Cutting down your own Christmas tree, ice-skating, watching movies, and shopping at a discount are among the perks offered by hotels in Georgia, New Mexico, New York, and Connecticut.
Atlanta, Ga., from $149 per room
The Atlanta Marriott Marquis is just a few blocks from Centennial Olympic Park, which gets decked out in festive lights each December and includes a skating rink, and the Imagine It Children's Museum. Fittingly, the hotel has put together a kid-friendly Magical Marquis Holiday Experience package. It provides accommodations for a family of four in a recently renovated room as well as visiting time with Santa in the hotel's gingerbread house and daily viewings of Christmas movies (including "The Polar Express", "A Christmas Story", and "How the Grinch Stole Christmas") on the 12-foot projection screen at Pulse, a lounge at the hotel. Complimentary valet parking and breakfast for two adults and two children under the age of 12 at the hotel restaurant, Sear, are also included. Rates start at $149 per couple per night, which represents savings of about 45 percent.
When: Dec. 14-23, 2007.
Details: Taxes are an additional 15 percent.
Contact: 800/834-7015, atlantamarquis.com.
Santa Fe, N.M., from $168 per couple
December is a lovely time to visit Santa Fe. Luminarias (brightly wrapped candles) line walkways, chili lights adorn Christmas trees, and Hispanic, Anglo, and Native-American celebrations are all well-represented. The Eldorado Hotel & Spa, near the historic Santa Fe Plaza, hopes to lure travelers with its Winter Wonderland package: a basic pairing of discounted accommodations and breakfast, either by room service or in the hotel's Eldorado Court. Rates start at $168 per couple per night. If you book a stay for December 16, you'll be in for a treat: Las Posadas, a traditional outdoor procession that reenacts Mary and Joseph's search for a place to stay in Bethlehem.
When: Through Jan. 31, 2008.
Details: Taxes are 14.875 percent.
Contact: 800-955-4455, eldoradohotel.com.
Lake Placid, N.Y., from $190 per couple
Located in the picturesque, snowy Adirondack Mountains, the Mirror Lake Inn Resort & Spa offers a Holiday Shopping package that includes overnight accommodations, a 10 to 15 percent discount at five boutiques and craft stores on Main Street, and breakfast for two at the onsite restaurant, View. Another general benefit to staying at the inn is that you can go for a spin on its free, private skating rink. Rates start at $190 per couple per night.
When: Through Dec. 22, 2007.
Details: Taxes are an additional 16.5 percent. Lowest rates are based on Sunday through Thursday stays; add $35 for Friday and Saturday.
Contact: 518/523-2544, mirrorlakeinn.com.
Storrs-Manfield Center, Conn., from $300 per couple
The family-run Fitch House B&B, located in sleepy northeastern Connecticut, has a Cut-Your-Own-Christmas Tree package that allows you to do just that—visit a nearby Christmas tree farm equipped with a saw and a wheelbarrow. The tree will be shaken and wrapped tidily in netting for easy transportation. Also included is a one-night stay, dinner for two at the Altnaveigh Inn, and a candle-lit gourmet breakfast. A $30 coupon covers the cost of the tree. Rates start at $300 per couple; children aged 13 and older can participate in the weekend for an additional $35 charge per child.
When: Dec. 7-8 and Dec. 14-15, 2007.
Details: Taxes are included. Note that a two-night package (with no additional perks) is available for an extra $145 per couple.
Contact: 860/456-0922, fitchhouse.com