HERE
A wonder-full hotel experience for kids
If you can swing it, take your child to a place that offers a Very Important Kid (VIK) experience for young travelers. Four Seasons Hotel Boston has launched its new Winter Enchantment Suite package that aims to dazzle young visitors from the moment they arrive. Children receive a golden “kids-only” key that opens a toy closet tucked behind a secret door. In-room surprises include a cozy child-size tent with oversize pillows, fairy lights, treats, and a stuffed animal resembling the hotel’s mascot, Willow the Swan. The stay also includes a hotel-wide scavenger hunt designed specifically for kids that’s inspired by a former guest’s tooth fairy adventure. The game takes kids on a series of engaging quests to different areas of the hotel, including the indoor swimming pool and the hotel’s private sixth-floor garden courtyard. Along the way, they follow clues left by Willow the Swan and collect mementos from hotel staff. Parents can enjoy free espressos at the hotel’s gourmet coffee bar and complimentary valet parking, and each family gets a late 2 p.m. checkout. The hotel also offers access to signature Four Seasons “Vaults,” or refreshment pantries on every guestroom floor, which come stocked with snacks, treats, and non-alcoholic beverages. Rates start at $995 per suite for the Winter Enchantment Suite package. www.fourseasons.com/boston
THERE
An epic cruise around Africa
If you subscribe to the saying “go big or go home,” you may appreciate Seabourn’s new 90-Day Grand Africa Voyage, a circumnavigation of the continent that makes 44 stops in 26 countries while covering more than 17,000 miles. The epic journey aboard the Seabourn Sojourn departs Barcelona on Nov. 30 with up to 229 passengers. The ultra-luxury ship visits renowned and off-the-beaten path ports and cities, with six land-based overnight stays en route. Trip highlights include Alexandria, the Seychelles, Casablanca, Mozambique, Bom Bom Island, and Cape Town, among many others. Passengers can enjoy the continent’s natural beauty while on safari, hiking, scuba diving, and sailing, and enjoy cultural experiences such as visiting a camel milk farm, living archeological museums, and historic ruins. Multi-day excursions are also available to a gorilla sanctuary and Victoria Falls, for instance. Book the entire 90-day cruise and you’ll get roundtrip business-class flights, $3,000 of shipboard credit (for a penthouse suite, based on two people), private door-to-door transfers between home and airport, unlimited laundry service onboard (a real bonus), and other worthwhile perks. Rates start at $92,399 for a penthouse suite, which includes a queen-size bed or two twins, a separate living area, a walk-in closet with personal safe, two flat-screen TVs, and a fully stocked bar and refrigerator. 800-929-9391, www.seabourn.com
EVERYWHERE
An alpaca travel blanket
The lightweight and cozy All-Paca Blanket offers the warmth of a wool blanket without the itchiness associated with wool products. Toss it in your car for winter travel, use it in your hammock or around a campfire, or bring it on the plane for long-haul trips. The blanket, made by Appalachian Gear in North Carolina, measures 66-by-55 inches, meaning it’s plenty big enough for cocooning yourself on a chilly flight or a long road trip, yet it packs down small for travel. The super-soft blanket is made with an alpaca fiber that comes from a fair-trade yarn producer in Peru. Its antimicrobial properties help it resist getting funky, though you can throw it in the washing machine if needed. Pair it with the company’s sleeping bag liner for warm-weather adventures. Appalachian Gear also makes a cozy, warm, and non-itchy alpaca fleece hoodie, and a sun hoody and T-shirt made with an alpaca wool and TENCEL fiber blend. Blanket $195, T-shirt $95, hoodies $112-$165.
KARI BODNARCHUK
