Forget the Hallmark card or the flowers and take Mom away for a real treat. We’ve put together some suggestions for a Mother’s Day she won’t soon forget.

Where: One&Only Palmilla, Los Cabos, Mexico

What: Get Mom a weekend of spa treatments in paradise.

When: Mother’s Day Weekend

Why Mom will love it: Mothers and daughters can unwind in the privacy of a double Spa villa at the ESPA spa complete with private garden, rain showers, outdoor Mexican daybeds, and whirlpool baths to relax in after a treatment. Special for the weekend are Mother-Daughter Soul-to-Soul moments ($640 for two) that include a Mother-Daughter yoga or salsa experience, an ESPA age-defying radiance facial or intensive facial, a spa lunch, and full use of the heat experience and relaxation area, or the Enduring Memory Mother’s Day Experience ($355) with a two-hour holistic body ritual, an in-villa 30-minute experience including a foot ritual, bath, and relaxation time, a spa lunch, and full use of the heat experience and relaxation areas. And all of this with her now favorite child.

Where: Inn on the Alameda, Santa Fe, New Mexico

What: Show Mom how much you care by sending her to the welcoming Inn on the Alameda for a weekend of adult-only relaxation.

When: Mothers Day Weekend

Why Mom will love it: With the Please Your Parents Package, Mom and Dad can enjoy a weekend away from the kids in Deluxe Accommodations at the Inn, including the Inn’s signature continental breakfast, afternoon wine hour, and one box of yummy bizcochitos, the official New Mexico state cookie.

Rate: Nightly rate is $220 plus tax per room per night. With a regular rate of $270 plus tax, this package has $50 nightly savings and applies to the Inn’s Deluxe Rooms only. The stay must include Mother’s Day, Sunday May 13, 2012, but there is no minimum night stay requirement. The offer is subject to hotel availability.

Where: The Peninsula Spa, New York

What: An amazing ESPA “Spa-Cation” without leaving the island

When: Perfect for the week before or after Mother’s Day

Why Mom will love it: Play hooky and take your mama out! Without hopping on planes trains, or automobiles, have a spa-cation right in the city. You and mom can indulge in a 60-minute treatment, a special lunch, and complimentary use of the pool and fitness center. It’s available Monday-Thursday for $285 per person.

Where: White Elephant and Brant Point Grill, Nantucket, Massachusetts

What: Breakfast in bed is a nice gesture, but we bet Mom will enjoy the “Best Brunch on the Island” even more!

When: Mother’s Day, Sunday, May 13, 10:00 am – 3:00 pm

Why Mom will love it: From the Benedict Burger to the make-your-own Bloody Mary bar, a Sparkling Station for mimosas, and a brand new tapas station, this brunch is complete with all of Mom’s favorites.

Rate: Brant Point Grill’s Mother’s Day Brunch is $55 for adults, $25 for kids ages 6-12 and $5 for kids ages 3-5. Combine your brunch with a stay at White Elephant and enjoy special Hot Dates Cool Rates, starting at $195 per night.

Where: Park Hyatt Beaver Creek, Avon, Colorado

What: Located in the heart of the Colorado Rockies, this luxury chateau-style resort features many amenities, including the 30,000 square-foot Allegria Spa, with a full-service fitness center, slopeside pool and hot tubs. This world-class spa is offering the “Her Day, Her Way Mother’s Day” package, an exceptional package for moms to unwind on their special day.

When: Mothers Day, Sunday, May 13, 2012.

Why Mom will love it: Spoil Mom with an extra luxurious spa escape with the “Her Day, Her Way Mother’s Day” package that includes a 50-minute Swedish Massage; choice of one of three select treatments (25 minute Sweet Lavender Body Scrub, 30 minute Custom Facial or Express Manicure & Pedicure); champagne; take-home spa gift; and access to Aqua Sanitas, the health club, the pools and hot tubs.

Where: Parrot Cay, Turks & Caicos

What: Max and relax with Mom for a stress-free weekend away

When: Mothers Day Weekend

Why Mom will love it: Stress is a fact of life for mothers and daughters alike, which is why Parrot Cay has designed a Stress Management Wellness Package to target and relieve sources of tension and worry. Professional consultants will take things down a few notches with deep relaxing therapies, enlightening outdoor pursuits, and smart tips to put some of the carefree “island life” of Turks & Caicos into the home routine. Let the experienced personal fitness trainers convert pent-up stress into a productive mother-daughter workout, and follow it up with mind- and body-balancing yoga and meditation.

For those of us who aren’t familiar with Songkran, this Thai holiday is celebrated as the traditional New Year’s Day from April 13-15. Thais and tourists alike take to the streets to participate in the cleansing celebration of “throwing water,” which has been ushered into modernity with Super Soakers, garden hoses, and water balloons… So ditch those dry-clean-only clothes at the hotel!

For many, Songkran is also a holy time to pay respects to family, elders, and monks. And to commemorate the fresh start of the New Year, many Buddhists will “cleanse” Buddha images and shrines in their households with a water mixture infused with Thai aromatics.

To our great friends in Thailand, we wish you a happy and prosperous 2566^th New Year!

What: Brunch and Raw Bar

When: Sunday, April 8 10am-3pm

Events: Easter egg hunts at 11am and 2pm

Price: $42 for adults, $21 for children

Stay: Rates at Jared Coffin House start at $90/night

Why: Indulge in custom omelets, a waffle station, carving stations, entrees, seafood, salads, and special Kids Corner. While enjoying the best brunch on the island (according the Inquirer & Mirror), adults can sit back and enjoy the harbor view while sipping sybaritic cocktails like the famous Lobster Bloody Mary while kiddies scamper on the lawn filling their baskets with Easter eggs.

For the Balinese, March 23, 2012 marks the beginning of the New Year with the celebration of Nyepi, one of the most sacred holidays on the calendar. Nyepi is a day of silence, prohibitions, meditation, and prayer, and it is believed that one’s control of earthly senses will increase the quality of life for the year to come. The whole island of Bali falls quiet; nobody leaves their houses, lighting is kept low and everything closes (even the airport)! Experience this auspicious occasion at COMO Shambhala Estate or Anantara Seminyak Bali, where indulgence continues as usual, accompanied by some special Nyepi surprises.

On the eve of Nyepi, every village partakes in some sort of ceremonial procession. At COMO Shambhala Estate, spend New Year’s Eve, or ‘Ogoh Ogoh Night’, with a traditional Noise Parade, where participants will carry the Estate Ogoh Ogoh, a traditional Balinese effigy, through the grounds. Using Balinese cymbals and other instruments, the noise of the procession is meant to awaken and ward off evil spirits.

Before the entertainment begins at Anantara Seminyak, guests can help purify the hotel by playing tek-tekan with the Anantara team. Then, enjoy the traditional Ogoh Ogoh and Joged processions throughout the resort. The evening concludes with a traditional Balinese Beach BBQ featuring famous Balinese dishes, such as Chicken Betutu and Lawar. The resort is also offering a special package to celebrate the New Year. With rates starting at just $330, guests can receive two nights’ accommodations in a suite, daily breakfast for two at Wild Orchid restaurant, and a choice of one three-course lunch at Wild Orchid or one 90-minute massage for two at Anantara spa, per couple per stay.

The Day of Silence begins at sunrise on March 23^rd and continues until sunrise the following morning. Whether one chooses to ‘do as the Balinese do’ or not, both resorts’ on-site restaurants, spas, and other services will remain open. Guests who do not partake in the traditional rituals are asked to stay on resort grounds so as not to disrupt the unique celebration of the Balinese people.

La Réserve Genève Hotel & Spa, Geneva, Switzerland

Nestled on the shores of Lake Geneva, La Réserve Genève Hotel & Spa is offering guests the perfect holiday getaway. Complete with a private ice-rink and traditional Christmas Market-style winter chalets, La Réserve Genève will be transformed into a true Winter Wonderland starting December 13.

Set within La Réserve Genève’s large onsite gardens, the Winter Wonderland will offer spectacular views of Lake Geneva. La Réserve guests can book a private skating lesson or glide solo across the ice before enjoying the festive winter chalets. Despite the chill in the air, a chic waitstaff will be serving festive treats such as crêpes, waffles, oysters, mulled wine, Sancerre, Champagne, and caviar.

A two-night weekend stay at La Réserve Genève starts from $1,076 (based on two sharing a double room) and includes full use of all hotel facilities including the spa, fitness center, swimming pool, indoor tennis courts, and the Winter Wonderland.  To book:  www.lareserve.ch / +41 22 959 59 59.

La Réserve’s Winter Wonderland is open to hotel guests only from December 13, 2011, to February 26, 2012.

Eden au Lac, Zurich, Switzerland

While the singing Christmas tree at Werdemühleplatz and the hot spiced wine at Europe’s biggest indoor Christmas market may keep Zurich merrymakers grounded, the most festive spot in town is perched high above the city streets! Eden au Lac’s Top of Eden terrace is celebrating the holidays in high style with private fondue tastings and a rooftop Christmas market.

Nothing beats fondue – except for fondue with a view! Choose from truffle or classic flavored fondue paired with mulled wine while enjoying amazing views of Lake Zurich.  Stay warm with gingerbread, hot chestnuts, and cozy blankets. The festively decorated terrace can now be exclusively reserved for a private fondue tasting for two for just 310 CHF (approximately $337).

Skip the crowded stores and take shopping to the next level at Zurich’s smallest Christmas market located on Top of Eden! From November 27-December 23, guests can shop the city’s best kept secret while snacking on Wienerli sausages, roast chestnuts, and Christmas biscuits for 49 CHF (approximately $53).

Pavillon de la Reine and Le Pavillon des Lettres, Paris, France

Paris at Christmas time is magical, with vin chaud and gingerbread sold in the Tuileries, twinkling lights adorning the Champs-Elysées, and charming holiday markets such as the historic Marché de Noël. The impossibly chic Pavillon de la Reine and new literary-themed sister hotel Le Pavillon des Lettres are the ideal places to ring in the Yuletide with luxurious accommodations and special seasonal treats.

Guests of both hotels who book the “Parisian Christmas” package for the festive season will have the option to explore Paris’ grand boulevards by night on an enchanting chauffeur-driven journey past department stores awash with lights and elaborate window decorations, by the lavishly decorated tree on Notre Dame Cathedral’s main plaza, and down the majestic Champs-Elysées lined with light-drenched trees stretching all the way from Place de l’Etoile and the Arc de Triomphe to the Place de la Concorde.

For many Parisian Christmas guests, the holiday season would be incomplete without a generous helping of delightful bites, who may opt to visit one of the most beautiful chocolateries in Paris instead, where they will learn about the fascinating history of chocolate-making and sample their decadent creations.

The “Parisian Christmas” package includes accommodations for two in a Deluxe Room at Pavillon de la Reine or Le Pavillon des Lettres and either a chauffeured evening tour through Paris or a visit to local chocolatier.

Package rates at Pavillon de la Reine and Le Pavillon des Lettres start at €450 and €350, per night respectively. Two night minimum stay is required. Package is valid for travel December 11 through December 27. To book: www.pavillon-de-la-reine.com Tel : 33 (0) 1 40 29 19 19 or www.pavillondeslettres.com or Tel : 33 (0) 1 40 24 26 26

Every November, Thailand celebrates Loi Krathong, or the Festival of Lights. During the festival, elaborate floats line the waterways and fireworks and paper lanterns illuminate the night sky. The release of lanterns into the night sky is thought to cast away grief and misfortune. Like blowing out the candles on a birthday cake, releasing a lantern is also an opportunity to make a wish. While lanterns are released all year round for various celebrations, this spectacular nationwide festival occurs on the full moon of the 12^th month in the traditional Thai lunar calendar (in the Western calendar, it usually falls in November). This year, Loi Krathong took place on November 10, but don’t worry, it’s not too late to release your own lantern! Click here to take part in the Loi Krathong celebration!

Nantucket Town is about as traditional New England as it gets – grey shingled buildings line the cobblestone streets, ice cream parlors and general stores flourish and there is not a traffic light in sight.  Add Victorian-appareled carolers, hot cider and cornbread, and Santa Claus parading down Main Street and it reads just like the pages out of a storybook.

Nantucket Island fetes the entire holiday season with Nantucket Noel, a month-long celebration organized by the Nantucket Island Chamber of Commerce. The highlight event is the Annual Christmas Stroll Weekend that takes place December 2-4, 2011.  Stores, shops, and restaurants open their doors for holidays shoppers, carolers sing favorite holiday tunes, and Santa Claus arrives via a Coast Guard Vessel.  This is an authentic experience not to be missed! (Especially for shoppers looking for the perfect present – almost everything on the island is on sale at this time to make way for new merchandise coming in for the following season.)

Several Nantucket Island Resorts properties are open for the Stroll Weekend, including the historic and centrally located Jared Coffin House, the iconic White Elephant, The Cottages and Lofts at the Boat Basin, and the luxurious White Elephant Hotel Residences.   These properties offer a variety of cozy accommodations for visitors to the island.

Alice Marshall Public Relations is thrilled to announce its representation of the One&Only Resort collection. Set in some of the most beautiful locales in the world, each award-winning resort offers guests a distinctive style, genuine hospitality and lively energy that is unrivaled.  Properties include One&Only Reethi Rah, Maldives; One&Only Le Saint Géran in Mauritius; One&Only Royal Mirage in Dubai; One&Only Ocean Club in The Bahamas, One&Only Palmilla in Los Cabos, Mexico; One&Only Cape Town, South Africa and One&Only The Palm, Dubai which opened in November 2010.

As an authority on luxury hotels and goods for over 20-years, AMPR is adept at identifying trends and reporting news from their clients in a carefully crafted and nuanced way.  From high-end hotels to exceptional cruises, trains, exotic spas and lavish products, One&Only Resorts joins an exemplary roster of AMPR clientele bursting with exciting and original content.

To kick-off the holiday season, we would like to share with you our One&Only Gift Guide. From a mouth-watering cookbook by South African chef Reuben Riffel to a Physique57® Fitness Retreat, One&Only has your gift wrapped up.

Your One&Only Gift Guide

• Instead of the traditional gift of wine, One&Only Palmilla’s sommelier Manuel Arteaga recommends gifting a bottle of Mezcal from his four favorite artisanal producers: Pierde Almas, Alipuz, Ilegal Mezcal, or Los Danzantes. Often touted as ‘the new tequila,’ mezcal is distilled from the agave (like tequila) and has a distinctive smokiness – perfect to warm up a winter-chilled body. For the ultimate Mezcal Tasting Experience, guests at One&Only Palmilla can schedule a private tasting with Manuel and learn about the production process, regions, and categories, followed by a tasting of seven mescals at the Agua bar. $55 per person.

• For the fitness buff, pair Physique 57®’s new book, The Physique 57® Solution: The Groundbreaking 2-Week Plan for a Lean, Beautiful Body in stores nationwide on January 4th, with the promise of a stay at One&Only Ocean Club during one of their 4-night Physique57® Fitness Retreats. Guests enjoy two daily classes with Physique 57® instructors, use of a Balinese-style spa, nutritional cuisine by Michelin-starred chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten, all in a Bahamian paradise. Retreats are scheduled for December 4-8, 2011, January 12-16, 2012, May 3-7, 2012, September 20-24, 2012, and December 2-6, 2012.

• For the chef, One&Only Cape Town’s Reuben Riffel’s new cookbook Reuben Cooks Local, takes home chefs on a journey through one of South Africa’s most well-loved culinary repertoires from his celebrated city bistro. Filled with over 230 pages of recipes and tempting images, readers also learn what inspired this chef and his rise through the South African restaurant ranks.

• Cape Town-bound spa-goers will swoon over ‘The Essence of Africa’ at One&Only Cape Town’s award-winning spa. The new therapy combines traditional African massage tools, such as the ‘Eucalyptus wooden rungu,’ and age old healing ingredients such as Baobab tree oil and Rooibos herbs from the bush to lift the senses, improve skin elasticity, and reduce stress. If you can’t make it to South Africa, try gifting some new in-room bath and body products by South African Charlotte Rhys, just out with her new line of men’s amenities in time for the holidays.

• For the music buff, give the gift of three nights at One&Only Ocean Club during December 7-13 and get VIP tickets to hear country sensation Brad Paisley perform live at the Grand Ballroom at Atlantis, Paradise Island, on Saturday, December 10 at 9:30pm. (Book by December 5.)

Wine

To celebrate

In Argentina, Kaua Club & Spa at Park Hyatt Mendoza’s Wine Antioxident Spa treatment diminishes the effects of an extended afternoon wine tasting. Using grapes to rejuvenate and refresh recipients from head to toe, beginning with a Mendoza’s Wine Body Glow and followed by a facial of choice, aromatherapy massage with wine essence oils, and topped-off with a Grape Body Masque. Restoration is complete!

Passed hors d’oeuvres

Nuts, olives, and caviar

Rehydrate dehydrated skin with Guinot’s Hydra Cellulaire Serum featuring macadamia oil and give skin an extra boost with Guinot’s moisturizing Masque Hydra Beauté with olive wax.

For those indulgent snackers, in Nantucket, The Wauwinet’s Spa by the Sea’s Ultimate Caviar Facial is a 90 minute treatment that hydrates, lifts, firms, and smoothes the skin with protein-rich caviar.

Salad

Cucumber and carrot salad

Banish dark circles and puffiness with Guinot’s Anti-Fatigue Yeux with calming cucumber. To pamper maturing, dry, or stressed skin, spread on a soupcon of ESPA’s Regenerating Face Treatment Oil with carrot extract.

Sides

Cranberry sauce and wild yams

For a radiant complexion, apply Guinot’s Nouvel Eclat fresh radiance exfoliating peel-off mask, rich with cranberry extract, to give your face a “second skin” effect.

ESPA’s Deeply Nourishing Body Cream is the perfect winter moisturizer, deeply moisturizing skin with collagen-strengthening wild yam, along with liquorice, bearberry, and mulberry extracts.

Intermezzo

Ginger, to cleanse the palate

The Lanna Experience at Anantara Golden Triangle Resort & Spa in Thailand uses a species of ginger revered for its ability to cool inflammation, aid digestion, and combat joint and muscle aches during a foot ritual, scrub, body wrap, and massage.

Mains

Instead of wasting perfectly good seasonings on a turkey, use these aromatic herbs on yourself.

ESPA’s 24-Hour Balancing Moisturizer uses white thyme and lavender for a light moisturizing treatment for beautifully soft, clear, hydrated skin.

For an Eastern feast, ESPA’s Men’s Invigorating Body Reviver is bursting with the aromas of lemongrass and thyme – sure to be a hit with the ladies as well.

For a classic English herb, pour a capful of ESPA’s Energizing Bath Oil into your tub and sink back into an energizing rosemary-scented soak. For a double dose of rosemary, slough off dry winter skin with ESPA’s Relaxing Salt Scrub with rosemary and lavender.

Dessert

Pumpkin pie and fruit cake

No vegetable represents autumn quite like a big, orange pumpkin. Sub out the pumpkin pie for a radiant face with ESPA’s Skin Radiance Mask with pumpkin to enliven dull and tired skin.

For a decadent fruity spa treatment, pair Guinot’s Masque Hydra Beauté with its moisturizing fig derivative formula and ESPA’s Pink Hair and Scalp Mud with apricot kernel oil for silky, healthy hair and an immediate moisture boost for soft and supple skin.

Tea and Coffee

Chamomile, Rooibos, and Caffeine

Nothing soothes quite like a warm cup of chamomile tea, so extend that soothing feeling to pacify an irritated or red face with Guinot’s Crème Hydra Sensitive, loaded with calming chamomile.

En lieu of a toasty mug of Rooibos tea, slip on ESPA’s Calm and Soothe Mask, a deeply comforting treatment to help cool and mollify skin prone to redness made with Rooibos tea.

Liven up those limbs with a good dose of caffeine with Guinot’s Double Minceur Ciblée gel cream. The contouring cream helps tone and targets the initial process wherein fat starts to store itself.

For our friends who celebrate Diwali, we wish you a very happy holiday!