Ride the rails with Santa
Virginia Scenic Railway offers year-round sightseeing excursions with a full Santa takeover during the holidays. Riders can visit with St. Nick (and snap their own photos), sip hot cocoa, and nosh on sweet treats while listening to holiday tunes during the roughly 50-minute, round-trip ride. The train is decked out with colorful lights, a faux fireplace near Santa’s chair and Christmas trees. Each year, Santa gives kids a collectible Santa gold-colored coin stamped with the year and Virginia Scenic Railway imagery.
Note: Book sooner rather than later; the excursions sold out in 2022 and 2023 around late November. Rides begin Dec. 1 and continue through Dec. 22, with Santa outings every day except Mondays; day and night times are available. The train departs from the Amtrak station in downtown Staunton, about 150 miles from Bethesda. Factor in time to find parking. $65 per person; children younger than age 2 ride for free on a parent’s lap.
Virginia Scenic Railway, departs from 1 Middlebrook Ave., Staunton, Virginia, 434-391-9772, virginiascenicrailway.com/rides/santas-scenic-railway
Enjoy a Bookish Weekend
Sink into a leather sofa with a good book at the Graduate by Hilton Princeton hotel’s tome-lined, two-story lobby/library in New Jersey. Opened in August just steps from Princeton University, the hotel joined 32 others in the upscale collegiate-themed Graduate collection, which became part of Hilton in March. Nods to the historic town and its Ivy League institution are incorporated throughout, from a hand-carved wooden reception desk flanked by four wooden statues of tigers—the school’s beloved mascot—to a collection of colorfully embroidered vintage “reunion jackets” (given to alumni at their 25th reunion) displayed on the walls. The lobby’s 30-foot wooden study table is a great place to work or gather with friends.
Seersucker drapes in orange and white (drawing from the school’s black and orange color palette), lamps modeled after Revolutionary War-era cannons, and framed artwork that details some of Princeton’s storied traditions are just a few university-inspired elements in the hotel’s 180 guest rooms. The green tile bathrooms with custom botanical wallpaper were inspired by the campus arboretum.
At the hotel’s Ye Tavern restaurant, named after a bar that occupied the site in the 1930s, try a cleverly titled cocktail, such as “In Honore of Jack,” a Manhattan that pays tribute to the owner of Jack Honore’s Barber Shop that once stood across the street. Nearby, the Gothic-style Princeton University Chapel and the Princeton University Art Museum are worth a campus stroll. Visit the Princeton Public Library, the most visited municipal public library in New Jersey, for its beautiful architecture, cozy seating areas and an event schedule packed with talks by authors, story times for kids and more.
Hotel room rates begin at $299.
Graduate by Hilton Princeton, 10 Chambers St., Princeton, New Jersey, 609-436-9400, hilton.com/en/hotels/pctgpgu-graduate-princeton
Treat Yourself to an Elegant Holiday
Begin and end a festive day in Annapolis, Maryland, with laid-back luxury at 1313 West, a seven-suite boutique hotel that opened in July as a sister property to nearby 134 Prince. Each elegantly designed suite at 1313 West includes percale linens on a cooling charcoal-infused, memory-foam mattress, a Nespresso machine, a record player (with a selection of albums) and a spa-like bathroom with herbal products from Farmaesthetics. Some also have a stand-alone tub for a relaxing soak. Suites are named after former Triple Crown-winning horses, such as the Secretariat Suite, the American Pharaoh Suite and the Seattle Slew Suite. There’s also an elegant parlor room, and a wraparound porch where visitors can enjoy their morning coffee on teak rocking chairs that overlook the lawn and garden terrace.
Tucked away on the lower level, the Jockey Club Lounge, a guest-only speakeasy, took its design inspiration from New York City’s famous Polo Bar. The hotel will be decked out in holiday finery as Annapolis enjoys a season full of festive traditions and events, including the Grand Illumination of the Annapolis Tree, a lighted boat parade, the Chocolate Binge Festival and an annual holiday market with live entertainment. See visitannapolis.org/events/holiday for details.
Rates at 1313 West begin at $399 a night and include a full fresh-made breakfast, just-baked cookies in the afternoon, plus coffee, espresso and tea throughout the day. Tesla chargers are available.
1313 West, 1313 West St., Annapolis, Maryland, 410-417-7888, 1313west.com
This story appears in the November/December 2024 issue of Bethesda Magazine.
