Memorial Day is a chance to honor U.S. military personnel and to celebrate the distinct history and landscapes that make this country so unique. The three-day weekend has become the unofficial kick-off to summer and one of the year’s busiest travel weekends. More than 42 million Americans traveled over the weekend last year, and airlines and experts expect a similar number this year.
With hotel packages still available in all corners of the country, it’s not too late to book a fantastic Memorial Day vacation that includes relaxation, adventure or great food and wine — or all of the above. We recommend these 10 hotel packages for a festive and fun start to your summer.
The ultimate cowboy core experience: Brush Creek Ranch in Saratoga, Wyoming
At Brush Creek Ranch in Wyoming, Memorial Day weekend will celebrate the Wild West and offer guests a chance to live like everyone’s favorite fictional ranching family, the Duttons of “Yellowstone.”
From May 22 to 27, three- and four-night Memorial Day weekend packages include fly fishing, sunrise hikes and custom-fitted cowboy hats. Guests staying Friday through Sunday will get to meet and do activities with “Yellowstone” actor Chance Gilliland. The actor used to be a Brush Creek Ranch wrangler, and he’s had minor roles on the original “Yellowstone” series and its spin-offs.
Guests can join Gilliland and his trusty steed Toby for adventurous horseback rides through the Wyoming wilderness, drink whiskey and hear plenty of behind-the-scenes Hollywood stories. Other events include a grilling class at The Farm at Brush Creek, creekside barbecues, military flag raising and a professional bull riding show to capture the magic of life in the untamed West.
The All-inclusive Memorial Day weekend package rates start at $2,100 per night for two guests. Those who arrive Wednesday, May 22, can get 50% off Wednesday and Thursday nights with a four-night minimum stay. Those who arrive Thursday, May 23, can receive 50% off Thursday night with a three-night minimum. Member of I Prefer Hotel Rewards.
A grown-up golf vacation: Primland, Auberge Resorts Collection in Meadows of Dan, Virginia
Links lovers can start their summer off right with world-class golf and great food by staying at a luxury lodge in the ruggedly beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains. Primland, Auberge Resorts Collection is hosting its first Scotland-inspired Highland Golf & Wine Classic over Memorial Day weekend (May 24 to 27).
Geared toward adults, those 21 and over can book a package that includes two rounds of partner play on the Highland Course, winery-hosted dinners, an all-day golf lounge and a stylish golf pop-up shop.
Far from just a golf resort, guests can fill their days with scenic hikes, rough terrain vehicle excursions, horseback rides, fly fishing expeditions and stargazing sessions in the property’s observatory. Primland has 12,000 acres to explore as well as non-light polluted night skies.
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The Stay & Play package starts at $2,495 for two nights.
For patriotic travelers: The Ritz-Carlton Orlando, Grande Lakes and JW Marriott Orlando in Grande Lakes, Florida
Grande Lakes Orlando is a 500-acre luxury sanctuary in the middle of Orlando with a destination water park and two luxe resorts — The Ritz-Carlton, Grande Lakes and JW Marriott, Grande Lakes. It is starting a special “GLO Summer” with events and package deals over Memorial Day weekend.
Hotel guests will be awed by festive summer fireworks on Sunday night before Memorial Day. Plus, the Red Bull Air Force will entertain guests with aerial acrobatics and a grand landing at the resort May 25 at 3 p.m.
Grande Lakes GLO Summer events — including luxurious cabana experiences, food and Champagne pairings, poolside liquor tastings, and fire and ice performances — happen on Saturdays and holiday weekends from May 25 to Sept. 2.
Grande Escape packages start at $350 per night for Memorial Day weekend, including 10% savings, $100 daily resort credit and complimentary valet parking at The Ritz-Carlton Orlando, Grande Lakes, and 10% savings, $50 daily resort credit and complimentary self-parking at JW Marriott Orlando, Grande Lakes (both with cluster code ES2).
Related: Stay at these amazing Ritz-Carltons across the world
Luxury for families and couples: Arizona Biltmore in Phoenix
The Arizona Biltmore, a glamorous getaway for movers and shakers for nearly a century, is still one of Phoenix’s top resorts. A massive reinvention in 2020 preserved historic architecture but added a new level of service and amenities.
Over Memorial Day weekend, the hotel’s offerings include the luxe “Celebrate AZB” package celebrating the hotel’s 95th anniversary year. It allows guests to stay in one of the original 1929 cottage suites, take a history tour for two and receive a $300 food and beverage credit, among other perks. The “Experience the Stay” package including a $100 daily resort credit that guests can use for things like spa treatments and cocktails.
Memorial Day weekend activities will keep the entire brood happy and entertained. Arizona Biltmore offers “dive-in” movies and extended swimming hours at Paradise Pool each Friday evening from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day.
Guests of all ages can cool off with sweet treats, slide down the Twist waterslide or lounge in a cabana every Friday to Sunday and Monday on holiday weekends until Sept. 8. There are Champagne samples at Saguaro Pool on Saturdays throughout the summer and Glow DJ parties every other Friday.
Experience the Stay packages with plan code “0SW” when booking. Celebrate AZB package from $1,929 per night for a double occupancy suite. It also includes a $300 spa credit, a complimentary bottle of Veuve Clicquot and a copy of Arizona Biltmore’s “Jewel of the Desert” history book.
Healthy SoCal living: The Resort at Pelican Hill in Newport Beach, California
Memorial Day weekend activities revolve around the water at Newport Beach’s The Resort at Pelican Hill, which sits along 504 acres of coastline above Crystal Cove beach. To celebrate summer, the resort has paddleboard yoga in the Coliseum Pool.
It also offers “Under the Sea Royal Tea” for kids and parents; it features tea, bubbles, bites and an appearance by Ariel and Eric, as well as bocce ball lessons and a piano concert.
The “A Tradition of Together” package, available over Memorial Day weekend, helps families and couples make lasting memories. It offers a discount on the best available rate, a $100 nightly credit for Bungalow accommodations or a $250 nightly credit for Villa guests, 25% off cabana rentals at Coliseum Pool and complimentary upgrades based on availability.
A Tradition of Together package from $948 per night with a two-night minimum stay.
Gilded era glamor: Saratoga Arms Hotel in Saratoga Springs, New York
Built in the Gilded Age — when New York City elites used to head to Saratoga Springs to drink, gamble and take the healing mineral waters — Saratoga Arms Hotel is celebrating Memorial Day weekend with a package that harkens back to its roots.
The “Gilded Age Experience” package is chock-full of bygone-era luxury. It includes a 40-minute mineral bath at Saratoga’s hydrotherapy spa, the Roosevelt Baths; a picnic at Yaddo Gardens, just outside the summer estate of financier Spencer Trask; and Champagne with two coupe glasses to take home.
History buffs will find much to admire at the brick hotel built in 1870, which has restored tin and plaster ceilings and original fireplaces. To learn more about the history of Saratoga Springs and its well-heeled residents and visitors, package guests can do a self-guided walking tour of the grand estates on historic North Broadway and a docent-guided walking tour of downtown Saratoga.
The Gilded Age Experience package can be applied to any room reservation for an additional $375 per person.
For fresh air and music: Southall Farm & Inn in Franklin, Tennessee
Just 25 minutes from Nashville, Southall Farm & Inn is a dreamy back-to-nature farm retreat. During Memorial Day weekend, the hip travel set can connect with nature with over a dozen complimentary farm activities, including farm tours, yoga, sound bathing and fly fishing lessons. Visitors can add activities like Southern honey tastings and group acupuncture treatments under the flower moon for an additional fee.
With its proximity to Music City, music is always a staple at Southall Farm. Over Memorial Day weekend, guests will be treated to intimate concerts throughout the property from Grammy and Country Music Award nominees Lee Thomas Miller and Wendell Mobley as well as other rising stars.
A three-night stay over Memorial Day weekend starts at $499 per night. Add Monday night to lower your rate to $449 per night, and you’ll receive a $100 dining credit each night of your stay.
A historic Texas stay: Omni La Mansion del Rio in San Antonio
Right on San Antonio’s famed River Walk, the Omni La Mansion del Rio gives visitors easy access to the tree-shaded walkways, restaurants and cultural experiences that make it Texas’ most popular tourist attraction.
Over Memorial Day weekend, the hotel’s Rio Cruise Package helps visitors learn more about the area’s 300-year-old history. The river cruise includes a narrated tour, and in addition to tickets, the package includes accommodations in rooms with wood-beamed ceilings, brick walls, views of either a courtyard or the San Antonio River Walk, and a traditional Latin American blanket.
A live mariachi band will play for guests at the courtyard pool on Friday night. Seasonal summer activities — like family-friendly outdoor movie nights with popcorn at the courtyard and historical scavenger hunts throughout the hotel — will start Memorial Day weekend as well.
The Rio Cruise Package starts at $227 per night. No minimum stay is required.
The sport of kings: Woodstock Inn & Resort in Woodstock, Vermont
Falconry — which dates back thousands of years — is a bucket list experience for nature and wildlife lovers. While it certainly originated elsewhere, there are places to try it out in the U.S.
The Woodstock Inn & Resort, a luxury resort established in the 1960s, recently opened a Falconry Center. Surrounded by the Green Mountains and protected forests with beech, birch and maple trees, Woodstock is a perfect setting for the thrilling sport where participants get to work with trained birds of prey.
Over Memorial Day weekend and beyond, the new “Falconry Package” includes accommodations for two, a hearty Vermont-style breakfast and a 45-minute falconry experience. Expert handlers help guests handle and fly a trained Harris’s hawk. There’s also an opportunity to meet other species and learn about their adaptations, the art of falconry and the importance of conservation — something the resort’s founder Laurance Rockefeller always championed.
Falconry Package from $866 per night with a three-night minimum over Memorial Day weekend. Member of I Prefer Hotel Rewards.
Seattle to start the summer: IHG Hotels & Resorts
IHG Hotels & Resorts summer sale offers deals on stays in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Latin America and the Caribbean in time for Memorial Day weekend travels.
Many IHG member hotels in Seattle — an excellent spot for a food- and live music-filled Memorial Day weekend — are participating in the Summer Flash Sale and still have Memorial Day weekend availability. Options include Even Hotel Seattle Downtown-Lake Union near the waterfront and the Kimpton Hotel Vintage Seattle near Pike Place Market and Pioneer Square. The hotel’s new design is inspired by Washington’s wine country.
Participating hotels are offering 20% off, but IHG One Rewards members can save 25% at participating hotels.
Stays in Seattle over Memorial Day weekend start at $129 per night. Offer available for bookings between May 9 and May 21, 2024, and stays from May 24 to Sept. 2, 2024, at participating IHG Hotels & Resorts properties with a minimum two-night stay. Rates are prepaid and nonrefundable.
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