The Mayflower Grace
Photo Courtesy of The Mayflower Grace
Yes, we know summer seems all too short, but fall is a great time for a weekend escape, too. To illustrate just that, we’ve selected 17 destinations from coast to coast where you can get away this autumn.
New York City
Manhattan’s cultural season kicks into high gear in autumn. Smyth – a Thompson Hotel is cool, midcentury-modern lodging in Tribeca where you can lounge before or after the show. (After all, the new Matthew Broderick-starred Sylvia is performing just 15 minutes away at Cort Theatre.) Take your curtain call at the Evening Bar with cocktails like The Seinfeld, which blends rye, schnapps, cucumber and crème fraîche.
Hamilton-Turner Inn, Photo Courtesy of Hamilton-Turner Inn
Savannah
The downtown area of this genteel Georgia city is one the largest National Historic Landmark districts in the United States. And what better place for a historic getaway than the stately Hamilton-Turner Inn, an 1873 mansion made famous in the book Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil? But John Berendt fans aren’t the only ones who’ll appreciate their time here. With packages aimed at girlfriends (high tea, champagne, Owens Thomas House tour) and couples (roses, $80 dinner credit, horse-drawn carriage ride), all guests will love their time at the property.
Salt Lake City
The city’s bounty of outdoor beauty makes it a prime place for exploring. Roam in spots like Wasatch National Forest, Emigration Canyon and Ashley National Forest (which has a lovely 91-mile lake). Then after a day of hiking or biking, settle into The Grand America Hotel, where you can rest your weary muscles in the Carrera marble bathroom’s deep-soaking tub and then relax on your balcony and admire the surrounding peaks.
Telluride
When the aspens turn golden, plan to get outdoors in this Colorado ski town. Book a stay at the Four-Star Madeline Hotel and Residences, where hiking and cycling trails lead directly from the property. When you get back, feast your eyes on all of the property’s new offerings, which include the just-opened game paradise, Club Room, the all-new beauty parlor, Salon, and the second western location of Dylan’s Candy Bar.
Palm Beach
Whether you’re in need of retail therapy or a weekend at the beach, any time is a good time to stay at The Colony Hotel, an Art Deco landmark that has hosted celebrities from the Duke and Duchess of Windsor to John Lennon and Yoko Ono. Come at just the right time in October (swing maestros Jim Caruso and Billy Stritch, Oct. 30-31) and November (jazz vocalist Nicole Henry, Nov. 13-14, Nov. 20-21) and watch the hotel’s Royal Room Cabaret light up.
Solage Calistoga’s Solbar, Photo Courtesy of Solage Calistoga
Napa
When you’re planning an autumn wine tour, base yourself at the trendy Solage Calistoga, a property that underwent a cool, contemporary renovation at the beginning of 2015 that only made Solbar Restaurant and Lounge an even hotter address for locals. Schedule some “you” time at the revamped Spa Solage, where you can soak in the resort’s own mineral spring.
Cape Cod
In the fall, the crush of summer tourists has left Cape Cod, making it a perfect time for a seaside getaway. At The Mansion at Ocean Edge Resort & Golf Club, an elegant Victorian-style property in Brewster, you’ve got a private beach to stroll by day and the elegant Ocean Terrance restaurant, overlooking the bay, for your evening meal.
Western Connecticut
Leaf-peepers love western Connecticut for its annual fall-color show, particularly when they stay at intimate The Mayflower Grace, a plush country inn set on 58 acres in Litchfield County, just two hours from New York. As Instagram-worthy as the property is, it makes sense that it would offer a promotion like The Return of the Analogue Era. Stay in select suites through early December and you’ll find a refurbished Polaroid 600 camera and a pack of film in your room, making capturing all of the foliage fabulousness that much easier.
San Francisco
The City by the Bay shakes off its summer fog when autumn arrives. Enjoy the sunny California days from the glamorous, Old World-feeling Omni San Francisco Hotel, where you can not only get lost in the arms of the one you love with the goodie-filled Bubbles and Blossoms package, but you can literally get lost in the city, too, by hopping on the cable car just outside the hotel’s front door.
Santa Barbara
Escape to the beach at the Forbes Travel Guide Recommended Harbor View Inn, where the Spanish-style guest rooms offer sunny patios and ocean views. If you’d rather not get any sand between your toes, bask in the seaside scene from the outdoor pool and sun deck.
Vail Mountain Lodge, Photo Courtesy of Vail Mountain Lodge
Vail
Why else would you visit a ski resort before the snow falls? For a fitness-focused holiday at the Forbes Travel Guide Recommended Vail Mountain Lodge, that’s why. The resort has the well-equipped Vail Vitality Center, which offers yoga, holistic medial consultations, a climbing wall and much more. After a busy morning exerting your muscles, make the short walk to the full-service spa for exotic services like the green tea and ginger sea enzyme body wrap.
Covington, Georgia
Travel back in time — but venture only 30 minutes from Atlanta — at the Twelve Oaks Bed & Breakfast, an eight-room, antebellum-style manor that Margaret Mitchell was so smitten with that it became the inspiration for Ashley Wilkes’ house in the classic Gone With The Wind. Who knows? After a stroll around the beautiful grounds or Covington’s other historic buildings, restaurants and shops, something might spark the next great novel inside of you.
Park City
Come to this relaxed cowboy-chic town in the autumn for almost endless outdoor activities. You can partake in hiking, mountain biking, fishing and golfing. Right next to the 6,256-yard, par-70 Canyons Golf Course sits Four-Star Waldorf Astoria Park City, a rustic retreat with an inviting pool that’s heated year round and a Four-Star spa, where you can indulge in a four-handed massage.
Chicago
Attention, music lovers: Head to the Windy City from September 11 through 22 for the 17th annual World Music Festival Chicago, an event featuring performers from around the globe. After you catch some shows, escape the fray by making Four-Star Hotel Arista your base. Just 30 minutes from the Magnificent Mile, the Naperville hotel features a restaurant with Spanish touches (SugarToad) and the Four-Star Arista Spa & Salon with Mediterranean-influenced treatments. Tip: Soak up fall by strolling along the quaint town’s scenic 1.75-mile Riverwalk.
Boston
Crisp days, brilliantly hued leaves and a full cultural calendar greet fall visitors to New England’s largest city. Book a room at the Forbes Travel Guide Recommended Seaport Hotel & World Trade Center in the busy Seaport District (home to the Institute of Contemporary Art) for harbor views and easy access to the Spirit of Boston cruise line, too.
Kayaking Near The Ritz-Carlton Orlando, Grande Lakes, Photo Courtesy of The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company LLC
Orlando
When it’s time for the kids to go back to school, this Disney destination offers more grown-up entertainment, particularly when you stay at Four-Star The Ritz-Carlton Orlando, Grande Lakes, where the thorough list of activities includes sand volleyball, bocce, tubing down a lazy river pool, kayaking and golf. Don’t tell the kids, but if you score the Walt Disney World Theme Park package, you’ll get two adult passes to one of Mickey’s attractions and an overnight stay in a standard deluxe room.
Boise
If you like to combine outdoor activities with city comforts, plan a fall escape to Idaho’s largest metropolis. Stroll the 25-mile Boise River Greenbelt Trail or hike into the foothills above town, all before coming to rest at the Forbes Travel Guide Recommended The Grove Hotel downtown.