After months of Zoom calls from our lockdown cell, forest
bathing and digital detoxing in Tennessee’s Great Smoky Mountains
is the kind of back-to-nature immersion we’re craving. Hitting that
sweet spot between wilderness and wellness is Blackberry Mountain,
sibling to the much-loved Blackberry Farm. Embrace the Southern outdoors
along 40km of trails or head to the Hub for hot yoga, whittling
classes, meditation and farm-to-table fare. Should it be a man-made
sensory onslaught you’re hankering after, a trip to the Music City
of Nashville will likely hit the right note as gigs and restaurants
spark back to life. Shack up at Urban
Cowboy where the Wild West meets extravagant Victoriana and
great craft cocktails.

This small inn bordering Saguaro National Park is the kind of place where we wish we could have spent lockdown. Local ceramics, raw, woven woods, rusted tones and earthen fireplaces make for five understatedly cool yet inviting suites (Agave is our favourite), along with a yoga room, kitchen, pool, al-fresco dining space, outdoor movie theatre and campfire pit. Watching sunset beyond a horizon prickled with cacti is the kind of bliss we need.

As daily life resumes, November’s presidential election will no
doubt steal the spotlight and with it bring an electric atmosphere
to DC – though it’s by far a destination for politicos and
lobbyists alone. Between the white-marble museums and monuments,
spend days revelling in the booming cultural scene before bedding
down in one of the city’s many newly opened hotels, such as
Thompson or Riggs. We’re booking a spot in the
design-forward Line DC, a former neoclassical church with its own
pumping independent radio station.

Need an antidote to the great indoors? Plan an escape in
Colorado’s revived gold-rush town where miners – and, before them,
Ute Indians – are said to have enjoyed the restorative powers of
tectonic-controlled natural springs. Today, log-cabin living meets
modern luxe at this upscale resort on the banks of the Dolores
River. Use it as your base for exploring the San Juan Mountains or
settle in for some back-to-nature-style TLC between tucking into
regional fare in the saloon. Like this? Take the 15-minute drive to
Dunton River Camp.

Set on the edge of New Orleans’ Warehouse District, this City
Hall-turned-guest house from the group behind Ace Hotel takes
Southern charm and injects it with that kind of eclectic
worldliness coveted by the jet set. While flights are grounded,
immerse yourself in this Wes Anderson-style trove of
travel-inspired curiosities – antiques, artworks of hieroglyphics
and cattle brands – before discovering the Big Easy’s mish-mash of
culture and history.

Set to open in late 2020, this urban sanctuary is ideal for
Gothamites in need of a getaway but who lack the time, funds or
inclination to actually go away. With a Gilded-Age take on the
characteristic serenity of Aman properties, it overlooks Central
Park from the former home of the Museum of Modern Art. The spa is
the main draw, with treatment rooms, saunas, a pool and outdoor
terrace sprawling across three floors, but there’s also a
subterranean Jazz Club and a handful of refined dining and drinking
options to keep you – and a cohort of NYC’s beau monde –
entertained.

Fed up of following the rules? Check in to fun-loving Faena
where director Baz Luhrmann has lent his taste for the fantastical
to interiors made up of seashell-encrusted columns, bespoke murals,
a gigantic chandelier and a gilded woolly mammoth by Damien Hirst.
Make a splash in the 50s-style pool, visit the in-house movie
theatre or take a few steps to nearby Miami Beach. It’s play
time.

Eke out social distancing in the Alaskan bush – one of the last untouched places on Earth – where crowds and cars are traded in for free-roaming bears, soaring eagles and silent nights. “Real. Wild. Raw.” is the ethos here. Days are best-spent hiking, rafting, fishing and adventuring by plane before letting the tendrils of smoke that billow from the lodge’s chimney draw you back to base for a session in the wood-fired sauna and restful slumber in a log cabin overlooking the Chitina River. Typically open from May through to September.

With the need for eco-friendly travel more apparent than ever, sustainability-minded staycationers should cool-foot it to 1 Hotel West Hollywood, sister property of New York’s 1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge. Green really is the new black at this Sunset Strip spot. Biophilic design brings the natural world in via organic, reclaimed materials (carpets are fashioned from repurposed ocean plastics), abundant light, hanging gardens, a moss-covered wall and fabulous vistas across WeHo and Laurel Canyon.

In the remote Four Corners region – the intersection of Utah,
Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona – Amangiri is a modernist
destination in its own right, set amid 600 acres chiselled with
canyons, mesas, gorges and mountains. Opt for adrenaline-fuelled
adventure across the surrounding national parks and Lake Powell or
simply bask in the stillness of the desert, availing of the hotel’s
multiple pools and Navajo-inspired spa treatments. Enjoy taking a
walk on the wild side? Check out Ambiente
Landscape Hotel, set to open in Sedona in December 2020, or
immerse yourself in the red-rock surrounds by pitching up at
Under
Canvas Zion.

This adults-only inn offers a refreshingly modern take on the Charleston aesthetic while maintaining its Southern charm. Set in the trendsetting Cannonborough-Elliotborough neighbourhood (a short cycle from the Historic District; vintage bikes are free to borrow), this 1860s house turned boutique B&B spoils guests with light-flooded rooms (the Piazza King is our favourite), a decent breakfast spread, library, honesty bar and a daily cheese and wine hour – best enjoyed from a wicker chair on the verandah.

With recycled-redwood cabins and infinity pools hewn into Big Sur’s dramatic coastline, Post Ranch Inn is the Pacific Coast staycation of choice among those in the know. Nevertheless, we’re venturing further north into California wine country (a 90-minute drive from San Francisco) where the family-owned Farmhouse Inn is equal parts rustic and romantic thanks to buttermilk-coloured cottages, six acres of undulating vineyards and fuss-free Michelin-starred fare served in a 19th-century farmhouse.

With all activities, meals, drinks and accommodation included in
the rates, this Rockies ranch is on the splurge side of the
staycation budget, but is a great spot if you’re celebrating a
relaxation in lockdown restrictions with extended family or a group
of friends. Expect the best of the Wild West, minus the rugged
edge. Private cabins come with one to three bedrooms, kitchens, a
well-stocked bar and hot tub, while activities on offer include
snowshoeing, tennis, cookery classes and horseback riding along the
Lewis and Clark Trail.

From the brains behind Reykjavík’s stylish KEX, this
Scandi-style “social” hotel is the antithesis to social distancing
thanks to its mix of private and shared rooms, a live-music space,
a livelier rooftop bar and basement sauna – there’s the zero-waste
Dottír restaurant too. KEX is among the buzzy Eastside district’s
more affordable options, but if you have the cash to spare, opt for
Woodlark instead. Surfing the Oregon Coast and
taking in waterfalls of the Columbia River Gorge or skiing at Mount
Hood make for great excursions from the city.

This spruced-up 30s motor court on Route 66 is the ideal place
to get your post-lockdown kicks. The aesthetic here is modern-New
Mexican, with Instagram-ready interiors peppered with locally woven
Navajo fabrics, equipale barrel chairs, knotted woods and, erm,
Pepto Bismol-pink bathrooms. Like this? Follow the Pan American
Freeway an hour south to Albuquerque, where Los Poblanos – a hacienda-style inn and working
organic farm – specialises in field-to-fork dining and kits out
bathrooms with house-made lavender products.

Jackson Hole is renowned for its open spaces, imposing Teton
Range and free-spirited cowboys – everything we’re craving after
months of cramped solitude. After days spent skiing, hiking,
climbing or the like, huddle up in a blanket around an outdoor
firepit or dip in an infinity-edge hot tub at Caldera House and
breathe in a few lungfuls of backcountry air. This is what freedom
smells like.

Less than a 10-minute drive from Big Bend National Park, this retreat is where desert meets design. Set within 250 acres of private land, its 12 brutalist concrete casitas underscore the natural beauty of the arching Chisos Mountains beyond. You get the sense that this is the kind of place where you make new friends easily, thanks to its communal kitchen and firepit. Take a sunset cruise around Willow House before settling in for a spot of stargazing.

While trips abroad may be a no-no, this Japanese-inspired
retreat in Water Mill encourages inward exploration. Less than two
hours’ drive outside NYC, it’s the kind of place that’s popular
among the Goop set, with principles of wabi-sabi, traditional
healing and holistic living reigning supreme. Check in to one of
its 13 Zen rooms surrounded by three acres of lush woodland and
you’ll be near some of The Hamptons’ best beaches and shops to
boot. After a less bougie slice of Long Island? Soak up ocean
vistas from Sound View in Greenport.