What it is

A 199-room resort tucked on 855 acres of Green Mountain National Forest, with an 18-hole championship golf course, spa, five restaurants and adventures galore—including clay pigeon shooting with Orvis.

What it isn't

Lackluster. There’s a reason multiple U.S. Presidents have used their hard-earned vacation days here over the last two centuries.

What we think

For people who have everything, this is the *resort* that has everything. An 1896 Adirondack-style boat house on a glimmering 14-acre pond? Check. Three tennis courts? Check. On-property exploits like sledding and fly fishing? They’re only the beginning. We particularly love that your room choices run the gamut, from an 1811 home once owned by Abraham Lincoln’s own granddaughter—where suites would wow even persnickety Mary Todd, with canopied beds and flickering fireplaces—to a sumptuous bi-level “Cupola Suite” with a 360-degree panorama over the landscape. Feel like moving in? Try one of their vacation rentals, full-on homes like the 5-bedroom Meadow House, which rings a contemplative pond and has screened porches perfect for sweet tea and your latest beach read binge.

You're here because

The resort’s Orvis Experience partnerships means you can perfect your fly-fishing and sporting clay pigeon shooting with true pros (the latter use the English Churchill method of wingshooting—you’ll look like an extra in Downton Abbey). Bonus: you can also try their Land Rover off-roading course, 11 miles studded with hair-raising creek crossings.

The Moment

After a day steeped in history, you can’t help but book a table at the resort’s Marsh Tavern—open since 1769—for dinner.

Restaurants & Bars

Marsh Tavern - Offers classic New England fare for lunch and dinner

Chop House - Intimate steakhouse

Falcon Bar - Holds more than 50 varieties of wine & single-malt scotches

Dormy Grill - Cocktails with a view (open seasonally)

Location

The pride of Manchester, Vermont, since 18th century, just up the road from Hildene, The Lincoln Family Home—a Georgian Revival estate on 412 acres where the Lincoln’s only surviving child, Robert, lived with his own brood, having fallen in love with this corner of Vermont while staying at Equinox with his mom and brother Tad.