The holiday season carries a certain magic — a time many await with anticipation, tradition, and celebration. Yet beyond familiar rituals, this period also offers a rare opportunity: to celebrate while discovering the world anew. While December is often one of the busiest travel months, select destinations rise above the crowds, offering privacy, elevated service, and deeply personal luxury experiences.
At ALO, we curated five destinations across the globe designed to honor the season in entirely different ways — whether restoring your energy beneath Arctic skies, embracing old-world elegance, escaping to sun-drenched shores, finding stillness in the desert, or exploring dramatic landscapes at your own pace. Each journey can be tailored to your rhythm, desires, and sense of adventure.
Sweden — A Private Wellness Escape Beneath the Northern Lights
With the Northern Lights visible up to 200 nights a year, Sweden offers one of the most mesmerizing winter spectacles on earth. Studies suggest aurora viewing can reduce stress, elevate mood, and foster emotional restoration, making it as therapeutic as it is awe-inspiring.
Treehotel transforms this cosmic phenomenon into a deeply intimate experience. Suspended 4–6 meters above the forest floor, its architect-designed treehouse suites immerse guests in silence, snow-covered landscapes, and sweeping views of the Lule River valley. Their most iconic guesthouse, Mirrorcube, cloaked in reflective glass, blends seamlessly into its surroundings, offering privacy, warmth, and sky-facing windows ideal for silent aurora viewing.
Winter days are shaped by Nordic rituals and outdoor adventure — husky sledding, horseback riding, reindeer encounters, ice fishing, forest spas, and village visits — while evenings unfold through refined dining experiences rooted in microseasonality. Menus highlight local produce sourced from nearby partners, allowing flavors of the North to take center stage.
A stay at Treehotel is less about escape and more about reconnection — with nature, stillness, and yourself.
Vienna, Austria — Elegance and Christmas Traditions
Few cities embody Christmas like Vienna. During the holiday season, the Austrian capital transforms into a living fairytale — historic squares glow with festive markets, palace façades shimmer with light, and cafés invite long, indulgent pauses over pastries and warm punch.
Staying at Hotel Imperial places guests at the very heart of this tradition. Once a 19th-century palace, the hotel blends imperial grandeur with modern refinement across its rooms and suites. Just steps away lie Vienna’s most iconic Christmas markets, including Rathausplatz, Schönbrunn, and Belvedere, alongside classical concerts, ice skating at Rathauspark, and illuminated streets like Graben.
The hotel’s Imperial Christmas Eve Package elevates the season with a champagne reception, live music, and an exquisite five-course gala dinner — all within festively adorned halls that feel timeless. Recently awarded two MICHELIN Keys, Hotel Imperial stands among the world’s most exceptional stays.
Beyond festive, Vienna at Christmas is cinematic, cultural, and deeply elegant.
Seychelles — Barefoot Luxury on a Private Island
For those seeking sun instead of snow, North Island offers a holiday season defined by warmth, privacy, and effortless luxury. Located within the Seychelles archipelago in the Indian Ocean, this exclusive private island is a sanctuary of untouched beaches, lush flora, and crystalline waters.
With just 11 handcrafted villas, North Island guarantees complete seclusion. Each beachfront villa opens onto private gardens, features plunge pools, outdoor showers, and seamless sunrise views. Villa North, the island’s centerpiece, offers elevated decks, a private firepit, and panoramic ocean vistas — ideal for families or extended stays.
Days flow at your own pace: hiking through tropical landscapes, paddleboarding, diving, yoga, or simply drifting between beach and spa.
Dining is entirely bespoke, with Creole-inspired menus infused with European technique, creative cocktails, and destination dining set anywhere across the island’s 201 hectares.
North Island redefines the holidays as a barefoot celebration of nature, intimacy, and unhurried time.
Oman — Desert Serenity in Wahiba Sands
Set amid the golden dunes of Oman’s Sharqiya Sands, Magic Camps delivers a desert experience rooted in Bedouin heritage and elevated by refined comfort. December offers ideal conditions, with mild temperatures and clear skies perfect for exploration.
This eco-sensitive camp features ten spacious luxury tents crafted from natural materials, each with private bathrooms, handcrafted furnishings, and serene outdoor seating areas. Evenings unfold beneath star-filled skies with candlelit dinners and quiet reflection, while shared moments take place in the Majlis — a traditional tented lounge.
Guests can opt for exclusive use of the entire camp, ensuring total privacy. Activities range from camel trekking and sandboarding to guided hikes, meditation sessions, stargazing, and Bedouin home visits. Culinary experiences are fully customizable, blending local flavors with global influences.
Recognized by the World Luxury Hotel Awards in 2023 and 2024, Magic Camps offers a rare invitation to slow down and reconnect with the desert’s enduring rhythm.
Patagonia — Private Adventure
December marks the height of summer in Patagonia, bringing longer days, milder temperatures, and ideal conditions for exploration.
Set within a private reserve overlooking Torres del Paine and Lake Sarmiento, Awasi Patagonia redefines luxury adventure through privacy and personalization.
With only 14 standalone villas, each guest is assigned a private guide and 4×4 vehicle, allowing complete freedom to explore at a personalized pace. The villas, designed to blend seamlessly into the landscape, feature wood-burning fireplaces, outdoor hot tubs, expansive terraces, and uninterrupted views of Patagonia’s dramatic terrain.
Days may include horseback riding, wildlife safaris, iconic hikes, or scenic drives, while evenings invite stargazing, in-room massages, and quiet reflection. As a member of Relais & Châteaux, Awasi’s cuisine showcases seasonal Patagonian flavors sourced from its organic garden and local producers.
If you are heading to Awasi Patagonia, be ready to experience one of the world’s most powerful landscapes in the most deep immersive way.
We hope these destinations inspire holidays that feel deeply restorative and richly meaningful — with moments of joy, beauty, and connection that linger beyond the season. It is in these refined pauses that a luminous, hopeful tone for the year ahead begins to unfold. From all of us at ALO, warm holiday wishes and a graceful beginning to 2026!
