This has been a year like no other, so why not have a Christmas like no other?
Travel+Leisure has put together a list of the country’s 15 best hotels for the holiday, and one of them is in Georgia.
Sea Island resort, T+L wrote, has “reimagined its yearly holiday experiences in 2020 to account for new safety measures, so guests can still see the stunning decor (including over 60 Christmas trees), enjoy storytime with Santa’s elves, and more during their visit.”
December 22-26, Christmas at Sea Island will offer activities for the entire family, including a lifesize gingerbread house in the solarium and a Reindeer Dash fun run.
“The festivities kick off on Tuesday as children gather for a final chance to create fun and festive ornaments in the Ocean Room,” the hotel writes on its website. “The afternoon brings our 18th annual Reindog Parade so be sure to dress your pups in their Christmas best! And before dinner, join Santa’s elves for storytime in the Clubroom.”
The hotel will even entertain your kids while the adults enjoy a “culinary 6-course trip in The Cloister Wine Cellar, the perfect setting as dinner is paired with some of our favorite holiday wines.”
This isn’t the first time the luxury resort has been recognized. The Lodge at Sea Island has been recognized twice by U.S. News & World Report as the best hotel in the country.
About 85 miles south of Savannah, on St. Simons Island, Sea Island is within easy driving distance of Atlanta. But it’s not the only hotel on Travel+Leisure’s list you won’t need an airplane to visit.
Also making the list are the French Quarter Inn and The Dewberry in Charleston, S.C.; the Omni Grove Park Inn in Asheville, N.C.; the Roosevelt New Orleans, A Waldorf Astoria Hotel, in New Orleans; and the Gaylord Opryland Resort in Nashville, Tenn.
If you decide to travel during the coronavirus pandemic, check local government restrictions, rules and safety measures related to COVID-19 before you leave.
“The safest thing to do is to postpone holiday travel and stay home,” Dr. Cindy Friedman, an official at the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told the Associated Press. “Travel volume was high over Thanksgiving,’' and even if small numbers were infected, that could result in ’'hundreds of thousands of new infections.”
’'Travel is a door-to-door experience that can spread virus during the journey and also into communities that travelers visit or live,” she added.
For those who decide to travel, the AP wrote, COVID-19 tests should be considered one to three days before the trip and again three to five days afterward, the CDC said. The agency also recommended travelers reduce non-essential activities for a full week after they return or for 10 days if not tested afterward. And it emphasized the importance of continuing to follow precautions including masks, social distancing and frequent hand-washing.
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