Mother's Day Gift Guide 2025: 8 Splurge Getaways With The Best Views
This Mother's Day, give mom a trip that will stay with her for a lifetime, one that leaves her with lasting images she can summon on the toughest of days. Resorts with beautiful views set the stage for memorable vacations – the majesty of a mountain range, the sun sparkling off water, the lights of a city skyline, and iconic sites she's waited her whole life to see.
Here are some of the best getaways in the U.S. and beyond that offer stunning views and luxe stays for every kind of mom.
The only lakefront golf resort on Lake Tahoe, Edgewood Tahoe Resort offers uninhibited views of one of the U.S.'s most beautiful lakes.
Lake Tahoe, the crystal blue body of water that sits squarely between California and Nevada, is a boat-lover and fisherman's dream, and it's also stunningly beautiful. The Sierra Mountains reflect off its surface, creating a mirrored effect that doubles the wow factor of this serene lake. There's no better vantage point and no easier access to all the lake has to offer than from your room at Edgewood Tahoe Resort. A first floor suite means a walkout patio that opens up to green lawns, fire pits, a long, luxurious pool, and Lake Tahoe itself. Edgewood boasts one of the only beaches on Lake Tahoe, and mom will love being steps away from it. She'll also enjoy the spa, the golf course, the special Mother's Day menu at Brooks Bar and brunch at The Bistro, all right there on the resort grounds.
Enjoy some local flavor with live harp music on Mother's Day morning, and take home a special gift from the Mother's Day Marketplace that celebrates and supports women-owned businesses.
Sea views abound from anywhere on the Eliamos property on the island of Kefalonia in Greece.
Just 10 minutes from the Kefalonia airport, this Greek island paradise feels worlds away. Eliamos Villas Hotel and Spa, a Relais and Chateaux retreat, is built into the mountainside – it's unassuming, quietly luxurious, and oh-so-private. The 12 villas have personal courtyards and plunge pools, and wherever mom chooses to perch, she'll soak in Ionian views. The blue of the water contrasts against the white buildings, creating that quintessential Greek island vibe. Your concierge will arrange private island tours by land and by sea - you can even take your own odyssey to Ithaca. Be sure to sign up for a pilates reformer class and spa treatment.
Take advantage of the resort's Reconnect & Celebrate package that celebrates multigenerational travel. From family dinners to babysitters, Eliamos provides everything, including infant paraphernalia, children's activities, and massages for the adults.
The Presidential Suite at the JW Marriott Nashville has floor-to-ceiling views of the city skyline.
Nashville may provide all the music and activities you could want on the ground, but sometimes it's nice to get a bit above it all. JW Marriott Nashville rises up out of Music City while holding firmly to its Tennessee roots. Case in point: Mom will delight at the in-room record player dotted with multi-colored macarons, a nod to this city's claim to fame blended with some good old fashioned southern charm. Not only will she be able to walk to just about everything there is to do in Nashville, but she will love, love, love the floor-to-ceiling windows with unobstructed views of the entire city and beyond. With Nashville spread before her, she'll feel like the country queen of the city.
Nestled in the Panamanian rainforest, Casa Cayuco bungalows open up to sweeping Caribbean sea views.
If Mom loves the idea of voluntourism or prefers to take an environmentally responsible vacation, hop on a boat in Bocas Del Toro, Panama, and head to an eco-adventure lodge tucked away in a rainforest, Casa Cayuco. She'll stay in a bungalow high up in the trees where monkeys abound, or down on soft soil, where paths weave through the jungle and out to the quiet sea. Laze in a hammock and gaze at a sloth munching on leaves, or greet the fishermen at the dock as they drop off the day's catch for dinner. Be beckoned to dinner with the blow of a conch shell, and sit at a communal table talking to guests from all over the world. The property is small enough to get to know everyone, and while daily activities can keep you busy, you may just want to relax and enjoy the views.
This resort is family-focused, and each day's activities will be explained thoroughly. If you decide to skip an excursion, you'll enjoy playing games in the community palapa, kayaking, paddle boarding, and eating every meal together, family style.
A corner suite at Aruba Marriott Resort & Stellaris Casino brings the Caribbean Sea indoors with you.
On the luxurious strip of Aruba known as Palm Beach, you'll find Aruba Marriott Resort & Stellaris Casino. This hotel has the largest balconies on the entire island, and you'll be glad for them because the views are breathtaking. Turquoise water; white, powdery beaches; private cabanas; and waiters delivering frothy cocktails will immediately put Mom in beach mode. When she's had too much sun, she can take her chances at the casino (a Preferred Players Card will score her some additional perks). If Mom wants a break from the kids, opt in to the Tradewinds Club, an adults-only club-level stay with special rooms, a quiet pool, and its own lounge. But she can still enjoy all that the resort has to offer, including live entertainment, four restaurants, and a gelato bar.
If mom loves to garden, take her to Park Winters in Yolo California for a rainbow of blooms.
If Mom's passion is gardening, if her favorite thing to do is stroll through a botanical garden, or if she just loves the heady scent of roses and sweetpeas, introduce her to the sweetest of secret gardens. Park Winters, an intimate bed and breakfast with only four rooms and acres of meandering gardens that will take her breath away, is a lovely getaway in Yolo County in northern California. Mom can select from the hundreds of floral varieties on the grounds and create her own Mother's Day bouquet or take home dried flowers and practice her arranging skills. A gourmet breakfast is served every morning, then head to the quaint town of Winters for a wine tasting at Berryessa Gap Vineyard's tasting room and a special dinner at Preserve.
The perfect place for a family photo is Capay Valley Lavender Farm, where you can also pick up some essential oils and soaps to take home.
The brand new adults-only pool at La Quinta Resort & Club in La Quinta, California, is the latest addition to a resort that offers a plethora of wellness activities and opportunities for relaxation.
Towering palm trees, tumbling bougainvillea, bubbling fountains, and the Santa Rosa Mountains create quite the picture in the Coachella Valley of California, but there's nothing quite like the long driveway that opens up to LaQuinta Resort & Club. It is Rodeo Drive meets Hollywood hideaway, a place where families settle into casitas with sprawling patios and outdoor fireplaces perfect for chilly nights. Most casitas encircle pools – 42 of them, to be exact – and the vibe is such that you can expect a Veuve Clicquot drink cart to deliver bubbly poolside. Imagine the La Quinta landscape filled with birds of paradise, flowering cacti, deep red geraniums, towering Italian cypresses, orange trees, and date palms, all set off by the surrounding mountains.
The La Quinta Spa is legendary (so much so that you might recognize a famous face or two), so be sure to treat mom to a few hours of pampering.
A Deluxe Acropolis View suite at Hotel Grande Bretagne in Athens, Greece, includes a massive terrace.
When you're staying at a 150-year-old hotel in arguably the best part of Athens, you might be inclined to focus on its rich furnishings, its stately service, and its exquisite old world-elegant suites. Or you may be distracted by Hotel Grande Bretagne's elegant afternoon tea, a daily tradition holding court in the hotel's Winter Garden, an indoor space resplendent with shades of pinks and a stained glass ceiling. Mom will enjoy petite sandwiches and muffins with clotted cream served on Versace place settings, before retiring for a most comfortable nap. The icing on the proverbial cake comes when you splurge on a suite with a balcony – it comes with direct views of the Acropolis. And dinner at the GB Rooftop opens your sights to famous Athens sites, city lights bathing them all in a soft glow.
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National Geographic
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- National Geographic
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Responsible travel tip: It's easy to get to Munich by train. The simplest route takes just over nine hours from London, with a change in Paris. More info. Oktoberfest is one of the world's largest festivals, with over six million revellers joining the festivities every year. Photograph by Nikada, Getty Images 2. Sicily Italy's southernmost island sheds beach holiday crowds opening up for those looking for some late-season sun coupled with buzzy city breaks. The capital, Palermo, reanimates as residents return from coastal resorts, and some of the island's best harvest fare starts making its way onto restaurant tables, including fresh figs, pistachios, almonds and mushrooms. September's temperatures make a Mount Etna hike more feasible, while tickets for ferries to the volcanic Aeolian Islands become more readily available. It's also a great time to explore the island's little-known hilly backcountry. Responsible travel tip: In recent years, the medieval hilltop villages of Sicily's interior have been abandoned by youngsters seeking work on the coast and mainland. You can support these struggling rural economies and see some spectacular countryside while hiking the Via Magna Francigena. This long-distance route weaves across the middle of the island from the Tyrrhenian Sea at Palermo to the Mediterranean city of Agrigento, with a growing network of locally run hotels, hostels and homestays en route. (How chocolate went from rough to refined in one Sicilian town.) 3. Cornwall, UK September is a fine time to visit Cornwall, when sea temperatures are at their warmest, honeypot towns such as St Ives and Padstow are freed from log-jam traffic and summer crowds, and beaches are also far less busy. For two weeks every September, St Ives celebrates the arts with a festival of film screenings, art exhibitions, comedy and concerts — from folk to rock, classic to choral — as well as talks and guided walks in and around town, taking in everything from local history to megalithic tombs and Virginia Woolf's Talland House. September is also the time of Heritage Open Days (12-21 September), when landmark buildings across the country that are usually closed to the public throw open their doors for tours. There are some notable addresses in Cornwall. Responsible travel tip: Ditch the car and explore by bike. Cornwall has a growing number of coastal and rural cycle trails linking its many Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The West Kernow Way is a 143-mile looped route starting in Penzance and taking in such landmark spots as Land's End, St Michaels Mount and Lizard Point. (Where to eat the best fish and chips in Cornwall.) The dramatic coastline at St Ives, Cornwall. 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I flew on the budget airline Norse Atlantic for the first time. Here are 3 things I wish I'd known before the 13-hour flight.
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