards and groves is a stunner, and you get the feeling that no expense has been spared. If you don't want to leave the compound, the wine list is world-class, with many bottles from Aperture Cellars, the renown winery next door. If you're ready to move, they can arrange exclusive tastings at the prestigious nearby wineries. Read more on Fathom about Napa 2.0.
You Have No Prospects of Working So Might as Well Take a Road Trip
Hotel Valley Ho
Call it a sabbatical or an uninterrupted escape to dream up your next venture, the desert hideaway in Arizona that used to welcome Bing Crosby and Zsa Zsa Gabor has the perfect mix of vintage charm and luxury with some of the best dining, shopping, and entertainment in town. Who says you can't become an entrepreneur poolside?
You Want to Plan an Office Retreat That Feels Like a Treat
Hutton Brickyards
The sprawling campus in cool Kingston, New York, has an archery range and croquet lawn, an apiary and vegetable garden, and fire pits, bicycles, and saunas for mixing, mingling, relaxing — and reviving company morale.
You Need to Shed a Few Pandemic Pounds
The Ranch
A week-long retreat in Malibu will do the trick. A "work for your wellness" destination where each day seamlessly flows from four-hour ocean-view hike to yoga session, from cold plunge to IV therapy, and from plant-based meal to the ultimate reward: a daily deep-tissue massages in your own personal healing cottage.
You Want to Test New Peloton Skills on the Pavement
Hotel Jerome
There's more to Aspen than skiing. Strap in for a ten-mile thigh burner through the high alpine passes of Maroon Creek Road to be rewarded with views of the crystal-clear Maroon Lake and most photographed mountain peaks in America. Reward yourself with an ice-cold martini in the hotel's historic J Bar.
You're Afraid You'll Never Get to That Bucket List Destination
The Arctic
If Antarctica isn't in the cards, the Canadian Arctic will be a nice substitute. Arctic Kingdom leads socially responsible group and private trips as short as long weekends — with Northern Lights, polar bears, narwhals, scuba dives, ice floes, and the whole snowy shebang.
You Never Want to Use a Zoom Video Again
Ser Casasandra
Find refuge from your computer screen and indulge in island life on Holbox Island, Mexico, where car-free sandy roads lead the way to a beautiful inn (the former home of owner Sandra Pérez) on a sun-drenched beach and your OOTO message will apologize for your late reply because you're busy swimming with whale sharks, creating with the artists in residence, and bonding with wild flamingos.
You Don't Believe in "Science" and Have Proof That Covid Is a Hoax
Please do us all a favor and stay home.
How About Some More Hotel Inspiration?
Just look at all the gorgeous places that have opened since (and despite) the pandemic!
Thinking About Getting an Expert to Plan Your Trip?
You're not alone. This is The Year the DIY Traveler Asked for Help.
Need More Reasons to Travel? We Have a Book Full of Them
Buy our new book, Travel North America (And Avoid Being a Tourist), from your preferred local bookseller or online from Amazon.com or Bookshop.org. If you like what you see, please leave us a review — it really makes a difference (and we will be so grateful).