5 Game-Changing Benefits of Taking Your Holidays on Vacation

If the stress of your holiday hustle has been weighing you down (especially if you’re the one hosting the festivities), this may be an article you want to read. Because a holiday week getaway may just be the best gift you can give yourself.

The winter holidays can be hard work. You have to ensure you’re making time for all the friends and family. You have to hustle to all the parties (and make sure you bring a solid side dish). Your gifts have to be thoughtful. And, if you’re the one hosting the festivities, you’ve got to do one heck of a juggling act, balancing decorating, cooking, wrapping, cleaning, entertaining. It’s a full-on production that requires the stamina of an Olympic athlete and the precision of a Michelin-star chef.

We’re not trying to sound like a Scrooge. Quite the opposite actually. Because as a seasoned luxury hotel and resort collection, this is what Opal Collection properties thrive on: Providing first-rate service so that you can actually unburden yourself. With that in mind – and using our resorts as the prime examples – here are a handful of the most irresistible reasons to plan an escape this holiday. Think of it as the best gift you can give yourself.

1. YOU GET TO PICK YOUR PREFERRED CLIMATE

Snow or sun? Beach or wintry? If you come from a place where the Christmases are rarely white – or vice versa – this is your chance to pick precisely what you want. Set in the New York Adirondacks, Lake Placid Lodge and The Sagamore Resort serve up classic holiday scenes, complete with roaring fireplaces, snow-covered landscapes, and cozy cabin vibes. Along the New England Coast, Samoset Resort and Wentworth by the Sea pair picturesque winter atmospheres with stunning ocean views. If you’re from a cool-weather climate and longing for sunshine, Opal offers 20 South Florida-based properties – including along the Gulf, Atlantic, and in the Keys – where the weather hits its ideal temps starting in November.

2. THE HOLIDAY THEME COMES TO YOU NO MATTER WHERE YOU ARE

Once November rolls around, a wave of tinsel and twinkle-lights transform all 26 Opal hotel and resorts into festive finery. Yes, that includes Florida. For example, a sea of poinsettias swarm the lobby and public spaces of Sarasota’s Zota Beach Resort, while all the pictures in the on-site restaurant (Viento Kitchen + Bar) are wrapped in Christmas wall paper. At Sunset Key Cottages in Key West, the palm trees and landscaping across the 27-acre private island get decked out in enough lights to outdo Clark Griswold. The elaborate decorations at Opal Grand Resort in Delray Beach even come with story time with Mrs. Claus in the lobby during Christmas week.

Of course, Opal properties in the northeast “do it up” to an equally impressive degree with Christmas trees and garlands of greenery practically permeating every corner of Lake Placid Lodge, The Sagamore Resort, and Samoset Resort. That said, nothing may be grander than the activities leading up to Christmas at Wentworth by the Sea in New Castle, New Hampshire. The annual Illumination – a spectacular lighting ceremony where the historic hotel turns on thousands of twinkling lights that adorn its iconic façade – marks the community’s official start to the holiday season. Set for December 4, 2024, the evening is always accompanied with carolers, horse-drawn carriage rides with Santa, a giant gingerbread house, holiday crafts, and much more.

But if it just doesn’t feel like a holiday without a Christmas tree in your personal presence, several of our resorts (i.e. The Sagamore Resort, Hutchinson Island Resort & Spa, and Sunset Key Cottages) will stand one up prior to arrival in your suite – guests just have to be sure to request far enough ahead of time. So, when you arrive, it’s ready and waiting.

3. THE FEASTS & TREATS REQUIRE NO EFFORT ON YOUR PART

There’s something undeniably freeing when you get to sit back and let someone else do all the planning, shopping, and cooking for the holiday feast. That’s why all Opal resorts with on-site restaurants offer a variety of Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s menus. Take, for example, the mouth-watering Thanksgiving holiday specials in addition to the traditional menu in Latitudes at Sunset Key Cottages. Or the all-day Christmas buffet feasts with bottomless mimosas, raw bars, and carving stations in SeaGuini at Opal Sands. Or the three-course prix-fixe Christmas evening dinners in Salt Kitchen & Bar at Wentworth by the Sea. Viento Kitchen + Bar at Zota Beach Resort even offers a family-style Thanksgiving meal, complete with a whole herb-roasted turkey for the table as well as gourmet sides like mashed potatoes, stuffing, glazed carrots, and green bean casserole. And Edgewater Beach Hotel also offers private Dining on the Sand Thanksgiving packages, where you are served your feast at a table set on a private parcel of sand at sunset, just 10 feet away from the waves.

The best part? You just dig in – no clean-up required after.

4. POP-UP SPECIALTY PROGRAMMING KEEPS EVERYONE ENTERTAINED

It’s a special time of year, so you’ll find specialty programs that make celebrating the season extra memorable across all Opal resorts and hotels. Everything from “Meet and Greets” with Santa at Opal’s Key West properties the week of Christmas to cookie decorating, holiday crafts, and scavenger hunts at The Samoset the week of Thanksgiving (if you’re looking for more mature activities, the resort also offers mixology classes in the Enoteca Lounge). One of the most beloved holiday guest traditions that takes place at The Sagamore Resort revolves around not one but two gingerbread-house-making events. The first is held the Friday after Thanksgiving, where all supplies are provided to guests in the conference center, so all families have to do is unleash their creativity on their edible masterpieces. The second is a local contest called The Great Sagamore Gingerbread Competition where locals in the community design and decorate their own gingerbread house to be displayed in the main hotel for the duration of December. Guests then vote for their favorite creation leading up until Christmas (see the top three winners in 2023 on Instagram). 

5. LOCAL FESTIVITIES DOUBLE AS A MEANS TO EXPLORE THE DESTINATION

Local holiday events and offerings provide a unique opportunity to explore a destination through its seasonal traditions – and offer something fresher than just the typical tourist attractions. In Key Largo, that translates to the annual boat parade, where Blackwater Bay lights up like Rockefeller Center as some 40 vessels – from small skiffs to large yachts decked out in elaborate holiday lights and decorations – make their annual procession down the waterway. And one of the best places to watch? Opal’s own Reefhouse Resort & Marina, set right on Blackwater Bay.

Over in Naples, Florida, the annual New Year’s Eve Fireworks on the Gulf offer a breathtaking way to ring in the new year, where the dazzling display of pyrotechnics reflects off the waters near the iconic Naples Pier. You can actually view the spectacle from Edgewater Beach Hotel’s private beach (In fact, to make the experience extra special, the resort sets up chairs for viewing and offers picnic-style light bites and wine and champagne to enjoy while watching).

Up north, in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, the Candlelight Stroll transforms the historical campus of Strawbery Banke into a holiday wonderland illuminated by candlelight on select weekends in December. Wentworth by the Sea can provide shuttle transportation to the historic neighborhood, where you’ll wander through the snow-dusted lanes and explore more than 30 restored homes and shops, each decorated to reflect holiday traditions from different periods of American history.

Other 2024 Holiday Festivities to Shape an Opal Stay Around

• 11/26-12/25: The “Bight” Before Christmas | Key West, Florida
• 11/29: Christmas on Main Street | Stuart, Florida
• 11/29 & 30: Lite Up the Village | Lake George, New York
• 12/6-8: Christmas by the Sea | Camden, Maine
• 12/6-31: Selby Lights in Bloom | Sarasota, Florida
• 12/6: Snow Place Like Jupiter | Jupiter, Florida
• 12/13-15: Holiday Village Stroll | Lake Placid, New York
• 12/14: Holiday Boat Parade | Clearwater, Florida