9 Luxe Holiday Getaways and Experiences

This is the year to treat yourself and your loved ones to something extra special…we all deserve it! With the holiday season quickly approaching, it’s time to start planning your holiday travel and experiential gifts. We’ve pulled together a list of our nine favorite luxe holiday getaways and experiences. From a private Waikiki experience starting at $45,000, to a Flamingo inspired yoga retreat or go all out and take a couture trip for four that explores the Amazon, Columbia, Papua New Guinea, Borneo, Madagascar, and Rwanda starting at $210,000. Whatever your pleasure, we’re sure you’ll enjoy at least one of these gift ideas…if not more!

Inns of Aurora 

Gift loved ones with mind, body and physical healing with the Gift of Wellness private experience at the Inns of Aurora, a lakeside luxury boutique resort in the Finger Lakes. Available with a private buyout of Zabriskie House, guests spend four days with Laura Coburn, Director of Serenity and a certified Ayurveda Health counselor, who provides personalized culinary and wellness tips based on each guest’s dosha. The itinerary also includes private Ayurveda consultations, group mocktail making classes at Aurora Cooks! Demonstration Kitchen, candlelight yoga, fitness consultations with a personal coach, massage therapy, guided nature basking sessions with intermittent meditations, and take-home wellness kits. The Gift of Wellness is a meaningful and mindful gift as it affords loved ones time to re-center themselves from the day-to-day craziness.  

Pricing starts at $3,500. 

ESPACIO, The Jewel of Waikiki 

Give the gift of privacy in paradise with the full buyout of Honolulu’s most exclusive oceanfront enclave while supporting a domestic destination greatly in need of a boost in tourism. Each globally designed suite at the 9-floor, 9-suite boutique luxury hotel occupies a private floor with personal elevator entry, jacuzzi-clad balcony with panoramic ocean views, dry sauna and designer kitchen. The buyout includes a private holiday dinner at the hotel’s rooftop infinity pool (example menu items include Kona lobster and Sasanian osetra caviar); exclusive access to The Honolulu Museum of Art and Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum where guests can attend private exhibit previews; and personal access to ESPACIO’s fleet of luxury vehicles. Full-floor suites may be outfitted from top to bottom in high-touch holiday décor upon request. 

Pricing starts at $45,000. 

Grand Hyatt Baha Mar 

Gift the yogi in your life a unique opportunity to perfect their flamingo pose – alongside actual flamingos – with  Grand Hyatt Baha Mar’s flamingo yoga class. The luxury resort is home to Flamingo Cay, where flamingo flock Baha, Indy, Luca & Lenny spread their wings alongside guests delivering an extra dose of positive vibes and inspiration as attendees perfect their practice and seek inner Zen ($40). For added solitude, book a poolside villa in The Reserve, a resort-within-a-resort concept only accessible via a private entrance and elevator, featuring a collection of spacious multi-bedroom luxury suites with full kitchens, balconies with unobstructed ocean views, and 24-hour-butler service. 

Pricing starts at $1,500/night. 

Buffalo Trace Distillery in Lexington, Kentucky 

Gift a loved one with a trip to Lexington, Kentucky - home to 14 of the state’s largest bourbon distilleries – for a private experience to create an individually selected small-batch barrel of bourbon at Buffalo Trace Distillery. Receive a hands-on training on how to “nose,” taste and select your very own barrel of bourbon based on aromas and flavors fits your preference best. Once a barrel is selected, the Buffalo Trace Distillery team hand bottles the bourbon in its entirety, affixing a personalized medallion to each bottle. Afterwards, receive lunch, a VIP tour and chance to meet the distillers. Book a stay at The Campbell House, the oldest hotel in Lexington that recently underwent a multi-million-dollar renovation complete with spacious, equestrian-themed guestrooms and direct access to the new Rackhouse Tavern, featuring a selection of over 300 bourbons and locally-sourced Kentucky fare. 

Pricing starts at $5,500. 

VistaJet 

Providing life-changing trips for every type of traveler, VistaJet, the first and only global private aviation company, has unveiled its newest bucket-list experience that takes travelers on a journey to live their very own “jungle book” adventure. In partnership with Pelorous, a leading experiential travel and adventure company, travelers will make their way through the Amazon, Columbia, Papua New Guinea, Borneo, Madagascar, and Rwanda— creating their own story as they delve into each paradise and immerse themselves into the local conservation projects. Travelers will embark safely on board one of VistaJet’s fleet of over 70 global aircraft and be transported into the extraordinary ecosystem of the Amazon, the world’s largest jungle home to an abundance of exotic flora and fauna. From exploring the Tayrona National Park where the Andes mountains peak and yachting through WWII wrecks in Papua New Guinea to experiencing the Kinabatangan Orangutan Conversation Program, this trip of a lifetime is truly unforgettable. 

Pricing starts at $210,000, for up to 4 people. This experience does not include VistaJet flights or variable yacht charter fees (for PNG and Madagascar). 

Hotel Metropole Monte-Carlo 

Taking a page from the movie, Hotel Metropole Monte-Carlo offers guests a night at the museum with after-hours access to the Oceanographic Museum of Monaco — including a torch-lit tour of the museums cavernous halls followed by a private cocktail hour of canapes and champagne, catered by Hotel Metropole Monte-Carlo’s Michelin-starred culinary team. Currently, this experience cannot be found anywhere else in Monaco!  

Pricing available upon request.  

lebua Hotels & Resorts  

Gift the food lover in your life the ultimate in immersive culinary experiences this year by booking a trip to the world’s first vertical destination and international culinary and cocktail hub, the Dome at lebua.  Boasting over ten of the world’s highest and most glamorous bars and restaurants and sitting 820 feet above Bangkok’s skyline, lebua is an all-in-one culinary destination where travelers can drink under the stars at one of the highest open-air bars, Sky Bar , sip lebua exclusive champagne blends at the recently opened millennial-pink themed hotspot with 1950s flare, Pink Bar, and dine at one of Thailand’s only two-Michelin star restaurants,  Mezzaluna, or experience the unparalleled theatrical dining experience at Chef’s Table, where cooking is presented like fine art. 

Pricing available upon request.

Curaçao Marriott Beach Resort 

The ideal small gift that gives back. The hotel has partnered with local entrepreneurs Mitchell Lammering and Debrah Nijdam who use recycled plastic, that is found around the island of Curaçao, to create custom coasters for the property. Each coaster has a turtle embedded into the design to showcase the animals that are being saved. Working with these local artist also decreases the pollution of transporting of the coasters to the hotel and assist in the decreasing plastic problem of Curacao. 

Coasters are available for purchase prices range from $20 – $40.

Visit Horse Country in Lexington, KY

Gift the equestrian-lover in your life with a once-in-a-lifetime experience in Lexington, Kentucky – the “Horse Capital of the World” with more than 400 horse farms. Courtesy of Visit Horse Country, spend a full day of dedicated one-on-one time with leading members of the industry and learn the ins-and-outs of training and grooming championship thoroughbreds (as well as what happens once they retire) at a variety of historic horse farms including: Claiborne, 110-year-old farm twice visited by Queen Elizabeth II and home to Secretariat; New Vocations, the nation’s oldest and largest racehorse adoption program placing 7,000+ retired racehorses into new loving homes; or Hagyard Equine Medical Institute, the forefront of equine medicine since 1876. This experience is not available anywhere else. End the day with a private trackside dinner at historic Keeneland Racecourse, prepared by Executive Chef Mark Therrien. Enjoy elevated takes on southern comfort classics, including wood fired grilled peaches, bourbon soy soaked deviled eggs and Maker’s Mark bread pudding.  

Price available upon request.

Which of these destinations or experiences is your favorite? Share your comments below!