Do I love a hotel or resort that’s all dressed up for the holidays? If the number of photos I have of my now-teenage daughter standing by an elaborate gingerbread house display, perched by an array of poinsettias, or posed in front of an over-the-top Christmas tree in a hotel lobby throughout the years is any indication, then the answer is a resounding yes.
Staying at family resorts and hotels is always fun no matter the time of year, but when you add in thousands of twinkling lights, sweet treats, festive greenery, and an atmosphere brimming with holiday happiness, that escape just feels even more magical. Whether you’re looking for a December weekend getaway or a special place to spend the Christmas holiday, here are the U.S. hotels and resorts that sparkle and shine the most over the holidays.
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1. Jekyll Island Club Resort
Jekyll Island, Georgia
Make like the Vanderbilts and Rockefellers once did and head to Georgia’s Jekyll Island Club Resort for a special family getaway. At Christmastime, this historic Golden Isles resort (which also includes a more modern beachfront property) hosts afternoon teas, breakfast with the Grinch, lunch with Santa, and special holiday meals throughout the month of December. There’s even a Christmas bagpiper strolling around some afternoons.
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The Holly Jolly Jekyll festivities that take place throughout the island from November 29, 2024, to January 5, 2025, help make this one of the best hotels for Christmas in the whole country. Some 350 light displays made up of more than a million lights can be seen illuminating stately trees and in other spots all over the island and the resort itself, which you can check out on your own or via a trolley tour. The island’s mini golf course even turns into “Peppermint Land” for the season.
2. Big Cedar Lodge
Ridgedale, Missouri
There’s nothing little about Big Cedar Lodge, so it’s not surprising that the expansive Ozark Mountains resort celebrates the Christmas season in a major way. Its annual Home for the Holidays extravaganza features an almost never-ending series of events and activities in November and December, including a seasonal ice skating rink, baking and craft workshops, visits from Santa and Mrs. Claus, kids club pajama parties, and gingerbread build-offs. There’s hot cocoa to sip, fires to settle in by, and more than four million holiday lights to admire.
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Guest rooms, cottages, and cabins serve as cozy, outdoors-inspired spots for winter getaways, and an array of dining options means you’ll never need to leave the resort. If all the holiday happenings aren’t enough to keep you busy, there’s also a spa, fitness center, and the Fun Mountain entertainment zone.
3. Boyne Mountain Resort
Boyne Falls, Michigan
Michigan’s Boyne Mountain Resort serves as a fun family getaway no matter the month on the calendar, but the holiday season makes for an even more special escape. Not only can you enjoy some of the standard winter activities like ice skating, snow tubing, and skiing, you can also take part in special seasonal events during the resort’s annual Holiday Week (December 20, 2024, through January 1, 2025).
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Wagon rides, bonfires, s’mores and other festive treats, arts and crafts, and family-friendly holiday movies are all on the schedule. On Christmas Eve, Santa himself makes an appearance on the slopes and then poses for pictures later in the day. The 1,200-foot-long SkyBridge Michigan is also done up with more than 200,000 holiday lights throughout the season, which you can admire while crossing the world’s longest timber-towered suspension bridge.
4. Wailea Beach Resort
Maui, Hawaii
Celebrate the holiday season the Hawaiian way at Wailea Beach Resort on the south end of Maui. Christmas-themed events and activities such as holiday hula lessons, ornament making sessions, cookie decorating, a daily Elf on the Shelf scavenger hunt, and festive movie nights make this a top choice among family hotels for Christmas. On Christmas Day, Santa arrives on Wailea Beach via canoe, which is followed by an “elf” parade back to the resort for milk and cookies and the chance to meet Saint Nick.
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Start the day with sunrise yoga, sip frozen hot chocolate as a midday treat, and take in the sunset torch lighting ceremony each evening. There’s arts and crafts, Hawaiian stories, and other activities at the kids club, and the whole family can dive deeper into Hawaiian culture via workshops that teach about traditions like bamboo stamping and ukulele music. Or you can take a literal dive at the hotel’s NALU pool, which has four waterslides (including the longest waterslide on Maui), splash zones, and a swim-through grotto.
5. Dollywood’s DreamMore Resort and Spa
Pigeon Forge, Tennessee
Understated is not a word often associated with Dolly Parton, and the Smoky Mountain Christmas celebration at Dollywood is just as larger-than-life. Think more than six million lights, dozens of Christmas trees, and an impressive holiday drone show. Book a guest room or suite at Dollywood’s DreamMore Resort and Spa to experience all of the holiday magic at Dollywood theme park and around the rest of the site.
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You get special theme park perks and transportation as a resort guest, and the festive feeling continues at the resort with larger-than-life Christmas trees, plenty of red and green decor, and a nightly outdoor tree lighting show synced to holiday music. The resort’s Camp DW kids programming offers holiday crafts and other activities, and there are s’mores and bedtime stories in the evenings, plus roaming entertainment for even more holiday spirit. A Tree Decor Package includes a three-foot faux Christmas tree for your room, cookies and holiday candy, a letter from Santa’s elves, and an ornament to commemorate your stay.
6. Hotel del Coronado
Coronado, California
Celebrate the holidays in 1920s Art Deco style at the historic Hotel del Coronado. This iconic Southern California hotel definitely doesn’t skimp on holiday fun, offering seasonal experiences like a beachfront ice-skating rink and beachside “igloo” seating, photos with Santa, gingerbread house decorating, and holiday movies on the beach.
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On the resort’s Founders Lawn, a grove of Norfolk Island pine trees serves as the setting for a light show set to a 1920s jazz soundtrack that concludes with festive snow flurries. A bar and lounge with a replica of the San Diego-area hotel’s signature red turret serves up holiday cocktails and cocoa to enjoy during the display. Your whole family crew can also reserve a private fire pit on the beach for a special holiday s’mores experience.
7. Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center
National Harbor, Maryland
Prepare to be dazzled at the sprawling 19-story Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center during the holidays, where the over-the-top holiday decor includes a 55-foot Christmas tree. The new Here We Glow A-Caroling Light Show illuminates the atrium each evening during the season, with thousands of glowing lights and a custom score of holiday tunes from the 1920s to the present. There’s also snow tubing, snowball making, photos with Santa, gingerbread decorating, and other holiday fun to be enjoyed.
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You’ll want to plan time to rest up in your guest room, because that’s only the beginning of the holiday fun at this resort near Washington, DC. (Book an Atrium View Room or Christmas Dream Suite if you don’t want to miss a second of the action.) An immersive Christmas village takes over part of the convention center, Mrs. Claus shares Christmas traditions and snacks each evening, and the popular ICE! event brings in more than two million pounds of ice that gets carved into imaginative seasonal displays (2024’s theme is “A Charlie Brown Christmas”). You might need a vacation from your vacation after experiencing it all!
8. The Broadmoor
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Long appreciated for its blend of mountain adventure and European-style elegance, The Broadmoor has been drawing guests since 1918. There are even more reasons to choose it as your hotel for the holidays, though, when millions of lights are illuminated by Santa after Thanksgiving, adding an extra layer of magic to the property throughout the season. The resort’s awe-inspiring annual life-sized gingerbread creation is also a big draw; this year’s features a golf-inspired design in honor of the 2025 U.S. Senior Open Golf Championship taking place at The Broadmoor next summer.
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Guests can enjoy daily special events and activities during the Broadmoor’s Twelve Days of Christmas event (December 21, 2024, through January 1, 2025), while its beloved family-friendly holiday variety show is on the calendar for multiple evenings in December. And the AAA Five-Diamond resort offers lots of ways for the whole family to stay busy, including 20 dining options, a spa, six lanes of bowling, a movie theater, and s’mores kits for gathering around the fire pit.
9. Nemacolin
Farmington, Pennsylvania
This four-season luxury resort on more than 2,200 acres in southwestern Pennsylvania is a true winter wonderland during the holidays. There’s an outdoor ice-skating rink accented by twinkling holiday lights, and the property’s own dog sled team can whisk you across the snow-covered grounds. Snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, and snow tubing provide other ways for enjoying the wintery landscape.
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But you won’t want to miss the whimsical Hardy’s Holiday Village that looks straight out of the movie Elf. Stroll through the candy-colored village to enjoy festive treats and holiday shopping opportunities. And the nattily dressed elves just might break out into song and dance while you’re there. You can also arrange for Bedtime Elf Visits, when one of Santa’s helpers visits your room to read a bedtime story and deliver Christmas cheer. (You can also opt to have the elf drop off the book and stocking if that’s better for your kiddos.)
10. Orlando World Center Marriott
Orlando, Florida
You wouldn’t you expect the largest Marriott property in the world to keep things simple during the holidays, would you? Orlando World Center Marriott already celebrated the season in a big way, with annual holiday activities like cookie and gingerbread classes, dive-in movies at the pool, appearances from Santa, holiday carolers, room decor packages and stocking delivery, and events like a kid-friendly pajama party.
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But this year it also introduces an all-new holiday drone show from December 25 to 30, 2024, designed by America’s Got Talent finalists Sky Elements. Each night features a different theme, with 200 synchronized drones lighting up the the sky above the resort’s Falls Pool area. An impressive fireworks show and late-night pool party on New Year’s Eve wraps up all of the holiday fun.
11. Aspen Meadows Resort
Aspen, Colorado
Odds are high for a white Christmas at Aspen Meadows Resort, which sits on 40 acres in Aspen’s West End neighborhood. There are all kinds of festivities at the resort leading up to the big day, including a reindeer village with live reindeer and carolers, a gingerbread display, cookie decorating and ornament making, special holiday menus, and s’mores around the fire. And that’s on top of the regular winter activities at Aspen Meadows, like sledding, snowman building (the resort provides kits), and snowshoeing (complimentary pairs are available for guests).
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On all eight nights of Hanukkah, leaders from the Aspen Jewish Congregation and Aspen Chabad House take turns lighting the menorah as the sun sets, and latkes are served for attendees. The all-suite hotel is well-suited for family getaways with the recently renovated suites done up in primary colors in homage to the resort’s Bauhaus design roots. Floor-to-ceiling windows provide optimal mountain views.
12. Hotel Bennett
Charleston, South Carolina
With an appealing location on King Street in the heart of downtown Charleston and luxe but still family-friendly guest rooms and suites, Hotel Bennett already has a lot going for it. But visit this hotel for Christmas and you’ll immediately be wowed by the life-size gingerbread house in the lobby made with pounds and pounds of candy and serving up cups of hot cocoa to get a stay started off in a sweet way.
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On weekends during December, the whole family can enjoy tea with Santa, with holiday treats for all and Champagne for the adults. Breakfast with Santa takes place closer to the big day, and the night before Christmas Eve includes carols, hot cocoa, and a visit from the big guy himself. Plus all of the holiday festivities in downtown Charleston are just outside this Christmas hotel’s front door.
13. Edgewood Tahoe Resort
Stateline, Nevada
Situated along the shores of Lake Tahoe, Edgewood Tahoe Resort ushers in the holidays with festive decorations, a range of spirited events, and the possibility of actual snow when you book this hotel for the Christmas season. Holiday fun at the resort includes ornament making workshops, writing letters to Santa, hot cocoa socials, holiday bingo, and story time with Mrs. Claus. Milk and cookies for Santa are delivered to your room on Christmas Eve.
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Winter visits to this boutique resort also mean activities like ice skating, snowshoeing, and skiing at nearby Heavenly Ski Resort. (Edgewood Tahoe has a Ski Butler program that delivers gear directly to your accommodations.) The resort’s elegant new Villa Suites are tailor-made for spending the holidays as a family, with multiple bedrooms, scenic views, and lots of space for gathering together.
14. Hotel Drover
Fort Worth, Texas
Book a stay at the Hotel Drover during the second half of December and you’ll be right in the middle of all kinds of holiday fun. During the hotel’s 12 Days of Drover event December 13 to 24, 2024, you can get photos with a Cowboy Santa, meet live reindeer, and sample tasty holiday treats.
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The hotel, whose name honors the cowboys who drove cattle to market across the Plains, sits within the historic Fort Worth Stockyards, which also does it up for the holidays. You can glide around the Stockyards Rodeo Rink on the lawn of the Livestock Exchange Building, hear stories told by Mrs. Claus, and take in the live music, lights, and 40-foot Christmas tree. And when you’ve had your fill of fun, your hotel for the holidays is just steps away, with rustic-luxe guest rooms and suites brimming with Texas style.
15. Enchantment Resort
Sedona, Arizona
Set amid red rocks and green pine trees, Sedona’s Enchantment Resort lives up to its name. It’s a pretty enchanting place to spend the holidays too. Arts and crafts sessions are held at “Santa’s Workshop,” carolers sing festive tunes on Saturdays, Mrs. Claus leads story time sessions, and Santa himself poses for pictures with guests.
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You can take part in a holiday-themed culinary class or glide around the outdoor ice skating rink that offers memorable 360-degree views of Boynton Canyon. If the holiday season stresses you out at all, the resort also offers sound immersion and winter stargazing sessions to soothe your spirits, plus a winter solstice ceremony and the opportunity to make New Year’s manifestations to get 2025 started off in a positive way.
16. The Plaza
New York, New York
Already one of the most iconic hotels in the country, The Plaza goes above and beyond with its annual holiday season festivities. But what else would you expect from the hotel made famous to moviegoers everywhere with its starring role in the Christmas classic, Home Alone 2: Lost in New York?
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Throughout November and December, guests can partake in holiday afternoon tea and browse at a pop-up shop themed to the beloved story Eloise at The Plaza. (For an extra dose of storybook charm, book a stay at the hotel’s popular Eloise Suite.) Santa makes frequent appearances, and there’s festive food and drink to enjoy throughout the season. Staying at The Plaza also means you’re in the middle of the best of what New York City has to offer for the holidays, including the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree Lighting (December 4, 2024) and The Radio City Christmas Spectacular starring The Rockettes.
