If your idea of honeymoon wanderlust involves a winter wonderland — think magical snow-capped mountains, cozy snuggles by a roaring fire, and feeding each other fondue in a fairytale cottage in the woods — these wintery nature and ocean escapes —in Vermont, Rhode Island, and Colorado — blend romance with American charm and nostalgia. Enjoy our pick of the best romantic winter honeymoon destinations.
Twin Farms, Barnard Vermont
Romance Factor: Everything about this adults-only hideaway in the woods is romantic, beginning with its backstory. In 1928, Nobel-prize-winning writer Sinclair Lewis bought the 18th-century farmhouse, surrounded by birch forests and flower meadows, as a wedding gift for his bride, journalist Dorothy Thompson. Opened as a hotel in the early 1990s, Twin Farms — renowned for its one-of-a-kind cottages, fresh locally sourced cuisine, and museum-quality art (don’t be surprised to see a Jasper Johns or Cy Twombly by your bed) — has become a favorite romantic destination for couples.
Honeymoon Suite: Each of the ten freestanding cottages is extraordinary. The Moroccan-inspired Meadow Lodge, for example, comes with a mosaic-tiled fireplace, ornate wooden screens, and a colored-glass chandelier dangling from a tented ceiling. For the sheer romance, book the Aviary, a two-level cottage whiled with mid-century furnishings, floor-to-ceiling windows, and a natural stone hot tub next to a wood-burning fireplace.
Heat it up: Skiing à deux. Twin Farms has its own private six-trail ski slope, where in lieu of a chairlift, guides sherpa guests in high-powered snowmobiles to the top. Relax with a glass of Champagne afterward in the traditional Japanese soaking tub in the hotel’s private bathhouse (clothing, ahem, optional). Enjoy in-room dining — or a table for two anywhere on the farmhouse grounds — there are no menus, each meal comes personalized to your palette.
Ocean House, Watch Hill Rhode Island
Romance Factor: Get swept away by classic New England seaside charm at Ocean House, set on high bluffs overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. The Victorian grande dame, famous for its yellow façade and epic sea views opened in 1868, just after the Civil War, and quickly became the ‘summer home’ for the affluent. Over the next century, the hotel fell into disrepair before being meticulously replicated to its original historical accuracy and grandeur in 2004.
Honeymoon Suite: For seclusion, sweeping ocean views, and a deep sense of history and romance, book The Tower Suite, which has a cozy romantic fireplace and deck that looks out over the states of Connecticut, Rhode Island, and New York. Adding to the old world charm is a spiral staircase that leads to a hidden den where you’ll find a ladder to a ‘widow’s walk’ atop the hotel. A throwback to the time when a lonely ‘sea widow’ would stand on a small platform looking out to the ocean, awaiting the return of her beloved sailor.
Heat it up: Celebrate your nuptials with Champagne and cheese fondue inside a plush vintage ski gondola as part of the hotels’ winter pop up experience. Designed in partnership with Veuve Cliquot, the gondolas —which open onto a fire pit — are outfitted in authentic alpine ski lodge décor with heated floors, a cuckoo clock, and endless bubbly.
Dunton Hot Springs, Colorado
Romance Factor: Nothing compares to the snow-capped romance and intrigue of this 1800s ghost town in winter. Set in the San Juan Mountains of the Colorado Rockies, sensual hot springs shimmer beneath snowbanks below. Originally settled by miners panning for gold, Dunton Hot Springs was already abandoned when Butch Cassidy hid out after his first bank robbery in nearby Telluride. In its incarnation as a chic mountain resort, the town’s original character remains in the hand-hewn log cabins named after the miners who built and lived in them along with the dance hall and saloon, now an elevated hotel restaurant. Be sure to try the Colorado grilled rack of lamb or smoked trout.
Honeymoon Suite: Each of the resort’s cabins are built in a circle around the saloon and dance hall, and are just steps from the resort’s bathhouse, which houses the largest springs and where charcoal graffiti from visitors in the 1800s and early 1900s can still be seen. For the ultimate in romance, book The Well House, the only cabin built around its own hot spring and cold-plunge pool. Note, there’s no cell signal at the resort so pure unadulterated couple time is assured.
Heat it up: What could be more romantic than a horse-drawn sleigh ride to soak in natural hot springs surrounded by epic mountain scenery. And the bathing options are plentiful; inside the bathhouse, under the stars at the source, outside the bathhouse, behind the Dunton Store cabin, and inside The Well House cabin if you heeded our honeymoon advice. Beyond the bonding, the springs are bursting with health benefits thanks to their calcium bicarbonate properties. Healthy life, happy life.
