‘Hidden Holidays’ Represent A Hidden Gem For Travelers
Thinking about traveling over the upcoming holiday seasons? You might want to plan your travel plans based on the “hidden holidays” in order to take advantage of substantial savings.
According to a recent Forbes Advisor Survey, 23% of travelers are showing interest in off-season travel in light of ongoing inflation. While shoulder seasons have long been favored for their reduced crowds and lower costs, there’s another often overlooked hidden gem in travel—the hidden holidays.
Falling between Thanksgiving and Christmas, the hidden holidays phenomenon describes the time when luxury hotels and resorts are dressed up for the holidays, but offer much lower room rates and have fewer tourists—and there are even more cost-effective flight options compared to the holidays. During the hidden holidays, travelers can take a relaxing getaway when warm weather is desperately needed and get all the joy and beauty of the festive season without having to spend the actual holidays away from home!
For flight comparison, a flight from New York to Barbados between Thanksgiving and Christmas can be as low as $625 compared to upwards of $4,500 around the holidays. Similarly, a holiday flight to Turks and Caicos hovers around $1,000, while a round-trip flight during the hidden holidays can be as low as $295. These savings are enough to make any traveler think twice about when to plan a trip.
The following resorts are among those offering festive experiences for the hidden holidays.
Sea Island, Georgia
Between Thanksgiving and Christmas, Sea Island invites travelers to get a sneak peek of the private island resort’s legendary holiday display, transforming the sprawling southern getaway into a whimsical scene out of a holiday movie with Christmas trees, garland and twinkle lights lining the entrance bridge. The display encompasses all three lodging options—The Cloister, The Lodge and The Beach Club—and includes an imaginative gingerbread house accompanied by daily complimentary cider and cookies in the beautiful Solarium. For guests staying in Cottages, the Sea Island design team can decorate the two to eight-bedroom homes with holiday trimmings and a tree, and even adorn the tree with travelers’ own ornaments. Guests just need to send the ornaments to the resort, and the team will set up the tree and even pack up the ornaments carefully to ensure they arrive home safely before Dec. 25.
Amanyara, Turks and Caicos
Noted as one of the best destinations to spend the actual holidays, visitors will find the hidden holidays in Turks and Caicos to be a delightfully peaceful getaway. Basking on the secluded shores of an 18,000-acre nature reserve, Amanyara’s lush tropical pavilions overlook half a mile of white sand beaches and the turquoise waters of Providenciales’ North West Point Marine National Park. Whether seeking wellness rejuvenation at the award-winning Aman Spa or finding sanctuary among marine life while snorkeling or scuba diving, Amanyara is the perfect destination in which to unwind between the bookended holiday season.
Octant Furnas, Portugal
Octant Furnas is bubbling with the natural beauty of the Azores and is situated on the volcanic origins of São Miguel Island, home to the best natural hot springs in the country. The Furnas Valley holds the highest concentration of healing hot springs in Europe, making it the perfect destination for a relaxing and therapeutic holiday between the holidays.
Each Octant Hotel is a tribute to its location through distinctive design, cultural experiences and offerings with an authentically local emphasis on the hotel experience. Octant Furnas taps into the local environment, a bubbling hot ancient volcano, to heat the hotel’s indoor and outdoor pools. Octant Hotels is a new luxury collection of eight boutique hotels across the Algarve, Alentejo and Azores in Portugal. Each Octant Hotel reflects the regions where they operate and features no restrictions by eradicating formal check-in and out times, allowing guests to enjoy round-the-clock access to the hotel’s facilities, the convenience of all-day breakfast service and more.
Chatham Bars Inn, Cape Cod, MA
Chatham Bars Inn is an iconic historic hideaway on Cape Cod located on its own quarter-mile private beach just a short stroll from the charming town of Chatham. First opened as a luxury hunting lodge for wealthy Bostonians in 1914, today it is a full-service resort with 217 quaint accommodations located in over 30 separate cottage-style buildings spread throughout the Inn’s 25-acre estate. Perfect for a pampering winter getaway, the Inn offers a dozen adult-only Spa Suites, located right above The Spa, designed with luxury, relaxation and pampering in mind. The spacious suites have either one king or two queen size beds and are decked with oversized hydrotherapy tubs, in-room saunas, large glass steam showers and personal fireplaces to create a dreamy and tranquil space for travelers looking to reconnect.
Ocean Hotels Group, Barbados
O2 Beach Club & Spa is an all-inclusive luxury hotel located on the exquisite South Coast of Barbados and offers ample relaxation and recreational amenities, ideal for an extended hidden holiday. The resort boasts three swimming pools, including one of the only rooftop pools on the island. O2 is also home to the new and stunning Acqua spa, offering panoramic ocean views. Guests can experience personalized wellness journeys, and treatments offered in Acqua will utilize seaweed-infused oSea products, to further connect guests to the healing powers of the ocean. Once guests are feeling rejuvenated, there’s no shortage of activities around the resort. Get immersed in traditional Bajan culture with O2’s “how-to” classes featuring engaging topics including how to prepare local recipes and how to play the steel pan drum. Sea Breeze Beach House is an island oasis set on 1,000 feet of white powdery sand in Barbados.
The Somerset on Grace Bay, Turks and Caicos
The Somerset on Grace Bay is home to the widest stretch of private beach at Grace Bay, making it the perfect place to relax between the holidays. The luxury resort is undergoing a refresh this fall in time for the holiday season, inclusive of new design and decor concepts for a more modern, lighter feel. Embrace the feeling of having your own private paradise by lounging by uncrowded pools and spacious retreats from Lawn Townhomes at The Somerset, Stirling Villas and Oceanfront Estates.
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Source: Forbes