If there’s one travel thing I splurge on each year, it’s amazing hotel stays. I’ve no regrets, because they so often make for a next-level vacation.
This year ϳԹ sent me and some of our other travel writers and editors to check out new, recently revamped, or iconic properties that have been on our radar. Talk about unique adventuring in gorgeous locations—one is in a deep red-rock canyon, another in a secluded dark-sky area, and still another has its own private entrance to a national park.
These are the places that blew us away. We’d return to any of them again.
Enchantment Resort
Sedona, Arizona
Price: From $400
Set amid the stupefying red-rock wonder that is Boynton Canyon, one of four major vortex sites in Sedona, my fall stay at Enchantment was emotional but also grounding. I hiked with one of the resort’s vortex experts, whose sage ceremony at a viewpoint overlooking the high-desert landscape made me feel lighter than I had in months. And my chakra-balancing treatment and sound bath at the guests-only Mii Amo spa were as fantastically spiritual and woo-woo as I hoped they’d be.
You could easily spend four days hiking or mountain-biking around Sedona. The property’s on-site Trail House is home to equipment and guides for both, and staff can organize far-flung excursions to the Grand Canyon in a helicopter and Prescott for climbing adventures, if your time and budget allow.
The resort’s Southwestern adobe architecture is designed to blend into the surrounding scenery, the indoor-outdoor restaurants are upscale but not stuffy, and the range of outdoor activities and classes is impressive: pop between its four pools, play tennis or pickleball, or sign up for yoga or . Staff are incredibly friendly, which is to be expected at destination resorts, but one thing that really stood out for me.
Of all the trips I took in 2024, my memories of this property have stayed with me most. And since my review came out, I’ve received feedback from other guests who shared similarly moving experiences at Enchantment. It’s that powerful a place.
What I’d do differently if I returned: I wanted to head to one of the pools late at night and float around staring up at the stars, since Sedona is a Dark Sky Community. But the hiking and spa treatments had me fairly worn out by day’s end—and sleeping soundly through the night.
Clear Sky Resorts Bryce Canyon
Cannonville, Utah
Price: From $525
When Alison Osius visited this new Clear Sky Resort in August, she was ready to spend hours admiring the starry skies—the main draw for guests who look forward to gazing up at the firmament from their own geodesic dome. Unfortunately, it rained during her short stay.
But Osius didn’t let bad weather dampen her exploration of Bryce Canyon National Park, just a 20-minute drive from the property. She motored around the park with a fourth-generation guide, hitting highlights like Natural Arch and the Bryce Amphitheater, both beautifully shrouded in mist, and got a hoot out of hearing about local escapades of legendary outlaw Butch Cassidy. Eventually, the clouds did clear and she was able to hike the 1.8-mile .
Clear Sky has some unique amenities, including a robot concierge who offers outdoor-recreation beta, a café with a gleaming boomerang-shaped bar, fire pits and cornhole, and stargazing tours. The domes themselves are fun, futuristic, and encourage group visits. Osius was surprised to learn that one has a dance floor, disco ball, and flashing lights.
Off-site, she was won over by the barbecue in a joint called in the town of Tropic, and loved the live cowboy music at in Bryce Canyon City. Her vacation gave her different viewpoints of the West and an appreciation of this area’s otherworldly landcapes, which include the greatest concentration of hoodoos in the world.
What Osius would do differently if she returned: A second visit would ideally happen when the stars were out and shining, said Osius, though she did think it was cool to watch rivulets of rain run down her dome. And the next time, she’d stay longer and hike way more in Bryce Canyon.
Lodge at Marconi
Marshall, California
Price: From $299
I’ve visited several outdoor-adjacent properties in the Bay Area over the years, but none within a state park. The experience felt like a sophisticated, laid-back, improved version of summer camp. Lodge at Marconi is a newly remodeled, 45-acre property that spans from the water’s edge of eastern Tomales Bay—an hour’s drive north of San Francisco on Highway 1—to bluffs with incredible views westward to Point Reyes National Seashore and north to the Pacific Ocean.
The weekend I was in town, the property was hosting an indoor-outdoor wedding as well as young couples there with their toddlers and dogs, day-trippers picnicking beneath shady oaks, and friends using it as a base camp for a local foodie tour. Come dusk, everyone gathered around the massive communal fire pit and hung out for hours, occasionally popping into the on-site store for a bottle of regional wine.
This is a fantastic place to do some wildlife- and bird-watching. Wild turkeys were running around while I was there, and I spent 15 minutes one morning looking down at a huge school of fish feasting on bugs in the bay. Tule elk wander Point Reyes and elephant seals laze on its beaches. Bring your best binoculars.
One of the best things about Marconi, though, is its quick access to fantastic eating in these parts. The waterfront Marshall Store is just a mile away, the must-visit Hog Island Oyster Company a mile farther (take the tour and then have lunch), and, after that, Nick’s Cove, where I love to have a casual seafood dinner and drink. This trip I also wandered around the town of Point Reyes Station, eight miles south, where I discovered buffalo-milk soft serve and a sandwich shop with 18 gooey melts. Delicious, both.
What I’d do differently if I returned: The next time, I’m bringing my girlfriends, renting out Marconi’s spacious A-frame cabin, and enjoying an evening at its cute new little cocktail bar and restaurant, Mable’s, which I missed because it opened two weeks after my visit.
Phantom Ranch
The Grand Canyon, Arizona
Price: From $213.50 for two people
It’s really hard to get a reservation to Phantom Ranch, a group of historic cabins and dorms at the floor of the Grand Canyon, and you have to try for one 15 months in advance. But Stephanie Vermillion lucked out and snagged a last-minute winter opening. Her review of the property offers tips to scoring a stay there, too.
If you are able to book Phantom Ranch, you also have to be prepared to get there. Vermillion chose the easier route down, from the South Rim: a seven-mile (one-way) zigzagging descent via the South Kaibab Trail that you have to then ascend after check-out. Pack light—no need to bring food, because you can pay for hot meals at the ranch—and take your trekking poles. It’s about a vertical mile of elevation gain each way.
Worth it, said Vermillion, to stay in the stone cabins designed by renowned architect Mary Jane Colter. And to amble along the mightly Colorado River; if you have more than one night at the property, Vermillion suggests hiking the to Phantom Overlook. It’s nine miles round-trip but you’ll see parts of the canyon seldom explored by visitors.
What Vermillion would do differently if she returned: I’d go lighter on the camera gear I brought—the weight of two cameras and a bulky tripod made the tough uphill return trip even more challenging.
Dunton Hot Springs
Dolores, Colorado
Price: From $1,165 for two people
We’re recommending this ghost-town hot-springs resort, because it’s a secluded slice of the Wild West where you can not only soak to your heart’s content but also fish for trout, hike and bike the Rockies, and dine at a saloon. Writer Emily Pennington said it was the best wellness retreat she’d ever been to.
Dunton is located in southwestern Colorado, about 30 miles from beautiful Telluride. In the late 1800s it was a mining settlement, and Butch Cassidy actually scratched his name into the bar, which you can pony up to while you’re visiting. The 15 log cabins are cozy and encircle the wooden bathhouse home to a pool with rich mineral waters and decorated with a hammock and a small fireplace. When Pennington visited in March, the snow was coming down and the hot springs were just the respite she was looking for.
As anyone who lives in Colorado can tell you, March does not mark the end of winter. Pennington took a cat-ski ride up to Dunton Meadows and spent a few hours snowshoeing (the resort loans out gear). The next morning she took a yoga class. She made use of her room’s clawfoot tub. And she and the other five guests there at the time ate incredible meals, including blue-corn johnnycakes and house-cured bacon for breakfast, a hearty Mexican posole and tostadas for lunch, and a multi-course dinner that featured bison one evening. The whole experience was something she’d looked forward to for months—and it did not disappoint.
What Pennington would do differently if she returned: As an avid hiker, Pennington loves the idea of exploring the stunning San Juan Mountains in the summer months. And that steamy, historic hot-spring building would look even more tantalizing after a thigh-busting trek, she said.
The Nami Project
Ucluelet, British Columbia
Price: From $343
Western Vancouver Island is a known storm-watching destination, and ϳԹ travel columnist Jen Murphy had to experience it firsthand herself. So we sent her to Nami Project, a collection of suites that overlook the ocean, to watch the winter swells roll in from her room’s floor-to-ceiling windows.
But the views were too stunning for staying holed up inside. Murphy donned rain gear and set out to explore neighboring , hiking amid the tall Sitka spruce on a trail that hugs the coast. During the wildest storms, you can watch 20-foot-high waves crash into the coast. After braving the elements, Nami Project’s cedar hot tubs, sauna, and heated floors felt pretty great.
Tide-pooling, surfing, and hiking through the rainforest are popular activities year-round, and in the warmer months, you can rent a bike and pedal the 15 miles up to Tofino. Murphy, who is a foodie, also raved about the area fare, especially the hyperlocal tasting menu at the restaurant .
What Murphy would do differently if she returned: Witness the world’s largest gray-whale migration while soaking from her room’s hot tub. As many as 20,000 whales can be spotted swimming offshore beginning in February.
The Swag
Waynesville, North Carolina
Price: From $875, all-inclusive
Graham Averill and his wife spent a few glorious days holing up at The Swag and hiking from its 250-acre premises directly into Great Smoky Mountains National Park, a perk that offers your own private entrance to a lesser visited corner of America’s most visited national park.
The couple, who visited in late summer, spent an afternoon trekking through rhododendron tunnels and past a waterfall, topping out at a knob with valley views. Averill also did some trail running along a 5,500-foot ridge with spectacular panoramas to the distant Black Mountains. There were lawn games and a pool, and Averill’s room had a fireplace and an outdoor shower. Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton were in regular rotation on the house playlist.
Needless to say, you can work up an appetite here, and the reward is getting to indulge in home cooking. Averill couldn’t get enough of the grilled pigeon. And the iced tea. And the smoked Old Fashioneds. And the chocolate-chip pie served with ice cream. “Every course set in front of me was the best thing I’d ever had, until the next course came out and it became the best thing I’d ever had,” he wrote.
The experience—the scenery, the proximity to the park, the opening drive from parking to the property in an electric Volvo XC90—was top-notch from start to finish. “Imagine if your grandmother had generational wealth, exceptional taste, and lived to spoil you—that’s what a stay at The Swag feels like,” he said.
What Averill would do differently if he returned: The Swag’s super complex wooden jigsaw puzzle baffled Averill on his last visit, and he’d like to spend more time sipping cocktails in front of the fireplace while trying to put it together.
Tasha Zemke is ϳԹ magazine’s managing editor and a member of the ϳԹ Online travel team. She still has yet to satiate her wanderlust, and next year she’s most looking forward to attending Mountainfilm, in what her colleague called Colorado’s most beautiful town; hiking with friends in Ireland; and kayaking off Baja Sur, Mexico.