Dream Honeymoons: A Trio of Travel Treats

 

You’re ready, but that further flung country of your honeymoon dreams isn’t quite ready for you. The world is still healing. Adopting a patience is a virtue approach (oh, we know, you have been meritoriously patient already) remains your best bet. But, who says you can’t enjoy a little trip (let’s call it a practice honeymoon) before the big shebang? We’ve got a few smooch-provoking suggestions for your amorous weekend away.

 

Grand Hyatt Baha Mar, Nassau, Bahamas 

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The sand is white, the sea azure — and all you need to do to arrive is upload that oh-so-valuable vaccination card. Edging the sea, encompassing a 1,000-acre playground with seven pools (including Dean’s Blue Hole, which leads to a swim-up aquarium), a buzzy beach (which boasts activities such as snorkeling with sharks, sting rays and sea turtles) and the possibilities of romantic picnics on the expansive lawn, the hotel offers such exclusive opportunities as peerless luxury suites in The Reserve, a hotel-within-a-hotel concept with a private entrance and 24/7 butler service.

Aerial Front Dusk Copy
Grand Hyatt Baha Mar
Photographer: Jeff Herron

 

Belhurst Castle, Finger Lakes Region, New York 

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Waterfalls, shorelines, 11 glacial lakes, one Great Lake, rolling hills and gorges compose the stunning Finger Lakes Region in upstate New York, one of the United States’ most trumpeted wine regions. Explore bucolic-oriented activities from cow cuddling (it’s a thing) to forest bathing, as well as wine tasting — local gastronomy and outdoor pursuits aplenty — play nobility at regal Belhurst Castle, a 19th-century folly evocative of another era. Voted both one of the nation’s top wine hotels and one its best country inns, the restored building, with towers and turrets, erected in the 1800’s has such adornment as period furnishings and cathedral ceilings. Choose the Tower Suite, with its rounded chamber, to channel your inner king or queen. Best news of all: the lobby has an ever-flowing, complimentary wine spigot. 

Finger Lakes Belhurst Castle 1
Belhurst Castle

 

21c Museum Hotel, Lexington, Kentucky

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Do you hanker for art, drama, and life-sized jewel boxes? If so, this 88-room boutique hotel beckons. Like spending the night in a contemporary art museum, a multi-sensorial adventure, the hotel nestles into downtown’s urban terrain as the cherry on top of a day spent in this charming Bluegrass haven. Go for the Queens Gambit-inspired Harmon Room, which has heart-stirring, fan pleasing elements, such as chess-themed wallpaper, a larger-than-life chessboard installation suspended from the ceiling above the bed, and vintage accessories. What to do? For equine buffs, visit one of the Horse Capital of the Worlds 400+ horse farms and take a self-guided tour of Keeneland Racecourses verdant grounds. Hike the area’s many trails, a plethora found amongst  Kentucky River Palisades, which also reigns as a paddler’s paradise (kayak/canoe rentals). Besides indulging in the local culinary scene, enjoy street art, distilleries, history walks, and the new Greyline Station, a former bus terminal re-envisioned as mixed-use space that features shops, restaurants, a farmer’s market and an outdoor entertainment venue. 

21c Lex Model Room 300dpi
Courtesy of VisitLEX

 

 

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