So for our little minimoon, I asked you all to come up with a locale that you love and I asked for it to be on the Eastern half of the US because we didn't want to have to deal with super long flights and time changes if we were only going for 3ish nights.
The snafu that we have been hitting is that a LOT of these beautiful resorts that we'd love to visit are FULLY booked for 2021. I kid you not. I was shocked at first, but I'm so glad that all of these places are getting great business! So that really puts a limit on our choices. We even looked into Nantucket, which we have been many times (and love) and almost ALL houses are rented and even most of the hotels are booked solid (although not totally so we are keeping this option in our back pockets). I am just dying to go to Blackberry Farms in Tennessee and they are booked for the rest of the year!
I know a lot of you have asked for this list, so I wanted to get it up as quickly as possible because if you are planning on going somewhere, book ASAP. We are honestly already looking into booking 2022 small weekend getaways just so we are able to ensure we get rooms at some of these places... we normally don't plan out weekend getaways that far in advance but it is looking like it is necessary!
So first, I'm going to start off with some of my suggestions of places I have already been and love and would be perfect if you'd like to plan a few night getaway! There are a TON of suggestions but I really looked through so many of them and they're worth posting about. This list is meant to be a good jumping off point and then you all can go through the options and research from there!
My Recommendations:
- The Greenbrier, West Virginia
- Nemacolin, Pennsylvania
- Old Edwards Inn, North Carolina
- Montage Palmetto Bluff, South Carolina
- Ritz Carlton Reynolds Lake Oconee, Georgia
- Omni Bedford Springs, Pennsylvania
- The Homestead, Virginia
- Belmond Charleston Place
- Inns of Aurora, New York
- Harbor View Hotel, Martha's Vineyard
- 76 Main, Nantucket
- 21 Broad, Nantucket
- Zero George, Charleston
Your Recommendations:
- Blackberry Farm, Tennessee
- Sea Island (this was my second top choice but it's fully booked!), Georgia
- Salamander Resort, Virginia
- Gasparilla Inn, Florida
- Inn at Little Washington, Virginia
- The Sanctuary, South Carolina
- Glendorn, Pennsylvania
- Chatham Bars Inn, Cape Cod
- Grand Hotel, Michigan
- Congress Hall, New Jersey
- Inn at Perry Cabin, Maryland
- Miraval, Berkshires
- Blantyre, Massachussetts
- The Ocean House, Rhode Island
- Grove Park Inn, North Carolina
- High Hampton Inn, North Carolina (this is a Blackberry Farm property)
- The Cliff House, Rhode Island
- White Elephant, Nantucket
- Mohonk Mountain House, New York
- Jekyll Island Club, Georgia
- Greyfield Inn, Georgia
- Cliff House, Maine
- Mayflower Inn, Connecticut
You all gave SO many recs. I couldn't include them all or else the list would be totally overwhelming, but I included all of the most popular ones. The ones bolded are the options we loved the most and have been looking into or had been looking into before we found out they were booked entirely. The Cloister on Sea Island was the #1 most recommended location and a close second was The Sanctuary on Kiawah Island in South Carolina (which is one I had never heard of before!).
5 comments:
Thank you for providing these recommendations!
I am also on the hunt for a mini-moon/first travel destination in two years. However, a lot of these places are so expensive each night. I'd love to get your take - do you budget ahead of time to be able to fully enjoy the experience or do you bite the bullet and just say yolo? For us, those nightly prices are what we would consider spending on the actual honeymoon, outside of the US.
Thanks, Sydney!
Hey Marie,
I totally understand what you’re saying. Most of the items on this list are more luxury/upscale resorts to begin with, but on top of that, the prices this summer and really for the rest of 2021 are much higher than usual due to the crazy demand US hotels and resorts are experiencing right now! So not only is each night at a lot of these places pricey to begin with, some are marked up much than they would be in a ‘usual’ year because of the high demand.
For example, right now, Nemacolin is $900ish/night. I have been many times in my life and I can tell you we have never ever paid such a high price! It’s just really pricey right now I think partially because the Bachelor was filmed there recently but also just because of the higher demand. I think the most I have ever paid for a room at Nemacolin was around $500ish/night so I would say keep checking and if you are flexible with dates, definitely try and move things around so you can get the best price.
But that doesn’t mean you have to travel to the places on this list! There are SO many other properties to go visit and experience. This list is not meant to be exhaustive, but more so to give you an idea of locales to visit- if you find a resort that you love on the list, it’s worth checking out Airbnb and vrbo or other hotels in the area to find something that would work best with your budget! It’s also worth checking them out in their ‘off seasons’ as that is usually when you can score lower prices.
Nantucket is a great example of this. There are fantastic small hotels on Nantucket, but this summer they are pricier than usual, but usually you can find lesser priced Airbnb’s and you’ll have a wonderful time either way! We have done it both ways and have loved all of our experiences. And you can also find better Nantucket prices if you go May/June/September (or any winter month).
In terms of budgeting for trips (or anything for that matter), I don’t give financial advice as I am not educated/licensed to do so. It’s something I have never felt comfortable giving advice on as I would not want to steer you or anyone wrong! Plus I think there are a lot of great finance blogs and professional resources out there that I’m just not the best resource for that! Hope you can understand!
Love this list – hope you find something fun! Ocean House in Rhode Island is so nice. If you're interested in Cape Cod, another great option is Wequasset in Chatham (very close to Chatham Bars Inn, a similarly gorgeous and luxury feel in the same area on Cape Cod): https://wequassett.com/. (I grew up spending summers in Chatham and prefer Wequasset!)
I'm also a big fan of the Maine coast - so perfect in the summer, and lots of beautiful and full service inns/resorts. Have so much fun!
Since you mentioned Blackberry Farm, I wanted to let you know about a place called High Hampton in Cashiers, NC. It's just opening this spring and has been totally renovated. Some of the same people who developed Blackberry Farm (including the original owner, Sandy Beall) have been involved with the renovation of High Hampton and it's set up to be self-contained like Blackberry Farm, with meals included as part of the rate.
Also, Blackberry Farm also has a sister property called Blackberry Mountain that opened a couple years ago - don't know if you checked that out yet.
As mentioned above, Wequassett on Cape Cod is really nice too, especially rooms with a view of the water.
Good luck finding your destination!
Thanks for the list I love it
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