Four Seasons Resort and Residences Napa Valley
Las Vegas
Not even the pandemic could deter Las Vegas’ penchant for constant reinvention. Along with Sin City’s new Allegiant Stadium—a shiny, high-tech home to the NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders—three new major casino hotels recently made the scene. Circa Resort & Casino, the city’s first resort limited to guests 21 and older, is what’s new downtown. A popular outdoor feature is its Stadium Swim, where a 40-foot, high-def TV entertains patrons of the sports-betting persuasion as they lounge around, and swim in, the resort’s six pools.
Virgin Hotels Las Vegas
Beyond the Strip, Virgin Hotels Las Vegas has added splashes of color and the Richard Branson joie de vivre to the site of the former Hard Rock Hotel. And in the long-vacant real estate on Las Vegas Boulevard where the Stardust once stood comes Resorts World Las Vegas. Its 3,506 guest rooms are split into three categories: Las Vegas Hilton, Conrad Las Vegas, and 236 ultra-luxe Crockfords rooms and suites accessed by an exclusive entrance.
Palm Springs
In the Instagram age, it pays to be whimsical and photogenic. That describes Les Cactus, a renovated, courtyard-style hotel with just 27 rooms. The intimate property is adults-only with rooms that are colorful, small, and affordable. On the site formerly occupied by retro-hip Riviera Palm Springs now stands a kid-friendly Margaritaville Resort Palm Springs. Parrot Heads can embrace the Jimmy Buffett brand with Hawaiian-print shirts, island-inspired cocktails, and plenty of Cheeseburgers in Paradise.
Margaritaville Resort Palm Springs
Kiddos are also welcome at the 530-room Hyatt Regency Indian Wells Resort & Spa. It’s the desert, right? So it makes perfect sense that the property recently spent $21 million on a renovation that includes the HyTides Plunge Waterpark and Desert Twist Lazy River. Let your inner child out to ride waterslides, play in streaming fountains, and spray water cannons.
NorCal Wine Country
In Northern California, the 85-room Four Seasons Resort and Residences Napa Valley is taking reservations beginning November 1. The verdant, rustic-but-elegant setting is nestled in the northern part of the valley, in the historic town of Calistoga—birthplace of the world’s top cabernet sauvignons. The grape-to-glass experience promises to be part of each guest’s everyday happenings.
Flamingo Resort
This summer, the historic midcentury Flamingo Resort was transformed and retooled with modern amenities. Its immersive wellness experiences include yoga, meditation, breath work, and sound healing. The Hotel Trio Healdsburg (named for the area’s three wine-producing regions—Russian River, Dry Creek, and Alexander Valley) used its pandemic downtime to get a tech upgrade: namely Rosé, a robot butler who does room-service deliveries. This cylindrical, stainless-steel “social-distancing ambassador” efficiently delivers ice, towels, and your favorite bottle of vino.
