From beach resort to country house retreat, here're 7 of the best Christmas holiday getaways

2023 marks 60 years since Andy Williams sung that “it’s the most wonderful time of the year”. While the crooner’s mellifluous tones ensured it became an immediate holiday hit - and festive favourite ever since - it doesn’t always ring true.

For many, Christmas can almost mean the stress of expectations, whether that’s serving up the most memorable meals, offering the perfect gifts or simply keeping the Christmas spirit flowing. 

Add some cranky relatives into the mix and soon the thought of escaping somewhere beautiful takes on a whole new level of attractiveness.

Happily, there’s no shortage of stellar options to get away from it all in style this year, so these seven destinations will ensure that winter holidays are memorable for all the right reasons: 

1. Oberoi India Itinerary

We kick off with three escapes focused firmly around food, as it’s well known that calories consumed at Christmas don’t count. In our dreams, that is.

Few cuisines wow us with their diversity and complexity as much as Indian, so there aren’t many better ways to be immersed into it than via a culinary journey around India in conjunction with Oberoi Hotels and Resorts.

The famed luxury brand offers tailored itineraries around the country, letting you curate the destinations which most appeal. Rajasthan’s legendary Golden Triangle and the Lakes of Udaipur are a must-visit for many, especially given stellar dining options.

At The Oberoi Rajvilas, Rajmahal restaurant offers local specialities like chickpea flour dumplings cooked in yoghurt with fennel powder, or slow roasted leg of lamb with whole spices. Then the Oberoi Udaivilas serves up fragrant feasts in impossibly romantic surroundings, where traditional Rajasthani wholewheat bread meets lentil stew, before charcoal-roasted aubergine or rabbit with freshly ground spices.

Oberoi Hotels offer an eight-night itinerary from $6,000 per person including Delhi, Agra, Jaipur, Udaipur and Mumbai, excluding flights and transfers.

2. Raffles Bali

If privacy and culinary excellence are two of your festive needs, then Raffles Bali could be just the ticket. The vast, verdant landscaped property on the Bukit Peninsula overlooks Jimbaran Bay and is bordered on one side by a jungle covered valley. 

Once within this sanctuary, just 32 pool villas are set in 23 hectares, making for an incredible ratio of guests to space and allowing you to kick back in your magnificently furnished home-away-from-home.

One very good reason to leave your private slice of paradise comes with a trip to the resort’s highest point and Rumari, a restaurant whose names translates as ‘the house of the sun and the full moon’. It’s where hugely-talented French chef Gaetan Biesuz channels his years of experience into crafting sublime plates, the vast majority of which celebrate fragrant local herbs, spices, fruits, vegetables  – and even brilliant Balinese burrata. 

What’s more, Rumari is the only Krug Champagne Ambassade in all of Indonesia, allowing for perfect pairings for festive menus featuring dishes like braised short ribs, cooked sous vide with rendang spice and served with Krug Rosé 24ème Édition.

The Presidential Villa at Raffles Bali starts from $6,000++ before tax and service over the holiday season.

3. San Giovanni Hotel and Resort, Piedmont, Italy

Another culinary wonderland comes in the form of the Italian province of Piedmont, a part of the world famed for hazelnuts, legendary wines…and yes, white truffles. Nowhere is that more apparent than at San Giovanni Hotel and Resort, a fifteenth century former convent and jewel of a place which would be hard pushed to be more atmospheric, especially around Christmas.

Just thirteen rooms include original frescoes, ancient beams and arches, along with every modern convenience, while the cloisters are a delightful spot to enjoy breakfast. Dinner comes at Castellana San Giovanni restaurant amidst the remarkable brickwork of the barrel vault where traditional Piedmontese cuisine is beautifully plated and paired with remarkable local vintages.

The hotel makes discovering Piedmont a breeze as they offer guests their own car and chauffeur, including airport pick-ups, then let them choose from visits to famed wineries, truffle-hunting tours with Tartuflanghe, mountain walks or visits to boutique cashmere producers.

Available at San Giovanni Hotel and Resort from $1000 per person per day, inclusive of lunch at a Piedmontese Trattoria and dinner at a one or three Michelin-starred restaurant. 

4. Pennyhill Park, England

If logs crackling in fireplaces, chilly walks followed by warming drinks and ivy-clad country houses are your thing, then Pennyhill Park in the English county of Surrey is your dream Christmas escape.

Despite sitting barely 15 miles from Heathrow airport, this festive wonderland sits amongst 120 acres of parkland and offers one of England’s largest spas to let therapists soothe away any Christmas stress through more than 20 different treatments. 124 sleek rooms and suites are where you retreat, famed in particular for their vast bathrooms and jacuzzis, while some feature high beamed ceilings and even grand four poster beds.

Pennyhill’s reputation comes first and foremost, however, from its culinary experiences. Hillfield is a farm-to-fork restaurant serving up hyperlocal seasonal menus, while one Michelin-starred Latymer is a stunning dining room that is home to refined, creative menus from Head Chef Steve Smith.

At Christmas, guests can expect elegantly decorated trees and stuffed stockings, a Champagne and canapé reception and even midnight mass before mulled wine by the fire.

A two-night all-inclusive Christmas package at Pennyhill Park starts at $4,100 per room, based on two people sharing.

5. Four Seasons Hotel Megève, France

For many, the holidays simply aren’t complete without a romantic dusting of snow, so a winter stay at Four Seasons Megève in the French Alps has that element definitely ticked off the to-do list.

The modern chalet-style retreat offers ski in and out access as well as intriguing Alpine discoveries such as an igloo and snowshoe culinary experience where a delicious, warming fondue awaits, along with drinks, at the top of a mountain. 

Staying with food – this is France, after all – stellar dining options include a true feast for the senses at La Dame de Pic – Le 1920, from legendary culinary craftswoman Anne-Sophie Pic, the most Michelin-decorated female chef on the planet. Her five-course lunch tasting menu features her signature dessert ‘the white millefeuille’, a creation which is almost too beautiful to eat. Elsewhere, for Asian flavours, dinner at Kaito combines Japanese technique with the finest local ingredients.

At Four Seasons Hotel Megève, a two-night stay in a superior room in December with daily breakfast and the experiences above runs $9,400 per couple.

6. Pangulasian, El Nido Resorts, The Philippines

Pristine natural seascapes in an eco-resort just a short hop from Singapore? El Nido Resorts offer four luxury island eco-resorts in northern Palawan, Philippines with inimitable warm Filipino hospitality that is as charming as the beautiful natural vistas around you.

In Bacuit Bay, Pangulasian is El Nido Resorts’ most exclusive luxury island hideaway, famed for its picture-perfect views of both sunrise and sunset. One kilometre of perfect white sand beach is backed by tropical forests and hides 42 sustainable and ultra-chic Filipino villas.

This Christmas, expect an escape in harmony with the natural environment, all in a destination known as ‘the island of the sun’. So, if soaking up the rays, dipping in your pool, sipping on a cocktail and succumbing to a massage are your jam, 

Beach villas at Pangulasian start from $1500 per night.

7. Mount Nelson, a Belmond hotel

Finally, for something completely different this holiday season, adrenaline rushes don’t get more intense than diving with sharks off the coast of South Africa. Happily you won’t be swimming alongside great whites, but shark scientist Justin Blake will lead you while snorkelling among kelp forests, sea caves and octopus gardens off the shores of Cape Town.

In a Marine Biologist Experience. 

The maritime adventure is the perfect pairing with Whales, Wine and Helicopters from Mount Nelson, a Belmond hotel and one of South Africa’s finest places to stay. You’ll enjoy helicopter rides, whale watching opportunities and wine tasting in one of the Cape’s most celebrated wine regions. What’s more, some of the proceeds from your experience will support the Rockhopper Fund which helps to spread awareness of and protect the ocean.

Back on dry land, kick back in elegant, antique-filled suites which have been graced by the likes of Nelson Mandela, Winston Churchill and John Lennon. 

At Mount Nelson, a Belmond hotel, Whales, Wine and Helicopters, with the additional Marine Biologist Experience, starts at $7,100 per person.