Anytime is the perfect time to start planning a winter vacation. That way, as soon as there’s a chill in the air, you’ll feel at peace knowing your warm-weather escape is already set in stone. Let us help you narrow down the options with this preview of brand-new hotels for this winter season.
KIMPTON SEAFIRE RESORT + SPA, Grand Cayman Islands: Opening the week before Thanksgiving on Cayman Island’s dreamy Seven Mile Beach, Kimpton’s first resort in the Caribbean will have 266 guest rooms and suites, each with private balconies overlooking the clear waters and white sandy beach. The full-service spa will include a hammam (Turkish spa), another first for Grand Cayman, while guests can choose from three distinct restaurants and bars as well as partake in a daily complimentary wine hour, a Kimpton signature. Rates for November start around $339 a night but nearly triple around New Year’s. Be sure to book the hotel’s grand opening offer which includes $100 in dining credits and another $100 in spa credits.
EL DORADO MAROMA, Riviera Maya, Mexico: Put this one at the top of your romantic escape wish list. The only overwater bungalows in Mexico just opened at this adults-only resort on Riviera Maya’s popular Maroma Beach. The Palafitos, as they are called, have glass-bottom floors, private infinity pools, an indoor spa tub for two, a direct ladder dropping into the ocean and super-romantic “Aguas del Amor” outdoor showers. Guests will also have the services of a butler during their stay. An overwater restaurant and bar and overwater spa will ensure you may never have to actually go in the water to enjoy it. This kind of indulgence doesn't come cheap: It costs $950 a night, firmly in honeymoon territory.
El Dorado Maroma
NEKUPE SPORTING RESORT AND RETREAT, Nadaime, Nicaragua: Nekupe is an intimate, mountainside resort with just eight rooms situated on the edge of a 1,300-acre nature reserve. Yet despite its low-key vibe (the town of Granada is 30 minutes away), guests have plenty of activities to choose from, such as hiking, yoga, sport fishing, surfing, bird-watching, cooking, and horseback riding. In fact, every room comes with its own ATV for guests to use during their stay as a way to encourage them to get out and explore.
NEKUPE SPORTING RESORT AND RETREAT, Nadaime, Nicaragua: Nekupe is an intimate, mountainside resort with just eight rooms situated on the edge of a 1,300-acre nature reserve. Yet despite its low-key vibe (the town of Granada is 30 minutes away), guests have plenty of activities to choose from, such as hiking, yoga, sport fishing, surfing, bird-watching, cooking, and horseback riding. In fact, every room comes with its own ATV for guests to use during their stay as a way to encourage them to get out and explore.
PLYMOUTH HOTEL MIAMI: Opening just before the city’s annual Art Basel Festival in December, The Plymouth Hotel will give South Beach visitors another low-key, design-focused alternative to the mega-resorts that line the beach. Each of the 110 rooms and suites in the restored Art Deco building will be individually decorated, the hotel says, according to their “shapes, sizes, and moods.” Guests will be just steps away from the Bass Museum of Art and the Miami City Ballet for quick doses of culture while the beach itself is just a short three blocks away. But guests will have some excitement thanks to Blue Ribbon Sushi Bar & Grill, an NYC-based restaurant which serves all day long. Rates are a reasonable $285 a night the week before Christmas.
W LAS VEGAS: January and February can be a little cool in Las Vegas (the average temperature is about 60 degrees Fahrenheit), but the sun will still shine brilliantly, and at the new W Las Vegas, opening in December within a tower at the SLS Las Vegas property, guests will find lots to do indoors. The 289-room hotel-within-a-hotel will be largely unchanged from its SLS days, except W guests will have a newly redone private entrance and access to the second-floor AWAY Spa. The SLS’s bevvy of restaurants remain, including Bazaar Meat by José Andrés, Katsuya, and Umami Burger, Beer Garden and Sportsbook, as well as its nightclubs. Rates start at $144 a night.
PENDRY SAN DIEGO: Pendry Hotels, a self-described “modern luxury” brand derived from the ultra-luxurious Montage Hotels and Resorts, will open its first property in the always-happening Gaslamp Quarter of San Diego in early January. The 317 rooms and suites feature California cool design touches like toile wallpaper with illustrations of surfers and comfortable chaise lounge chairs, along with high-tech amenities such as 60” flat-screen TVs, free Wi-Fi, and high-end Nixon speakers. The good times will continue throughout the property as Pendry will have a whopping six restaurants and bars including a beer hall, a basement nightclub and Lionfish, a California coastal restaurant from local chef JoJo Ruiz. Rates on opening night start at $282.
Pendry San Diego
ANDAZ RIVIERA MAYAKOBA, Playa del Carmen, Mexico: The newest Andaz from Hyatt Hotels (the company’s bohemian lifestyle brand) will open in December just north of Playa del Carmen along Mexico’s Riviera Maya coastline. All guest rooms and suites feature “breezy” open layouts with local artwork on the walls and a private balcony or terrace overlooking either tropical gardens, the lagoon, or the Caribbean Sea. Upgrade to a suite and get your own plunge pool. Wi-Fi, bottled water, and non-alcoholic minibar drinks and snacks are included in the room rate. Rounding out the resort amenities are three pools, four restaurants and bars, daily yoga and Pilates classes, complimentary stand-up paddleboard lessons, a small spa, and access to a nearby 18-hole golf course designed by Greg Norman. Rates start at $500 a night in December. Warning: There is an added resort fee that is typically 15 percent of the room rate.
AUBERGE DU VIN, Mendoza, Argentina: When the weather drops drastically in January, head to South America where summer temps are just starting to rise. And if you’re in the mood for wine tasting, you’re in luck because the Uco Valley in Mendoza, Argentina (where many of the country’s independent vineyards are located), is getting a new hotel in December. Auberge du Vin, a Tribute Portfolio Hotel (of the newly merged Marriott and Starwood) will have 29 guestrooms overlooking the Andes Mountains. Guests will have access to the Tupungato Winelands, a country club development that includes private vineyards, a polo field, and a golf course. In-room massages, indoor and outdoor pools, and regional dishes from the on-site Epic restaurant are just some of the hotel perks to enjoy. Rates start at $159 a night.
Auberge du Vin, a Tribute Portfolio Resort
MILAIDHOO ISLAND RESORT, Maldives: The coldest month in the Maldives is January, when temperatures “dip” to a balmy 81 degrees, making the far-flung destination a guaranteed spot for perfect vacation weather. The new Milaidhoo Island resort, opening in November, sits on its own island within the Baa Atoll UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve, offering 30 thatched-roof overwater bungalows and 20 beach villas. Snorkeling and diving along the small island’s coral reef will be a main draw. The hotel’s signature dinner restaurant is shaped like a dhoni (a traditional Maldivian sailing boat) yet it’s “anchored” on stilts in the lagoon. On the deck of the restaurant, guests can take in the sunset while inside, glass floors have views of the sea life passing through the water below. Rates in December start around $1,170 a night for an overwater villa—another once-in-a-lifetime pick.
THE FREEHAND, Los Angeles: The Freehand, a modern hostel/hotel concept in Miami and Chicago, will open its third property in Downtown Los Angeles in early winter. (A summer opening didn't happen.) Details are scant on the design for the private and shared guest rooms, but Freehand is known for its stylishly functional and comfortable spaces. Located inside the historic Commercial Exchange Building at 8th and Olive streets, The Freehand will be within walking distance to several of DTLA's hot restaurants and bars. The hotel will also have its own Broken Shaker lounge and a restaurant from popular Portland chef Jenn Louis. Oh, and a rooftop pool which, thanks to L.A.'s lovely weather, will be open year-round.
