Luxury Getaways

By Mary Gostelow

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Keswick Hall at Monticello
Keswick, Virginia

This hotel still looks like the private home it was when it was built in 1912 on 600 acres of rolling pasture at the foot of Blue Ridge Mountains. There are 48 rooms; number 27, with a big terrace overlooking the Arnold Palmer golf course, has a four-poster bed, old books to read and a real heritage wardrobe. GM Tony McHale says most guests come here to relax or for activities like fishing and hunting. In winter, you can ski at Wintergreen Resort, less than an hour away. Fossett’s is a glass-sided restaurant, ideal for watching the sun set. The spa features Raindrop aromatherapy.

800-274-5391, keswick.com

InterContinental Resort Berchtesgaden
Berchtesgaden, Germany

Awaking at an altitude of 1,000 metres can feel out of this world. From this modern mountaintop hotel in Germany’s only national park, you can look out over valleys, filled with a sea of fluffy white clouds, toward such year-round snowy peaks as Mount Watzmann. Of the 138 rooms in architect Herbert Kochta’s horseshoe-shaped building, choose a top (third) floor duplex suite, which gives you an upper penthouse with outstanding views and your own grassy terrace with wildflowers. GM Tom Bauer only goes for the best; there are 400 whiskies in Rocks American Bar, a great library, a changing display of witty modern wood carvings and a wine cellar where up to 10 can dine.

888-424-6835, intercontinental.com

Pangkor Laut Resort
Pangkor Laut Island, Malaysia

Think exotic private island with rainforest that goes back centuries. This resort off Malaysia’s west coast even has a lovable naturalist, Uncle Yip. GM Jeff Mong runs the 156-room resort on the 300-acre island (best reached by helicopter from Kuala Lumpur International Airport). A favourite room is Estate One that comes with an outdoor pool, a private beach and your own cook. A driver can take you over a wooded hill to the main resort, where there are four restaurants, for which German celebrity chef Johan Lafer is the consultant. Enjoy daily nature walks, a multitude of land and water activities and a 105-minute Malay-Thai massage at the resort’s spa village, set among flowering trees.

603-2783-1000, pangkorlautresort.com

Write to us: letters@enroutemag.net

Mary Gostelow is the editor-in-chief of Wow Travel, the online magazine of www.kiwicollection.com. E-mail her at mgostelow@enroutemag.net.

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