For travelers looking to trade traditional fall activities for something a little more mystical, the season offers plenty of opportunities to explore the supernatural, reconnect with nature and embrace a little magic.
Sky Rock Sedona | Sedona, Arizona
Sedona’s red rocks provide a naturally mystical backdrop for a fall escape. At Sky Rock Sedona, guests can participate in full moon intention-setting ceremonies, moonrise gong rituals and sound baths. Select evenings also feature complimentary palmistry readings; guided vortex excursions offer an opportunity to explore the area’s celebrated energy sites. For a celestial nightcap, Bar WooWoo serves the Full Moon Martini.
With centuries of history and stories of paranormal encounters, Boston offers a fitting setting for a getaway. Visitors can explore the reportedly haunted Omni Parker House Hotel, where the ghost of founder Harvey Parker is said to roam, or wander through Granary Burying Ground, the final resting place of notable figures including Paul Revere and John Hancock.
Mandarin Oriental Boston offers a 90-minute Forest Bathing Therapy experience inspired by the Japanese practice of shinrin-yoku. The guided experience combines mindful walks, meditation and a closing tea ceremony. The Liberty Hotel occupies the former Charles Street Jail, a Gothic Revival structure that operated as a jail for 140 years before opening as a hotel in 2007.
Travelers interested in the city’s darker history can book a guided excursion with Haunted Boston Ghost Tours or explore the Old North Church’s after-hours crypt tours, which share stories of colonial burial practices and discoveries from the crypt’s restoration.
Hotel Californian | Santa Barbara, California
On Halloween night, Hotel Californian invites guests to embrace their mystical side with Sunset Sessions: Mystic Nights at Mirador Rooftop. Set against the Pacific sunset, the October 31 event runs from 5 to 9 p.m. and features tarot readings, cocktails and music in the hotel’s Moroccan-inspired setting.
Guests who dress to enchant can enter a costume contest for the chance to win a one-night stay and dinner at The Knock Kitchen + Cocktails. Tickets cost $35, and overnight hotel guests receive complimentary admission. The event is open to guests 21 and older.
Alila Ventana Big Sur | Big Sur, California
Surrounded by towering redwoods and rugged coastal cliffs, Alila Ventana Big Sur offers a nature-centered approach to spiritual wellness. The resort’s experiences include Reiki in the Redwoods, guided meditation, astrology, tarot readings and sound bowl sessions.
Guests can explore breathwork beneath the redwoods, unwind in open-air Japanese hot baths or meditate with views of the Pacific. Through its Alila Experiences program, the resort offers additional opportunities for travelers looking to reconnect with themselves and explore the relationship between mind, body and spirit.
The Ritz-Carlton, New Orleans | New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans’ reputation for ghost stories, historic cemeteries and spiritual traditions makes it a natural choice for a spooky-season escape. From the French Quarter’s ghost tours to cemetery excursions, the city offers plenty of ways to explore its mysterious past.
The Ritz-Carlton, New Orleans offers the Ultimate Voodoo Ritual, an 80-minute massage inspired by the city’s traditions. The experience begins with a custom botanical and herbal soak inspired by the legendary voodoo priestess Marie Laveau, with spa therapists explaining the ingredients’ physical and spiritual associations. A relaxing massage incorporating guided meditation follows.
The Westin Nashville | Nashville, Tennessee
Downtown Nashville is getting a Halloween makeover with a lineup of rooftop parties and wellness experiences at The Westin Nashville. Beginning October 29, the Afterlife Lounge transforms L27 Rooftop Bar into a Beetlejuice-inspired pop-up featuring themed cocktails and bites.
The festivities continue October 30 with the Halloween Eve Masquerade, followed by the Haunted L27 Halloween Night Party on October 31. For a more restorative take, Rhapsody Spa offers a Soundbath featuring its signature candlelit sound bath, a spooky cocktail, chakra balancing and a tarot card reading.
Grand Wailea, A Waldorf Astoria Resort | Wailea, Hawaii
For travelers who prefer ocean breezes, Grand Wailea offers a mystical escape along Maui’s Wailea coastline. The resort’s holistic wellness rituals include personalized astrology readings, tarot sessions, aura portraits, chakra readings and private sound-healing journeys.
Guests can pair days spent enjoying the tropical setting with experiences intended to support reflection and spiritual exploration, creating a beach getaway with a little extra magic.
Carmel-by-the-Sea | Carmel, California
With misty mornings, forest trails and storybook cottages, Carmel-by-the-Sea offers a cozy coastal setting for travelers seeking a quieter escape. The village spans roughly one square mile and is easy to explore on foot, with European-inspired streets lined with independent boutiques, more than 80 art galleries, hidden courtyards, local wine-tasting rooms and acclaimed restaurants.
Carmel Cottage Inn offers vintage cottages set in gardens just one block from the beach and a few blocks from downtown. Candle Light Inn provides another inviting option, with cozy rooms, in-room fireplaces and a courtyard within walking distance of both the beach and the village center.
Sanctuary Camelback Mountain Resort & Spa | Scottsdale, Arizona
Sanctuary Camelback Mountain Resort & Spa offers a celestial take on desert wellness through its Celestial Circle experiences. These guided gatherings blend lunar traditions, meditation and ceremony, inviting guests to set intentions, reconnect with their intuition and reflect against the backdrop of the Sonoran Desert.
The Gemini Supermoon Celestial Circle encourages participants to explore the symbolism of the lunar cycle while seeking clarity and inner balance. The experience offers a distinctive way to connect with the natural rhythms of the season without leaving the Valley.
Asheville offers a fall getaway that blends nature, wellness and mystical traditions. At The Restoration Hotel, guests can explore rooftop sunset and new moon sound baths paired with private tarot readings.
SoHum Mountain Healing Resort offers experiences such as sunrise fire rituals, chakra color therapy and Ayurvedic Abhyanga spa treatments. Throughout the region, visitors can also find guided forest-bathing walks, herbalism and wild-foraging workshops, private aura readings and technology-free energy-healing retreats at Compassionate Expressions Sanctuary.
