Ditch the Kitchen and Enjoy Thanksgiving at These 8 Luxury Farm Hotels
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You could stay at home for Thanksgiving, slaving away over a hot oven and preparing your home for an onslaught of guests, or you could fly the coop and head to a plush hotel that will take care of your every holiday need—including preparing a tasty feast. But while many hotels offer Thanksgiving dinners and packages, a few truly stand out when it comes to the cuisine, thanks to access to their own on-site farms that grow everything from pumpkins to squash to potatoes; some even raise their own cattle and poultry. So to indulge in a true farm-to-table holiday feast, complete with lavish accommodations, gather your crew and head to one of these eight luxurious farm hotels in the U.S. that are hosting gourmet Thanksgiving spreads.
Timbers Kauai
Who says you can’t head to the beach for Thanksgiving? Timbers Kauai is a 450-acre resort community on the Hawaiian island of Kauai that offers both direct ocean access and access to a massive farm full of fresh food. You and your family can sprawl out in one of 47 villas with views of the Pacific Ocean and the Hau’pu mountains, then enjoy the beach club, two pools, a Jack Nicklaus golf course, and luxe spa. When it comes to food, the property turns to the Farm at Hōkūala, its organic 11-acre plot that grows greens, pineapples, fruit, and twelve traditional Hawaiian canoe plants like kalo, noni, and breadfruit—a more tropical farm to be sure. Enjoy a Farm to Table Thanksgiving Dinner at Hualani’s oceanfront restaurant or in the comfort of your own villa. Either way, the menu will draw from ingredients from the farm, ensuring a fresh and delicious meal.
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Fearrington Village
Located on a former dairy farm in Pittsboro, North Carolina, Fearrington Village, a Relais & Château property, is home to an inn, spa, and three restaurants. The original dairy barn, granary, farmhouse, and silo remain, while gardens growing vegetables and herbs for the restaurants are sprinkled throughout the property, and Belted Galloway cows, chicken, and Tennessee Fainting Goats graze in a pasture near the entrance. The fine dining Fearrington House Restaurant, run by James Beard Award semifinalist Colin Bedford, will serve a multi-course pre-fix menu on Thanksgiving that will include Southern essentials like collard greens, sweet potatoes, pork and chestnut stuffing, and a sorghum-glazed turkey, with much of the ingredients sourced on site or from nearby farms.
Lodge & Spa at Brush Creek Ranch
A working Wyoming ranch set on 30,000 acres, the Lodge & Spa at Brush Creek Ranch is an all-inclusive luxury ranch experience. This summer, the debuted the Farm at Brush Creek, which features multiple greenhouses growing goodies like tomatoes, kale and carrots, as well as a distillery, a brewery, and the Medicine Bow Creamery. These ventures, along with the ranch’s robust cattle operation, supply the new fine dining restaurant Cheyenne Club with almost all of its ingredients. Ranch guests can tour the farm and engage in half-day interactive experiences such as “Farmer for a Day” in the greenhouse, a butchery workshop, or a wine blending seminar (there’s also an extensive cellar at the farm.) On Thanksgiving, guests can partake in holiday cooking classes, and enjoy unlimited activities including horseback riding, archery, fishing, shooting, and the Lil Wrangler program for children. The holiday feast at the Cheyenne Club will include a fall harvest salad, roast turkey and stuffing, pan-seared Rocky Mountain trout, and gnocchi with acorn squash and winter greens. And, of course, there will be pie: apple, pumpkin and pecan.
The Inn at Little Washington
Farm-to-table and three Michelin stars? Enjoy the best of both worlds at the opulent Inn at Little Washington in Washington, Virginia, where the four course Thanksgiving menu will showcase the seasonal bounty of produce from the Inn’s extensive garden and neighboring farms. For each course, guests will have the option to choose from one of the Inn’s classic dishes, a vegetarian option, or the Inn’s Michelin star take on a Thanksgiving classic. The culinary team, led by award-winning Chef Patrick O’Connell, works closely with the farm to plan ahead for what they anticipate utilizing on the fall, winter and holiday menus. So for this season, you’ll find O’Henry sweet potatoes, watermelon and daikon radishes, Hakurei turnips, kale and Swiss chard that will be braised with shelling beans, and carrots that will be stewed in cognac and orange. The next day, enjoy afternoon tea by the fireplace—if you’re not still full from dinner.
The Lodge at Blue Sky
A new luxury outdoors-focused hotel just outside Park City, Utah, The Lodge at Blue Sky, Auberge Resorts Collection, sits on a 3,500-acre ranch with 46 plush rooms, a wellness center, a distillery, and a farm. If you’re feeling sporty this holiday, on November 28th, join the Saving Gracie’s Turkey Trot 3K and race through Blue Sky Ranch to the finish line at Gracie’s Farm, where you’ll be greeted by some barnyard friends. Gracie’s Farm is the resort’s on-site 1.5-acre organic farm that yields eggs, veggies, herbs, wildflowers, and honey, which are all used at on-site restaurant Yuta. After the run (or even if you don’t participate—no judgment), feast on a traditional Thanksgiving Dinner at Yuta, where the menu influenced by Native American cuisine will puts the sustainably-sourced, seasonal heirloom ingredients to good use.
Castle Hot Springs
Arizona’s first-ever luxury resort—Castle Hot Springs—re-opened this month after a massive renovation. Originally established in 1896, the iconic resort is known for its thermal hot springs, wellness focus, and farm-to-table ethos. The resort’s Harvest restaurant embraces its moniker by creating daily rotating menus based off the on-site farm’s yield. The one-acre farm, which includes a greenhouse and citrus grove, grows more than 150 varieties of fruits and vegetables—including more than 30 varieties of heirloom tomatoes. This Thanksgiving, the resort will offer a multi-course dinner including spiced carrot bisque with pomegranates, pickled garden chilies, and brown butter sage; blue kale salad; garden squash ratatouille; wood-roasted guinea hen with sage butter; herb-crusted turkey smoked over pecans; and pumpkin and apple pies.
The Allison Inn & Spa
Less than hour outside Portland, in Oregon’s Willamette Valley wine country, lies The Allison Inn & Spa. Surrounded by picturesque vineyards, the upscale hotel is home to one of the best spas in the region (book a vinotherapy treatment for the day after Thanksgiving—you’ll thank us later), and the award-winning restaurant JORY, which is supplied by a 1.5-acre organic chef’s garden. Everything from saffron to kale to tomatoes are grown on the farm, which includes a large greenhouse. Guests can wander through the garden on their own, or request a tour with the farmer. On Thanksgiving, tables will be laden with the fresh bounty in the form of dishes like garden celeriac soup, turkey with apple-walnut stuffing and broccolini, whipped sweet potatoes, and white chocolate bread pudding with cranberry compote—with each main course paired with a Willamette Valley wine.
Blackberry Farm
It’s almost impossible to talk about farm hotels in the U.S. without mentioning Blackberry Farm in Walland, Tennessee, as this 4,200-acre resort on the edge of the Smoky Mountains has become the standard bearer of farmhouse—and foodie–chic. The 62 rooms, two restaurants, and wellness center sit on a property that also includes rolling green hills dotted with grazing sheep and cows, spacious pens with pigs and turkeys, a brewery, and a wide swath of land devoted to an organic farm led by the inimitable farmer John Coykendall, who’s growing everything from beans to sour cherries. The week of Thanksgiving is packed with activities, including a 5K Turkey Trot, football tailgating party, family bingo night, and holiday cocktail workshop. And of course, dinner will be nothing short of epic, whether it’s eaten at the acclaimed The Barn or the more casual Dogwood.
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