Your big day has come to a conclusion: You’ve driven off into the sunset with your new husband or wife after celebrating one of the happiest moments in your lives with your closest friends and family. Oh, you also probably spent an exorbitant amount on the venue, for dinner and for a myriad of other pricey expenses.
Fear not, though, as a memorable honeymoon doesn’t also have to be one that breaks the bank. More than half of our readers are spending a week at their honeymoon destination, and almost one-third are spending under $5,000 on their escapes. These 15 resorts, from ultra-luxe to budget-friendly, offer week-long honeymoon packages that have newlyweds swooning.
Cap Juluca – Anguilla
Stepping into the white-marble, open-air lobby, it’s hard to look away from the lapping waves that shimmer against the bleached sand of Maundays Bay. Luckily, restaurants, lounges and the resort’s 69 casitas – each with an outdoor patio and a garden shower – open onto the same captivating scene.
There’s a lot to love here (besides each other), like free coffee delivery in the morning and coolers stocked with chilled bottles of water next to your beach cabana. Honeymoon extras include champagne and flowers, two dinners with wine pairings, massages and daily sunset cocktails with one of the best honeymoon deals.
Hyatt Regency Maui Resort & Spa – Maui, Hawaii
From jungled hills and tiny towns to misty mountains and 30-plus miles of white-, black- and red-sand beaches, the Valley Isle has it all. Book a honeymoon at the Hyatt Regency Maui Resort & Spa, and see it on your own terms: The resort’s honeymoon package includes a car rental and parking.
Even better, when you return from your adventures, you’ll be treated to an astronomy tour at the rooftop observatory, a luau dinner, a Hawaiian cooking class and a pair of potent mai tais with one of the best all-inclusive vacations under $5,000.
Rockhouse – Negril, Jamaica
Set amid the rugged rock formations of Jamaica’s west coast, Rockhouse welcomes honeymooners with a bottle of sparkling wine, a spa purification ritual and a room filled with rose petals and candles after dinner.
Among the worthy upgrades is a premium villa. Each thatched-roof hut comes with a private patio perched over Pristine Cove. Don’t miss lobster cocktails or coconut shrimp at the cliffside Rockhouse Restaurant.
Sandals La Toc Golf Resort & Spa – St. Lucia
Arrayed around a half-mile crescent of sun-drenched beach, this all-inclusive boasts three pools (including the island’s largest), a golf course, nine restaurants and complimentary watersports, including scuba diving.
The week-long honeymoon package in a secluded hilltop Love Nest Suite with a private plunge pool includes 24/7 Butler Elite service, a catamaran cruise, a bottle of sparkling wine and a special turndown with one of the best honeymoons under $5,000.
Aruba Marriott Resort & Stellaris Casino – Aruba
This resort on breezy Palm Beach is known for its golden sand, tons of outdoor dining options and a Balinese-style Mandara spa. The Seaside and Sundown package combines a sunset sail, a dinner and a day in a pool cabana with six nights in the exclusive Tradewinds Club, a 49-room resort-within-a-resort. Newlyweds can indulge here with a reserved beach area, a butler to unpack suitcases and a private lounge providing food and evening cocktails.
Barceló Bávaro Palace – Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
This adults-only all-inclusive sports 11 restaurants, a casino and a spa with an aromatherapy shower circuit to enjoy après-treatment. Request the free honeymoon extras when you book, and you’ll get a room upgrade (if available), priority check-in and late checkout and one room-serviced breakfast, plus petits four and a bottle of sparkling wine sent to your room.
Divi Little Bay Beach Resort – St. Maarten
This low-rise all-inclusive grants access to Downtown Phillipsburg’s cosmopolitan shopping and dining, as well as sun-splashed Caribbean beaches – but you might not want to even leave the resort. Newlyweds receive a candlelit dinner for two, an aromatherapy massage and a sexy turndown in their ocean-front suite replete with candles, flower petals, fruit and sparkling wine.
Koa Kea Hotel – Kauai, Hawaii
Walk along Poipu Beach hand in hand, and make this 121-room resort – with tropical gardens and a free-form pool that glows by the light of tiki torches come nightfall – home base. Use the car included in the honeymoon package for excursions to the jagged Na Pali Coast and the Waimea Canyon, AKA the Grand Canyon of the Pacific. You’ll also receive one dinner, plus daily breakfast in bed with mimosas.
Las Hadas Golf Resort & Marina – Manzanillo, Mexico
In Spanish, “las hadas” translates to “the fairies.” Once you’ve wandered the cobblestone pathways of the resort that lead beyond white-washed buildings, tropical gardens, gurgling fountains, whimsical gargoyles and swaying palms, you’ll see and understand why.
The honeymoon package at this Pacific Coast hideaway includes upgraded lodging in a Brisas Beach Club suite, a couples massage and three dinners in any of the three fine-dining restaurants with one of the best all-inclusive honeymoon packages under $5,000.
Renaissance Tuscany Il Ciocco Resort – Barga, Italy
Nestled into a tiered slope in the Serchio Valley, this 1,500-acre resort recently received a $16 million facelift in 2015. A pool, courtyards and three restaurants all overlook the verdant Apennine Mountains, dotted with villages and river gorges. The Beauty Spa Experience package includes the room, a pair of spa treatments, breakfast each day and a candlelit dinner for two with vino.
The Cliff Hotel – Negril, Jamaica
This 33-suite boutique was renovated in December 2015, revamping the rooms and adding a spa that uses only seasonal, local products. Oversized balconies look out to the pool, the gardens and the deep-blue ocean just beyond. Honeymooners are hosted in a junior suite and receive breakfast, a private dinner on the seaside bluff (start early with rum punch so you can watch the sun set before the apps arrive) and a massage for two.
Xanadu Island Resort – Ambergris Caye, Belize
This 20-room resort on Ambergris Caye plays up the castaway vibe and boho charm of nearby San Pedro. Couples on their romantic retreat won’t need to worry about a thing: The Honeymoon Bliss package takes care of flights from Belize City to Ambergris Caye, and it includes private dinners, a golf-cart rental, activities like snorkeling and fishing, a sunset cruise and massages.
Boulders Resort & Spa – Arizona
Steeped in desert style – adobe casitas, beamed ceilings, kiva fireplaces – this Scottsdale five-star pampers newlyweds with its Love at the Boulders package. In addition to six nights in a private casita, you’ll get three hours in an exclusive spa suite. Also, you get a seasonal scrub, two massages each and a $100 dining credit. And, to help you wish upon a star, grab a blanket and a complimentary iPad loaded with a sky map.
Carneros Inn – Napa Valley, California
With this weather, of course you’ll want to be outside. The private courtyards that surround the Harvest Cottages and Suites at this Napa Valley enclave beg for hours of snuggling in front of your personal fire pit or soaking together in the outdoor tub. The grounds – 27 acres of rolling grapevines, orchards and meadows – are equally captivating. The Wine Country Celebration Package adds sparkling wine, a $100 resort credit and a s’mores kit.
Casa Palopo – Lake Atitlan, Guatemala
Experience both the 500-year-old city of Antigua and ancient Lake Atitlan at Casa Palopo and its sister property, Villa Palopo. Start at the latter, set among Antigua’s cool cafés; then, move to the nine-room casa, 50 miles away in the Guatemalan highlands and punctuated by vistas of the three volcanoes that rim the massive lake.
The Honeymoon by Palopo package includes a private boat tour to two of the lago’s Mayan villages, a couples massage and a marriage blessing by a local shaman.
