Auberge Collection has unveiled its 2026 Extraordinary Year calendar, a globe‑spanning programme of residencies, retreats and one‑off collaborations that turn its hotels and resorts into stages for food, culture and wellbeing all year long. For Larder readers, it is an enticing snapshot of how high‑end hospitality is increasingly built around time‑specific experiences rather than just beautiful rooms and views.
Extraordinary Year, Extraordinary Escapes
Now in its third edition, the Extraordinary Year calendar distils Auberge Collection’s philosophy that contemporary luxury is defined by crafted, in‑the‑moment experiences, not simply hardware and heritage. Across its portfolio of 30 one‑of‑a‑kind hotels, resorts and residences, each season is anchored by destination‑worthy happenings, from chef residencies and bar takeovers to wellbeing summits and intimate performances. Christian Clerc, President and CEO, frames the programme as a way to “enrich the soul, foster connection and celebrate the art of living well”, and the curation reflects that ambition. For the discerning traveller, it reads less like a corporate events list and more like a hit‑list of reasons to finally book that long‑discussed trip.
The 2026 line‑up leans heavily into culinary storytelling, wellness with substance and cultural encounters that feel rooted in place rather than parachuted in. It is also noticeably collaborative: many marquee moments pair Auberge properties with external creatives, chefs and brands, blurring the lines between hotel, gallery, restaurant and retreat.
Where food leads the story
Gastronomy is the narrative thread that runs loudest through the calendar, with a series of tightly curated residencies designed to tempt committed diners to cross oceans. In Hawai‘i, Mauna Lani hosts a residency from Honolulu’s James Beard Award‑winning Bar Leather Apron, bringing its meticulous, Japanese‑influenced cocktail craft to the Kohala Coast from 20 March to 11 April, complete with rare spirits and ritual‑like service. Over in Los Cabos, Chileno Bay’s Baja Lab Kitchen Series returns with Manoella Buffara, Val Cantú and Justin Cogley headlining on select dates, joined by Bocuse d’Or champion Philip Tessier for an intimate masterclass that speaks directly to chefs’‑table obsessives.
There is equal intent in the American chapters. In Utah, The Lodge at Blue Sky welcomes New York’s two‑Michelin‑starred The Modern for a three‑night residency in March, pairing Thomas Allan’s playful, produce‑driven menus with a serious wine programme and a site‑specific art installation by Nick Turner. On the opposite coast, Maine’s White Barn Inn links up with Crown Shy for a weekend that fuses bold New York cooking with New England seasonality, including an interactive cocktail element that nods to the current preoccupation with bar‑led experiences. Napa’s Stanly Ranch, meanwhile, taps into the sourdough‑bagel renaissance via a Loveski Deli pop‑up centred on handcrafted bagels, seasonal toppings and a sense of morning ritual in wine country.
Even ostensibly non‑culinary events are laced with food and drink. Auberge du Soleil’s Rosé All May, returning for its seventh year, uses the release of a private‑label rosé as the backbone for tastings and garden‑side gatherings in Napa, while its autumn Gathering in the Grove explores the estate’s historic olive groves through storytelling and olive‑inflected menus. At The Dunlin on South Carolina’s Lowcountry coast, The Seafarer’s Table marries live‑fire cooking, local purveyors and wildlife‑focused storytelling in partnership with the Southeastern Wildlife Exposition, encapsulating the industry’s shift towards dinners that double as environmental discourse.
Auberge’s take on wellness largely dodges the vague language that has plagued the sector in recent years, favouring clearly defined, expert‑led retreats. At The Lodge at Blue Sky in Utah, bestselling author and spiritual teacher Gabby Bernstein leads a three‑day immersive retreat across 4,000 private acres in May, weaving meditation, coaching and reflective practices into a programme that feels more like a reset than a spa add‑on. Hudson Valley property Wildflower Farms builds out a Visiting Master Retreat Series that reads like a festival of movement: strength with Kelly Cole, high‑energy PYRO TINGS with Kirsty Godso and Krissy Jones, reformer Pilates with Chelsea DeLay and Stefani Bertoncini, and an Align retreat with Neeti Narula, all staggered between February and April.
On Mexico’s Pacific coast, Susurros del Corazón hosts ONDA’s Sculpt Series, a rotating residency of visiting masters who blend tailored movement, restorative massage and advanced facial work from February through spring, underscoring the demand for results‑driven, high‑touch treatments. For those who find their sense of balance on snow rather than a mat, Blue Sky also partners with ski icons Chris Davenport and Ted Ligety plus DPS Skis for a backcountry‑led retreat that braids guided runs with recovery‑focused wellness, positioning performance and self‑care as two sides of the same coin.
Culture, craft and collaboration
If the culinary and wellness chapters are about what guests consume, the cultural strand of Extraordinary Year is about how they connect. Music plays a starring role: Noah Cyrus fronts an intimate mountainside concert at The Lodge at Blue Sky in February, while Bishop’s Lodge in Santa Fe continues its long‑running partnership with Nashville’s The Bluebird Cafe, hosting In the Round songwriter nights across the first three months of the year. In France, Domaine des Etangs sets the stage for an opera evening inside its historic château, pairing soprano Amandine Sanchez with a spring‑led repertoire and a pre‑performance cocktail reception.
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Design and fashion are equally present. At Connecticut’s Mayflower Inn & Spa, interior designer Ariel Okin’s Fenimore Lane summit returns with a design bazaar that pulls together makers across interiors, textiles and accessories, reflecting the growing overlap between hotel lobbies and curated retail spaces. Deer Valley’s Goldener Hirsch links up with J.Crew, the official partner of U.S. Ski & Snowboard, for a January pop‑up that spans on‑mountain outerwear loans, VIP gifting and an après‑ski “Puffer Bar”, smartly harnessing the aspirational power of alpine style. In Maine, White Barn Inn hosts Underwater Weaving Studio for a weekend of rattan basket‑weaving and bespoke “where to take your basket” guides, neatly illustrating how craft workshops are becoming fixtures of luxury itineraries.
Elsewhere, Bowie House in Fort Worth tilts into modern Western storytelling with a Garden & Gun‑backed celebration of the city’s storied Stock Show & Rodeo, complete with live music and serious cocktails. At Esperanza in Los Cabos, the 10th edition of EsperanzArte turns Día de Muertos into a multidisciplinary festival of contemporary altar design, food and community, a reminder that meaningful cultural programming starts with local tradition rather than imported trends.
Tourism and the experience‑hungry traveller
For tourism, Auberge Collection’s 2026 Extraordinary Year calendar underlines how global travellers are increasingly choosing where – and when – to go based on limited‑run culinary, cultural and wellbeing experiences, rather than geography alone. With properties stretching from Napa and Hawai‘i to Mexico, Costa Rica and Europe, the brand is effectively turning its hotels into reasons to travel in their own right. Across destinations, from ice‑skating gardens in Florence to bagel pop‑ups in Napa and backcountry ski retreats in Utah, travel is framed as a series of defining moments that are as time‑sensitive as they are place‑specific. For experience‑hungry travellers, Auberge’s calendar operates as both inspiration board and booking prompt: a reminder that the most compelling meals, cocktails and cultural encounters increasingly belong to those willing to time their travels to catch them.
