What do you enjoy most in a winter holiday?
Discovering the atmosphere and authenticity of a new destination?
Or getting super comfortable in an opulent hotel, indulging your personal whims and feeling totally pampered?
We enjoy both. We love how Rosewood hotels find this delicate balance between showcasing a destination’s soul and making a winter holiday incredibly comfortable.
You start discovering a destination at hotel check in. And yet these hotels are also very cosy, familiar and reassuring.
Each Rosewood hotel can be a destination in itself, but each is also the starting point for longer adventures.
In this season’s first winter travel inspiration we explore how Rosewood can start an adventure in New York, Luang Prabang and Mayakoba.
New York City
New York City during the festive season. Buzzing sidewalks, flashing lights, long parties and a sense of celebration in the air.
Yes it’s busy, it’s crowded, it’s chaotic at times. But it’s so beautiful during the festive chill and such fun over the festive season. This is when New Yorkers come out to play too.
New York is almost unparalleled for things to do on a winter trip too. Consider:
- Making your own personal handbag with Anthony Luciano at his 13th-floor Sip & Stitch leather workshop.
- Art. There’s nowhere rivalling New York for galleries and exhibitions. MoMA has new collections and The American Wing celebrates its 100th anniversary this winter, with a reinstallation at The Met.
- Afternoon tea on a rainy day, close to Central Park. All the best hotels have a good option, but also consider somewhere like Tiffany’s Blue Box Cafe, where Michelin-starred chef Daniel Boulud makes the sandwiches.
- Searching for the world’s best Christmas decorations. Like the Christmas tree in the Rockefeller Centre topped with an enormous Swarovski star, that looks towards the Saks Fifth Avenue light show.
An Iconic New York Hotel Stay at The Carlyle
An iconic art deco tower in the Upper East Side, a go-to hotel for royalty and celebrities since 1930.
The Carlyle, A Rosewood Hotel, is vintage New York and its location on Madison Avenue and 76th is pretty unbeatable. It’s around the corner from Central Park and the Met, in a very chic part of the city, close enough to classic sights yet not in the centre of the festive visitor rush.
New York-based tonychi studio led a huge transformation of the hotel between 2018 to 2021. They reimagined all the guest rooms, helped to add a new spa by Valmont and a new signature restaurant, Dowling’s.
The Carlyle looks and feels like a new property. And yet it’s very much part of the history of luxury travel to New York.
It’s one of few city properties that also finds a balance between couples and families. The vibe suggested a sophisticated stay for two, but then there’s the on-site babysitting and activities for kids in the Explorers program.
New York + A Winter USA Adventure
New York also offers great flight connections to destinations all across the USA.
We like the idea of combining New York with the warmth of wilderness destinations in the south, for example Amangiri in the Utah desert not far from Las Vegas.
Luang Prabang in Laos
Luang Prabang is one of Asia’s most seductive and exotic cities. A completely walkable royal city dominated by temples and a very spiritual atmosphere.
It’s so interesting architecturally and artistically. And it’s a real counterpoint to the big and crowded cities Asia is better known for. Luang Prabang feels like you’ve stepped back in time, to a Buddhist stronghold of a distant century.
This is a city where you could easily spend a relaxing week, enjoying the calm atmosphere and reconnecting with yourself. We recommend:
- A cruise on the Mekong River. Rosewood Luang Prabang has a sublime riverboat, decorated with handwoven textiles.
- Observing monks receiving alms at dawn is the most famous Luang Prabang experience. Combine it with an evening at a temple, witnessing and joining monks in their chanting and meditation.
- Join an expert Buddhist guide in discovering some of the 50 Buddhist temples that make Luang Prabang a World Heritage Site.
Rosewood Luang Prabang
A reincarnation of an old hilltop station, where village meets jungle, Rosewood Luang Prabang couldn’t look more different to New York’s Upper East Side.
The legendary Bill Bensley did the design, paying homage to yesteryear French Indochina and the region’s Buddhist heritage.
There are only 23 suites and villas on the riverbank, all with a contemporary meets vintage look and feel. We particularly like the Waterfall Pool Villas.
Like Luang Prabang, this is a very serene place for contemplation, relaxation, and time for yourself. The Carlyle is a hotel to be seen, Rosewood Luang Prabang is a hotel for not seeing anybody.
The Laotian therapies in the Sense Spa come highly recommended and we really like how everything at the hotel feels very local.
Luang Prabang + A Winter Adventure in Southeast Asia
A big part of Luang Prabang’s appeal is its inaccessibility. This is not the town everyone tramples through on their trip to Southeast Asia. Yet there are enough flight connections for a two or three-stop holiday.
Fly to Siem Reap to explore Angkor Wat – read travel designer Matous Grund’s recent trip report from Cambodia.
Fly to Hanoi and explore the north of Vietnam, possibly extending to one of our favourite hidden gems, the beach resort of Zannier Bai San Ho.
The connections to Bangkok are very convenient and provide great possibilities for onward travel, especially if you have two or more weeks on holiday over winter.
Mayakoba & Exploring Mexico
A classic winter beach destination for families. Except not many families in Europe know about Mayakoba.
Set along the vast Caribbean beaches of Mexico’s Riviera Maya, Mayakoba is a complex of four resorts connected by an emerald jungle and turquoise lagoon.
This is a sanctuary for families in winter, when the weather is warm, dry and not humid. It’s a holiday of beaches, spa, golf, water sports and great dining.
Don’t miss:
- A private cruise on the Caribbean Sea to the island of Cozumel.
- Trying out a hydrobike, which is like cycling on the water, super easy to ride with no experience required (including for kids).
- Swimming in a cenote, a sinkhole of cooling water unique to this part of Mexico. There are over 6000 of them!
Mostly we like Mayakoba because you can have a purely beach resort holiday while still experiencing bits of what makes Mexico such a colourful and vibrant destination.
Rosewood Mayakoba
Rosewood Mayakoba is a balance between jungle, sea and very contemporary living.
Space and privacy is abundant, as you arrive at your villa by boat and travel around the complex on golf buggies and bicycles.
We like the two- and three-bedroom Cenote villas, or the massive presidential suites for larger families.
Couples or couples with a baby will enjoy the beachfront studio suites, which are pure toes in the sand and listening to the waves.
Some clients are put off this part of Mexico because it’s near to Cancun and Playa del Carmen, which are very touristic destinations. Rosewood Mayakoba offer lots of privacy and space. It’s close to Cancun but it’s nothing like it.
Rosewood Mayakoba + Exploring More of Mexico
The advantage of being close to Cancun is flight access. From Cancun you can easily explore other parts of Mexico.
For us, Mexico is a destination with three different experiences: beach, city and tradition. All are safe and explorable for families.
Consider flying to Mexico City for a short city experience. Then continuing to one of the traditional towns north of the capital.
San Miguel de Allende is our favourite and also has a fantastic Rosewood property, in the heart of the cobblestone old town.
Winter Travel with Rosewood
Rosewood’s sense of place is also easy to experience much closer to home. Like the recently opened Rosewood Vienna and Rosewood Munich. Or Hotel de Crillon in Paris and Rosewood Castiglion del Bosco in Tuscany.
With all Rosewood properties we love how the hotel is also a destination. It’s the place to be. And yet, it’s also the starting point for a winter adventure that can take you in so many directions.
Which of their properties most inspires you to travel?
