Real Winter Wonderlands: Where the 1 Percent Go for the Holidays

By Jane Ridley

While most people’s holiday season revolves around visits to family you’d rather avoid, plus endless reruns of “It’s a Wonderful Life” on the TV, a lucky few with jumbo bank accounts get to travel the world.

Here’s a selection of eight over-the-top winter getaways favored by the rich and famous that the rest of us can only dream about.

Around the world in 17 days

The Christmas market in Vienna’s Rathausplatz.

Why stop at one international city during the Christmas shopping season when you can experience eight? Paris, Singapore, and London are among the spectacular destinations you’ll tour on the so-called Ultimate Christmas Trip. The 17-night globe-trotting marathon, which costs $78,990 per person, also takes in the famous Christmas lights fiesta in Medellin, Colombia, before concluding with the outdoor market in Vienna’s legendary festive Rathausplatz.Your own private lagoon on the Riviera Maya.

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Imagine having five dedicated staff members — including a personal chef, butler and boat captain — catering to your every whim. That’s all part of the holiday package when you rent the $14,000-a-night Casa Laguna suite, a stunning 9,500-square-foot retreat at Mayakoba, an ultraluxurious resort in Mexico’s Riviera Maya. The expansive three-bedroom suite, popular with billionaires like Sir Philip Green — who celebrated his 60th birthday there with Rihanna and Stevie Wonder — is built over a lagoon, and boasts two private boat docks and a swimming pool.

Your own private lagoon on the Riviera Maya

Mayakoba in Riviera Maya.

Imagine having five dedicated staff members — including a personal chef, butler and boat captain — catering to your every whim. That’s all part of the holiday package when you rent the $14,000-a-night Casa Laguna suite, a stunning 9,500-square-foot retreat at Mayakoba, an ultraluxurious resort in Mexico’s Riviera Maya. The expansive three-bedroom suite, popular with billionaires like Sir Philip Green — who celebrated his 60th birthday there with Rihanna and Stevie Wonder — is built over a lagoon, and boasts two private boat docks and a swimming pool.

Stay in a luxe Swedish treehouse

Treehotel in Sweden (Photo: Fredrik Broman, Human Spectra)

Channel your inner arborist with a stay at the strikingly beautiful Treehotel in Sweden, where expert architects have designed a series of unique “tree rooms” that blend in with the surrounding forest. The chic hotel, which offers six self-contained tree rooms priced at around $1,200 for a two-night stay, is 40 miles south of the Arctic Circle — so you can gaze at the Northern Lights as you munch on the local fare of reindeer, moose, or bear.

Related: Rich People, They’re Not Just Like Us: How the 1% Travel

An adventure concierge in the Costa Rican rain forest

Round up 14 of your favorite people and head to Costa Rica’s Villa Manzu, a 30,000-square-foot private estate in the heart of the rain forest. For the December rate of $23,000 per night — that’s for the whole property — you and your besties can enjoy five-star amenities, including your own chef, a secluded beach, and two heated swimming pools. You even get your own “adventure concierge” to coordinate activities like paddle boarding, kayaking, biking, and fishing.

Aspen your way

(Photo: Hotel Jerome, an Auberge Resort)

Anyone who is anyone winters in Aspen, Colorado. And the place to be seen over the holidays is the 125-year-old Hotel Jerome, a town institution since the silver-mining days of the late 1800s. A cool $125,000 buys couples a four-night stay over New Year’s as part of the hotel’s top-notch Aspen Elevated package, which includes private air travel to the Rocky Mountains resort, a pair of custom skis, as well as fast-track lift passes — so you don’t have to wait in line with the lesser mortals.

A private Christmas dinner in your hotel room

Opt out of the usual tedious holiday chores such as gift-wrapping and cooking by having the Langham Chicago take over Christmas for you. The hotel’s $10,000 “Miracle on Wabash Avenue” package secures you a 2,700-square-foot suite complete with a fully decked-out Christmas tree, personalized stockings hung from the fireplace, butler service, and a special Christmas Eve dinner for up to eight guests — prepared by top chef Tim Graham.

Chalet chic in the French Alps

Chalet Pelerin (Photo: Eleven Experience)

Nothing shows you’re a card-carrying member of the 1 percent more than a ski vacation in the Alps. But if you’re the 1 percent of the 1 percent, you stay at the fabulously chic Chalet Pelerin, situated in the tiny village of Le Miroir near Savoie, France. A $17,000 all-inclusive package for eight guests includes an on-site chef to prepare all meals, a day of heli-sking, plus use of a steam room, sauna, outdoor hot tub, and saltwater lap pool.

Related: When Did Skiing Get So Expensive? Here’s How to Save

Dom Perignon under the stars at Coachella Valley

(Photo: JW Marriott Desert Springs Resort & Spa)

If sand rather than snow is more your thing for the holidays, splurge on the four-day Have It All, Under the Stars package at JW Marriot Desert Springs Resort & Spa in California’s Pal Desert. The luxurious trip, between Dec. 24 and Dec. 28, costs $12,230 per couple — $18,200 for a party of four — and includes a star-gazing picnic, a jeep safari and a Dom Perignon-stocked poolside cabana.

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