The Winter Holidays

Christmas at a resort has one obvious advantage: someone else is doing the cooking. For families, that can be reason enough to leave home for a few days. Instead of worrying about meals, cleaning and entertaining everyone, you can spend the day skating, snowshoeing or playing games and let the resort take care of the rest.

Where to enjoy it:

• Fern Resort has been hosting families for generations, and its Christmas program is built around taking care of the details. The resort’s holiday packages include meals, entertainment and outdoor activities, while the Christmas-specific touches include cookies, hot chocolate, a festive version of Showtime and a complimentary Christmas Eve hayride complete with jingle bells. For families who want to spend Christmas together without having to organize every meal, activity and moment of the day, Fern has turned the holiday into a ready-made getaway.

• At JW Marriott The Rosseau Muskoka Resort & Spa, the setting on Lake Rosseau gives the holidays a decidedly Muskoka feel, but one of its most distinctive winter experiences happens above the snow rather than on the lake. The resort's Muskoka Ice Caves are private, transparent dining domes on the rooftop terrace, where guests can sit beside the fire and share charcoal-grilled dishes, fondue or raclette while looking out over the winter landscape. It's the sort of experience that gives a holiday stay a story to tell when you get home

• Sherwood Inn leans into the traditions of a Muskoka lodge. During the holiday period, the resort opens for a full run of festive programming, including gingerbread-house making, mulled-wine tastings and a snowman-building competition. Its Lake Joseph setting and on-site Vintages restaurant make it possible to spend the holidays without leaving the property, while winter activities such as snowshoeing, fat biking and cross-country skiing provide a reason to get outside between meals. 

• At Nottawasaga Resort, Christmas celebrations can take many forms, from holiday parties and gala dinners to family getaways. Just 45 minutes from Toronto, the Alliston resort has a tropical-style indoor pool and 100-foot waterslide, as well as two NHL-size hockey rinks, giving families plenty to do between festive meals and celebrations.

Valentine’s Escapes

By February, a little time away can feel especially welcome. Valentine’s Day gives couples a reason to book a night or two somewhere with a good dinner, a warm pool, a fireplace or simply a little more time together than the usual Saturday night allows.

Ontario’s resorts offer very different ways to spend that weekend. You might soak outdoors in the middle of winter, stay in a tiny lakeside lodge, explore Niagara wine country or head into Algonquin for a more secluded escape.

Where to enjoy it:

• At Millcroft Inn & Spa, the main attraction in February may be outside. Two outdoor hot spring pools are kept at approximately 40°C, with a 7°C polar plunge for those willing to go the other way. The pools overlook the grounds around the historic inn and Shaw's Creek, making it possible to spend a winter afternoon in warm water with snow and the surrounding countryside close by.

• At Pillar and Post Inn & Spa, Valentine’s Day can be paired with a winter visit to Niagara-on-the-Lake’s wine country. The resort occupies a restored 19th-century cannery, originally built as a peach and tomato processing factory, and its 100 Fountain Spa includes a secluded outdoor hot spring pool. Add dinner at the Cannery Restaurant, housed within the original building, and a stroll through the town or nearby vineyards, and you have a getaway that combines history, wine and spa time in one place.

• At White Oaks Resort & Spa, a Valentine’s getaway can include a little competition. The resort’s Club has six indoor, climate-controlled tennis courts, eight squash courts and two racquetball courts, alongside swimming, fitness classes and personal training. Couples can also book treatments at the spa, which offers everything from massages and facials to a dedicated Couples Retreat package with a couples massage and two pedicures. Set among Niagara-on-the-Lake’s wineries, White Oaks makes a good choice for couples who want their weekend to be as active as it is relaxing.

• At Heather Lodge, Valentine's Day can feel deliberately intimate. The adult-only lodge has just 12 studios and accommodates no more than 24 guests, with many rooms overlooking Twelve Mile Lake. Meal-plan stays include a four-course dinner and two-course breakfast, while some studios have private two-person outdoor hot tubs or wood-burning fireplaces. It’s a small-scale escape where the dining room, lake and quiet surroundings are all part of the experience.

• At Couples Resort, Valentine’s Day is built into the property’s DNA. The Algonquin Park resort is exclusively for couples, with accommodations overlooking Galeairy Lake and private outdoor hot tubs and wood-burning fireplaces in every room. A five-course gourmet dinner and breakfast are included with the stay, while the surrounding park provides plenty of options for getting outside. It’s a place where the entire getaway, from the room to the meals to the setting, is designed for two.