Honeymoon in the U.S.A.
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(Photo: Arturo Polo Ena) |
Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska
To really embrace the 49th state’s off-the-grid possibilities, book one of only five luxuriously cozy cabins overlooking the Chitina River at the Ultima Thule Lodge (all-inclusive packages start at $7,800 for four-night stays; ultimathulelodge.com). The lodge is 100 miles from a paved road, and 450 miles from Anchorage, set in Wrangell-St. Elias, the largest national park in North America, itself a UNESCO “world heritage” site. You’ll get to see exactly why on the daily safari adventures customized for each guest: One day you could be tracking grizzly bears and trout fishing, on another trekking through a boreal rain forest, then picnicking on the Bagley Ice Field, a massive glacier. Unwind in the wood-fired hot tub, eat very local (wild salmon, bison, Dall sheep, and vegetables, which are all grown on-site), then sink into your featherbed.
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(Photo: Peter Vitale) |
Lanai, Hawaii
This tiny Hawaiian island doesn’t have the tourist traps or honeymooning masses of Maui and Oahu. There’s also vastly different terrain (more arid, less lush), not to mention a population that hovers around a mere 3,000. Lanai’s simplicity (paved roads are few and traffic lights are nonexistent) makes it that much more enticing, especially for billionaire Larry Ellison, who bought 97 percent of the island in 2012 with the intention of reviving the faltering economy. His first order of business has been updating the handful of resorts. Check into the Four Seasons Resort Lanai at Manele Bay (from $1,000; fourseasons.com), which has a Nobu on-site and a prime spot on a bluff overlooking Hulopoe Bay, where you can keep an eye out for splashing dolphins. Beyond the walls of the hotel, don’t miss the Garden of the Gods, a moonlike expanse of rock formations; the five-mile hike along Koloiki Ridge; and Sweetheart Rock, a storied landmark so named for the legend of doomed Maui princess Puu Pehe, who is believed to have drowned there.
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(Photo: Ingalls Photo) |
Tivoli, New York
When artists and Hudson Valley residents Brice and Helen Marden noticed that local hotel Madalin had shut down two years ago, they scooped it up and completely refashioned it into the Hotel Tivoli (from $210; hoteltivoli.org). Light-filled, and with bright design touches at every turn (colorful Beni Ourain rugs and bed frames painted in glossy primary hues), the ten-room property has a Francesco Clemente here, a Robert Rauschenberg over there, and, naturally, a few Mardens too. Spend your days on local art crawls: The Omi International Arts Center and Bard College are nearby, while Dia:Beacon and Storm King are just an hour away. Dealer Jack Shainman turned a former high school in Kinderhook into a mini-museum to show off his latest acquisitions; New York art-worlders are behind Retrospective, a gallery on Hudson’s main drag; onetime Hole bassist Melissa Auf der Maur is the owner of the stunning arts-and-entertainment venue Basilica Hudson; and, nearby, Marina Abramovic will soon open her institute, a sprawling center devoted to “immaterial and long durational works.” Come dinnertime, try to score a table (make a reservation two to three weeks in advance) at chef Zakary Pelaccio’s upstate enclave Fish & Game, or head home for dinner at Hotel Tivoli’s 100-seat Corner restaurant; its local-ingredient-sourced menu of dishes like a roasted duck for two (procured from nearby John Fazio Farms) or a Hudson Valley foie gras with pickled fruits and oats is a lure for guests and locals alike.
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(Photo: Courtesy of the vendor) |
Sedona, Arizona
If you want to spend your honeymoon covered in a mud mask, head to Arizona, home to the country’s most impressive holistic-minded destination spas including Miraval, the Sanctuary Camelback Mountain Resort, the Ritz-Carlton Dove Mountain and, perhaps the prettiest among them, the Mii Amo, ensconced in the red rocks of Boynton Canyon. Guests can stay at the Enchantment Resort, which is off-site (from $450; enchantmentresort.com), and enjoy the spa offerings, or check into one of 16 plush casitas on-site (from $2,520 per person for three nights; miiamo.com). Sign up for workshops in meditation, take a Juicing 101 class, revel in the great outdoors with woga (power-walking plus yoga), and try the latest treatment on the menu, Hozhooji, a massage using mineral-rich clay and traditional Native American healing rituals. The surrounding area can feel as much like a retreat as the spa. Drive to the Hike House on Highway 179 and walk the Cathedral Rock Trail; meditate at Bell Rock; and take in the scenery from up above with a sunset chopper ride around the valley (book through azheli.com).
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(Photo: Carmel Brantley) |
Key West, Florida
Forget your visions of retirees and spring-breakers, and turn your attention to Key West’s new wave of hotels like the Marker (from $279; themarkerkeywest.com), with its picturesque waterfront location, nautical design touches, and an inviting pool area skirted by lush landscaping. The Gates (from $249; gateshotelkeywest.com), opening this April, will feel more like the house of a friend with great taste (Turkish towels, wide-plank whitewashed wood floors, and leather club chairs), and will feature an on-site food truck and cigar-rolling classes. As for exploring, drop by the onetime home of Ernest Hemingway, Key West’s most famous former resident. He landed in Key West in 1928 by accident and spent many of his subsequent years there writing from a studio in a Spanish Colonial villa on Whitehead Street. A museum and National Historical Landmark, it is reportedly now home to more than 40 roaming cats. Afterward, stop at the nearby Audubon House, a 19th-century sea-captain’s dwelling with a vast collection of naturalist John James Audubon’s works; compare the Key-lime pies at Blue Heaven and Pepe’s; marvel at the dense plant life on a walk through the Key West Garden Club; take a tour (it includes a tasting) of the Key West First Legal Rum Distillery; and sample cocktails of the newfangled (the Other Side) and long-established (Green Parrot or onetime Hemingway haunt Sloppy Joe’s) variety.