Planning a vacation for the week between Christmas and New Years can feel anything but festive. Hotel and rental rates are generally at their peak, many properties require weeklong or 10-night minimums and rooms book up fast. But below are 15 great hotels in enticing destinations that — at press time — still have openings for at least a few days between Dec. 21 and Jan. 1 and, while minimum stays vary widely during that period, many of the places included here don’t insist on more than a two- or three-night stay. (The rates listed below are for Christmas week.) Better still, use this list as inspiration for a getaway in January, February or early spring and enjoy the perks of shoulder season: lower prices and fewer tourists.
Mendoza, Argentina
For people who travel mainly to eat
In the 1980s, when Maita Barrenechea first opened her Buenos Aires-based travel agency Mai 10, the wineries in Mendoza — the central-western province in the foothills of the Andes where the vast majority of Argentina’s vineyards are situated — were mostly closed to the public. But gradually wine tourism took hold, with Barrenechea’s help, and today, more than 200 of Mendoza’s 900 wineries welcome visitors. “About a third of those now have restaurants and many have stunningly modern architecture,” she says. The region is also flush with good hotels such as the Vines Resort & Spa in the scenic Uco Valley, home to Siete Fuegos, chef Francis Mallmann’s decadent barbecue spot (from about $1,090 a night). Just up the road is the family-owned Casa de Uco, another vineyard hotel, this one with a vegetable garden that supplies the kitchen (from about $750 a night). Closer to the city of Mendoza, Finca Adalgisa, a charming century-old farmhouse in the town of Chacras de Coria, offers a small pool, an evening wine and tapas menu and cooking classes (rates from about $450 a night).
Marrakesh, Morocco
For anyone in need of warmth and adventure
December tends to be mild in Marrakesh, making it perfect for wandering the souks and gardens and lingering over bowls of tagine. Come nightfall, says Michele Reeves, the director of the travel agency Plan-It Morocco, the city slips into exuberant holiday mode, with live music and parties all over town. Accommodations range from grand hotels with sprawling grounds to tiny riads within the old walled city where meals are served on candlelit rooftops. In the first camp, La Mamounia, a perennially glamorous 1920s landmark, and King Mohammed VI’s Royal Mansour, are among the grandest of all (from about $850 a night for La Mamounia, from about $2,700 for Royal Mansour). Among the most delightful new riads in the Medina are Rosemary, a sunny dream world conjured up by the Belgian designer Laurence Leenaert (from about $315 a night), and IZZA, an art-filled complex inspired by the American architect and decorator Bill Willis, a longtime Moroccan expat(from about $280 a night).
Alesund, Norway
For nature and Christmas enthusiasts
The coastal city of Alesund is one of Norway’s prettiest towns, especially when it’s dusted with snow and decorated for the holidays. “It’s not Christmas mania, like it is in Finnish Lapland. It’s more natural,” says Torunn Tronsvang, the founder of the Oslo-based travel company Up Norway. The small hotel group 62 Nord owns a handful of appealing properties in and around Ålesund, including Brosundet, a warehouse turned 131-room hotel with two restaurants and one guest room in a nearby lighthouse (from about $200 a night). About 20 miles outside of town, Storfjord Hotel is a cluster of timber lodges set above a fjord. “The junior suites all have fireplaces. You get out of bed, light the fire, make a coffee and then get back in bed and watch the snow fall,” says Tronsvang. (From about $545 a night). Equally picturesque is Union Oye, on a remote fjord south of Alesund best reached by boat. A pristine half-timbered pile dating to 1891, it’s one of the most luxurious places to stay in the region, if not the country (from about $325 a night).
Todos Santos, Mexico
For sun-seekers who want a quiet New Year’s Eve
Over the past 15 years or so, Todos Santos went from a quaint rural town with a low-key surfer scene to a full-fledged destination with enough hotels to increasingly lure tourists away from Los Cabos, 50 miles south on the Baja California peninsula. But, says Zachary Rabinor, the founder of the outfitter Journey Mexico, “that old Baja ranching culture still shines through.” Even during the winter holidays, places shut down by 10 p.m. “You won’t find the clubs of Cabo here,” he says. You will find plenty of places to go hiking, biking and horseback riding, as well as surfing (the best swimming beaches are closer to La Paz, about a 90-minute drive away) — and hotels with views of either the sea or the desert or both. At Villa Santa Cruz, a few miles north of town, you can book a villa with a rooftop hot tub or a glamping-style tent facing the ocean (from about $525 a night). Down the coast, Hotel San Cristobal’s vivid mix of colors and patterns gives all 32 rooms, the restaurants and the beach bar a dose of 1960s glamour (from about $1,000 a night).
The Dolomites, Italy
For skiers who like long lunches
Home to the largest ski network in Europe, with 12 interconnected resorts and roughly 750 miles of groomed trails, the Dolomite mountain range offers spectacular scenery and a more ebullient crowd than you might find in the neighboring Alps. In December, when several towns host Christmas markets, many hotels require at least a five-night stay. For Agustina Lagos Mármol, the founder of the tour operator Dolomites Mountains, there’s no more inviting place to hole up with your family than Gardena Grödnerhof in Val Gardena, where 10 of the 64 guest rooms are two-bedroom suites (from $1,460 a night). For those traveling without young children, she also recommends the 62-room Forestis, about a half-hour drive above the town of Brixen (Bressanone in Italian) (from about $1,190 a night). And then there’s La Majun, a ski-in, ski-out hotel in Alta Badia with just 38 rooms and a focus on Alpine cooking (from about $540 a night). Come January, when hotels drop their minimum requirements, Lagos Mármol can book ski safaris during which you spend a night or two in different mountain refugios along with a guide. The guide is key, says Lagos Mármol, “so you don’t get lost.”
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