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HIGH-RANKING LUXURY

OPENED IN 2021, boutique hotel 134 Prince occupies a meticulously transformed 1849 Dutch Colonial Revival home just steps from Annapolis’s City Dock, restaurants, shops and two U.S. Naval Academy gates. Owners Clint Ramsden and Cody Monroe, both U.S. Naval Academy graduates, wanted to impart the kind of luxury sensibility one might find in Charleston, South Carolina, or Newport, Rhode Island. The inn offers modern amenities in a historic building with wood floors, brick fireplaces, exposed wood beams, dentil crown molding and other carefully preserved details.

The five suites—ranging from 450 to 1,200 square feet— are a far cry from plebe quarters. Each has a smart TV, Hermès bathroom amenities, plush towels, navy-trimmed bathrobes, percale linens and a cooling, charcoal-infused memory-foam mattress. Complimentary eye masks and earplugs and a sound machine with an array of choices (stream, rain, waves) further contribute to a great night’s sleep.

An enormous sepia-toned print of a centuries-old park sets the mood in the inn’s relaxing and surprisingly quiet lounge—home to thick-cushioned furniture, a well-stocked whiskey cabinet for after-dinner drinks, and a complimentary wine hour every Friday and Saturday evening from 5 to 6:30, which the owners sometimes attend to meet and mingle with guests. Across the hall, built-in shelves in the kitchen and dining room are stocked with books and free Nespresso coffee and specialty Tea Forté teas.

Rates begin at $499 and include a full cooked-to-order breakfast. Parking is an additional $50 per night, provided by the valet. Two Tesla (EV) chargers are available. See visitannapolis.org/events/holiday for details on the town’s Chocolate Binge Festival, midnight madness shopping, a historic pub crawl, the Eastport Yacht Club Lights Parade and other seasonal events. Many are walkable from 134 Prince.

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BROADWAY BOUND

THEATER AFICIONADOS CAN REVISIT the sights and sounds of many an iconic Broadway show at the new Museum of Broadway, slated to open in mid-November in the heart of New York City’s Times Square. Walk through an Oklahoma!-inspired cornfield, explore the world of Manhattan’s East Village in Rent (as reimagined by original set designer Paul Clay) and ease on down a yellow LED staircase to enter a jukebox tunnel with lights synchronized to the music from The Wiz. A timeline chronicles Broadway’s birth to the present day, and various displays highlight theater pioneers, socially progressive moments and the stories behind many enduring plays and musicals.

Find unique holiday gifts in the museum shop, from Broadway-branded apparel and goodies (including current Broadway show merch) to prints by legendary New York Times caricaturist Al Hirschfeld, plus totes, T-shirts and mugs featuring his drawings.

Plan one to two hours for the self-guided, one-way-only tour through the immersive exhibits. Open daily 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Timed tickets are $39 per person; flexible tickets $49.

Museum of Broadway, 145 W. 45th St., New York, New York, themuseumofbroadway.com

DECK THE HALLS

TUCKED INTO PENNSYLVANIA’S BUCOLIC Brandywine Valley outside Philadelphia (a city known as “America’s Garden Capital”), the Fairville Inn is ideally situated a few miles from both Longwood Gardens and Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library—botanical wonderlands that are all the more stunning during the holidays when festooned in seasonal finery.

Fairville’s 10 guest rooms and suites—housed in two buildings adjacent to a well-manicured courtyard and grand trees—were completely renovated in 2020 with casually elegant furnishings and new tiled bathrooms. Some rooms have a fireplace and expansive porch overlooking the back hillside. Suites have their own sitting room, plus an in-room coffee station and Frette bathrobes.

The white Colonial building at the property’s front greets guests with a coffee, tea and snack bar, a dining room and a relaxing living area with scented candles. Pumpkin pancakes with maple cinnamon butter and a delicious fried egg tartine are just two of the complimentary breakfast choices. Visit the nearby town of Greenville for good coffee and sandwiches at Brew HaHa, or to enjoy excellent pizza, salads and live music at Pizza by Elizabeths—its name, decor and marble bar are a nod to famous Elizabeths.

Rates begin at $240. For information about holiday lights, music and events, visit winterthur.org, visitwilmingtonde.com/events/ holiday and longwoodgardens.org.

The Fairville Inn, 506 Kennett Pike, Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, 610388-5900, fairvilleinn.com n