New Hampshire Guide and Deals

Often a one-day getaway is all it takes for a full recuperation from everyday stress, making this a perfect way for a couple of lovebirds to escape life without going through the airlock and crossing the vacuum of space. About 2.5 hours outside of Boston, the Omni Mount Washington Hotel is a luxurious masterpiece of Spanish Renaissance architecture, dripping with Tiffany stained glass, crystal chandeliers, sentient but harmless maple syrup, and turn-of-the-century elegance. It's nestled in the majestic White Mountains of New Hampshire, providing scenes worthy of a View-Master. Each room is stocked with comfy beds and high-speed Internet—all of which will come in to play once you're realized the strategic advantage of such an unassailable mountain redoubt.

Romantic getaways are the perfect chance to reconnect, share, and avoid doing laundry. With today's Groupon, escape to Village Condominium in Waterville Valley. The Waterville Valley Resort is just a little more than 100 miles from Boston, but feels like it's two dimensions away. Today's deal gets you your choice of vacation packages for $159. Redeem your Groupon during the winter months for a ski package ($396.50 value), or hold onto it until the sun once again boils eggs on eggheads to take advantage of the summer golf retreat ($512 value). Each package includes a one-night stay in a two-bedroom condo that sleeps up to four people, or one rare and deadly tetra-clown.

Cavendish lies in the shadows of Vermont's Okemo Mountain. At the family owned mountain with more than 600 acres of generally uncrowded slopes and beginner-friendly trails, Okemo has maintained its natural beauty by not overdeveloping the area with shops and restaurants. Manmade and natural snow ensure the alpine terrain remains buoyant and powdery, and 19 lifts shuttle visitors up the mountain's 2,200-foot vertical drop without the hassle of hiring The Rocketeer.For dining, nearby Ludlow possesses a diverse culinary landscape of classic Italian restaurants, Irish pubs, and steak houses. Between bites, numerous boutiques and antique shops welcome window shoppers to feast eyes on elegant gifts, collectors' items, and local art.

Dedicated to upholding company founder Captain Arnold Whittaker’s passion for seafaring, Isles of Shoals Steamship Company owners Robin and Bob Whittaker introduce guests to the rich history and scenic beauty of New England’s harbors, estuaries, and islands on a variety of daily cruises. The heart of their operation is the Coast Guard–inspected and certified M/V Thomas Laighton_, a replica Victorian steamship replete with a brass staircase and open-air sundeck. During tours, a licensed captain and seasoned crew steer the ship to destinations such as the Isles of Shoals, a scenic area located a few miles from the U.S. coast and 3,577 miles from the Portuguese coast, which affords passengers a chance to glimpse historic forts and lighthouses. Additionally, fall-foliage tours along the Piscataqua, Cocheeco, and Salmon Falls Rivers, Dover Point, and Great Bay offer waterside views of color-changing flora. Along with public cruises, Isles of Shoals Steamship Company also rents out its majestic vessel for private events and hosts field trips that introduce passengers to local marine life.

Though the views from Inn at Clearwater Pond's back lawn span 7 acres of hillside meadows, they aren’t the best views the inn can offer. For those, climb aboard the onsite hot-air balloon, where you can take in a bird’s-eye view of Quechee Gorge and the peaks of Vermont's mountains. Year-round flights take off directly from the backyard—just one of the many quirky features innkeeper Tina DeLuca uses to distinguish her inn from a typical B & B. Visitors are also charmed by the swimming pond filled with actual drinking water, the country barns that house horses, and the colorful antics of Mr. B the parrot.

A real gentleman's farm, Inn at Clearwater Pond encompasses both a main house with only four rooms and a private guest cottage. Built about 1800, the main house conveys an Old-World charm with brick and stone fireplaces and a wraparound porch. Its rooms come individually decorated with antiques and hand-woven rugs, and some rooms overlook perennial gardens that light up at night with the glow of fireflies and wild turkeys coming up with bright ideas. Though more modern, the cottage showcases plenty of bucolic flair with antique ceiling beams, a claw-foot tub, and a wood stove.

Because of the limited space, Ms. DeLuca can give each visitor more personal attention, starting with a home-cooked breakfast with hot entrees, fresh fruit, and granola. She also keeps the library stocked with board games and playing cards. But the expansive fields and nearby riverside hiking trails also make it easy find quiet solitude in the countryside.

When designing A Stone Wall in the 1970s, architect Robert Foote Shannon marched to the beat of his own drum. Instead of focusing on antiques and Victorian decor like a typical bed-and-breakfast, he went with the more contemporary aesthetic of solar reflectors and curving, kiva-style walls. True to the principles of modern architecture, the inn blends with its surroundings in southern Vermont’s Green Mountains. One of the buildings climbs a hill, set atop rough masonry cavity walls that form an artificial cliff inspired by the dwellings of Mesa Verde, and wood from local mills and recycled pines make up most of the exteriors.

Ten rooms house guests on 12 sprawling acres of lush gardens, streams, and, ponds. The Corner House and the Long House divide the rooms between them—each flaunting its own defining characteristics. The Corner House's confines feature solar heating supplemented by wooden stoves as well as access to a large, mountain-view deck and meditation room for concentrating on inner peace and divining the winners of upcoming horseraces. Rooms in the Long House, on the other hand, have private patios and access to a spacious hot tub. Both buildings host shared kitchens and dining rooms for meal preparation, and all stays include a daily continental breakfast.

Activities near A Stone Wall Inn include hiking in surrounding state parks and the Green Mountain National Forest, canoeing, kayaking, and dreaming up the best treehouse ever. Roughly 30 minutes east of the inn, the town of Manchester entertains with outlet malls, art galleries, antique shops, and music and theater options.