New England resorts are offering unique winter packages
By Diane Bair and Pamela Wright Globe Correspondent,Updated February 5, 2021, 6:42 p.m.
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The Sled and Bed package at the Stoweflake Mountain Resort & Spa includes a 30-minute dogsled ride.Courtesy/Stoweflake Mountain Resort & Spa
During the pandemic, New Englanders have made the best of their close-to-home staycations, heading outdoors for fresh air, for exercise, for sanity. Our desire for outdoor activities continues to grow, along with a craving for a ârealâ getaway, and New England resorts are responding with a variety of unique programs and packages.
âTodayâs guests are hungry for vacations that feel normal,â says Deborah Burns, executive director of the New England Inns & Resorts Association, which represents more than 300 New England resorts, inns, bed and breakfasts, hotels, and motor inns across the six states. âProperties are answering that need with a ton of outdoor
For dining out separated from other people, how about an igloo?
Geodesic domes fancifully named and decorated as winter “igloo” shelters are part of a pop-up Frost Bar outdoor installation at Ocean Edge Resort & Golf Club in Brewster through the end of March. The complex where the summer Ocean Terrace restaurant usually is also includes a sheltered restaurant/bar with a varied a la carte menu and winter-themed cocktails with a capacity of 22 people, plus outdoor “fire bowls” where up to six guests can have a drink set apart from other groups.
The Frost Bar, with “arctic” decor for a “winter forest” feel that includes fairy lights and frosted trees, opened just before the New Year. The private up-to-six-person family or “pod” dining in the five igloos has proven so popular, says marketing director Leon Bolivar, that five additional igloos are due to arrive by early February.