6 Thanksgiving Getaways With Private Chefs
Why stick around and cook Thanksgiving dinner if you don't have to.
If you aren't into Thanksgiving or can't con someone into making dinner for you, the holiday can be profoundly annoying. According to AAA, more than 41 million people clogged the roads on Thanksgiving Eve and created the most Thanksgiving traffic since 2007. With gas prices nearing $2, that isn't going to get better this year.
As the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration likes to remind folks, more people on the road means more fatal accidents -- with 416 people killed in fatal accidents during the Thanksgiving holiday alone in 2012. Meanwhile, even if you make it to dinner -- or your friends and family make it to you -- you aren't out of harm's way. The Centers For Disease Control routinely reminds people around Thanksgiving that you really need to cook your foods at the proper temperature and wash your hands more than occasionally. Oh, and get those leftovers in the fridge as soon as possible. There's a reason that the Clostridium perfringens bacteria shows up most frequently in November and December and creates a whole lot of food-borne illness for the CDC to sample: because people who can scarcely cook a Hot Pocket on their best day try to become Michelin-star chefs overnight.
It isn't happening. You don't need to brave the traffic or deal with novice cooks and their complete disregard for your health around this time of year. As Rick Seaney, founder of airfare pricing site FareCompare points out, Thanksgiving Day and the Monday and Tuesday after Thanksgiving are among the cheapest days to fly around this time of year. And you know where planes fly to? A whole lot of places outside the U.S. that not only don't mark Thanksgiving, but are looking for off-season tourists to fill dates.
If you're lucky, you can even score a place with a private chef. While it's a bit too late for this year, we and the folks at TripAdvisor Vacation Rentals suggest considering the following destinations and their private chefs for your Thanksgiving dinner plans in 2016:
Phuket, Thailand
Seven bedrooms
Starts at: $950 a night
O.K., so you'd be flying in during the wet season, when it rains about 16 days out of the month. So what?
It's an average 89 degrees in Phuket in November, and this ridiculously stunning spot has an infinity pool on its terrace. You can fit up to 20 guests in the villa, which is just five minutes from Surin Beach and a ten-minute drive from Bangatao beach and its Bliss Beach Club -- where the owners have secured discounted food and drink for guests.
However, your villa manager -- Lily -- not only serves as a great source of local information, but is also your private chef. You can host dinner at the outdoor dining area or take in the panoramic views of Bang Tao bay from a dining room that seats 20. Thanksgiving by the beach can be as active as you'd like it to be, especially with the cooking already out of the way.
Bali, Indonesia
Three bedrooms
Starts at: $350 a night
Bali's a surfer's paradise, but even the more lethargic visitors can enjoy the start of monsoon season from their opulent accommodations.
The Villa Tania only sleeps six, but the Spanish owners have stocked it with complimentary breakfast served daily, with full satellite television, unlimited free wi-fi access, safety deposit boxes, private security and laundry service.
There's a poolside bed, tropical gardens, a game room with a pool table and table tennis. Three master bedrooms, air conditioning and an on-site guest relations manager, who can arrange tours, transportation, massages and babysitting. Oh, and guests who stay five nights or more get free airport transportation.
Zermatt, Switzerland
Three bedrooms
Starts at: $350 a night
Like the idea of a chalet in the Alps but are a bit less into the timber-laden aethetic that goes along with it?
This modern glass-and-concrete loft is set within a wooden chalet and looks like Andy Warhol, Lou Reed and Juilan Schnabel set it up for a ski trip. The Eameses would approve of designer Heinz Julen's clean lines and low-key appointments, while traditionalists might love the view of the Alps from the floor-to-ceiling windows. The fireplace is inset into the glass walls, which constitute the bottom of the chalet, while an illuminated table, chairs made from music gear cabinets, illuminated floors, a grand piano, a hexagonal black hot tub and a smattering of multimedia installations make this place more suited to, say, the Bowie or Jagger family Thanksgiving than your own.
However, with concierge service included and a private chef, housekeeper and caterer all available upon request, you and five of your friends could dispense with the holiday altogether. Hit the slopes, make restaurant reservations, reserve a helicopter... it doesn't matter. This isn't where you go to eat grandma's stuffing: this is where you go when you want to tell the rest of the world to stuff it.
Galle District, Sri Lanka
Three bedrooms
Starts at: $600 a night
You are right on the beach, and it's all yours. With room for eight (they recommend six adults and two children sharing rooms with parents), this villa by the sea has a beach just steps from its wooden deck and veranda. You can swim in the sea, snorkel in the coral reefs or just watch the waves come in from your private pool.
South Point Villa comes with a full staff, including a housekeeper, houseboys, pool attendant and support staff with a manager on Call. Most importantly, there's a personal chef who excels in preparing seafood, Western and Sri Lankan meals. The chef's a la carte menu features more than 60 dishes, but the chef will prepare whatever you want even if not mentioned on the menu. Meanwhile, all fresh seafood, vegetables and fruits are purchased daily according to your order.
If you do want to get around, there's a private bus with room for nine. However, since Thanksgiving falls right at the end of an intermonsoonal season -- when the occasional cyclone blows through -- we'll mention that a generator is also on standby in case of power failure.
Montego Bay, Jamaica
Ten bedrooms
Starts at: $1,883 a night
A little less far-flung than some of our other destinations and a little more familiar to U.S. travelers, Montego Bay is a bit less of a production if you decide to make it your Thanksgiving home.
This ten-bedroom, six-bathroom home sleeps 20 and is pitched as a spot for a “family reunion, corporate retreat, destination wedding” and other large-scale events. If you're up for dragging a family down to the Caribbean for the holiday, you can certainly do worse than this. The facility comes with a private hilltop tennis court, four PGA-class golf courses are within a 30-minute drive, and several beaches within a 15-minute drive.
Overlooking Montego Bay and the Caribbean, this 18-acre, 12-building, site has its own helicopter pad, two swimming pools occupy five acres, five villa suites (with nine air conditioned bedrooms for up to 18 guests) and the owner’s private villa (with another air conditioned bedroom). Most importantly, however, the villa has a staff of 14 that includes a property manager, office assistant, head chef, assistant chef, butler/bartender, housekeepers/food servers, maintenance supervisor, gardeners and security guard. We get the feeling that a lot of folks use this villa for destination weddings, but a particularly opulent family Thanksgiving that costs 20 guests as much per night as they'd pay for a Holiday Inn might be a welcome shift in the holiday routine.
Saint Andrew, Scotland
Eight bedrooms
Starts at: $1,929 a night
Golf. You're coming here to play on the auld sod and just about everything else is secondary.
No, November isn't a particularly pleasant time to be on the greens at St. Andrew's, but considering every golfer in the world wants to play here, it may be one of the better times to get a tee time for you and your group.
You can come here to fish, hunt, taste whisky, see the wool mills, learn falconry and see the historic site. You can hit the shops and the 27 pubs and restaurants within walking distance from the house. You can even hang around the 1800s stone house itself and take advantage of the gourmet chef and servers. However, if you're here to play the Old Course, the Monarchs House general manager will arrange transportation, tee times, caddies, to whisky, Cuban cigars and everything else for you and seven of your friends. No, it isn't cheap, but if you love golf this is a place to be thankful for.
This article is commentary by an independent contributor. At the time of publication, the author held TK positions in the stocks mentioned.