Travelers are increasingly looking to make their vacations more novel — by spending their time away reading books.
Google revealed that searches for “book retreats” hit an all-time high at the end of 2025, and “reading weekend” has been a top-trending term in 2026.
Reading retreats, meanwhile, are on the rise with Gen-Z and Millennial travelers, gaining traction from the popularity of “Book-Tok,” the community on social media app TikTok where users share book recommendations and reviews.
Keen on joining the trend? Here we offer chapter and verse on nine great book retreats across the U.S. for 2026.
There’s the resort in Texas where you can delve into a book by a tranquil lake; a true crime retreat in Vermont set in a grand brick mansion, complete with enticing hidden corners; and the chance to immerse yourself in eerie tales in a characterful Cape Cod inn.
We also reveal a hotel with a book butler and a property that offers guests a tote bag full of tomes curated by a local independent bookshop.
1. Silent Shores Reading Retreat, Lake Austin Spa Resort — Austin, Texas
The “Silent Shores Reading Retreat” at Lake Austin Spa Resort, set within Texas Hill Country, is a new series for 2026, with guests given itineraries with dedicated reading blocks and peaceful lakeside moments.
The idea is to create space for truly immersive sessions with your chosen novel.
The three-night package also includes gentle stretch and yoga, guided mindfulness, lakeside coffees and breakfasts, author chats, and a “design your own bookshelf” workshop.
At the 40-room all-inclusive, guests also enjoy three locally sourced gourmet meals a day; full access to the spa, sauna, steam room, fitness center and pools; and a boat outing on the lake.
Accommodation ranges from lake-view bungalows to the top-tier Lady Bird Johnson Cottage Suite featuring antique furniture, custom rugs, a fire pit and a hot tub.
Dates: June 23-26 and September 27-30. Prices vary by room type but begin at around $1,100 per night, which includes a signature resort water bottle and backpack you can take home as a keepsake. lakeaustin.com
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2. ‘A Cozy Mountain Escape’ — The Berkshires, Lee, Massachusetts
This spring, you can escape to a private home in the town of Lee, Massachusetts, for a bookish break organized by reading retreat specialists bookabreak.org.
Upon arrival for the “Cozy Mountain Escape,” guests will receive a copy of Arc of The Emilys by Heather Abel two-and-a-half months before release, and the author will join on the Saturday of the retreat to discuss and sign individual copies.
The home features cozy reading nooks, a fireplace, a farmers’ porch and woodland views, and it lies just 15 minutes from charming bookstores and bakeries.
Date: March 26-29, from $1,600. The all-inclusive price covers your room, meals, and retreat activities. bookabreak.org
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3. True crime retreat — Blind Tiger Burlington, Vermont
This November, the “Book[ed] Society” is hosting a literary escape tailored for true crime lovers, set in the 19th-century Blind Tiger Burlington hotel, a grand brick mansion located just off Burlington’s main drag along a picturesque tree-lined street.
There is no assigned reading, or scheduled discussions. Guests are simply given time and space to enjoy books in a property, with its shadows and hidden corners, that chimes with the mystery genre.
Included are locally inspired meals and beverages, true crime curated reading selections, optional themed group activities to be experienced in Burlington and a 24/7 snack and beverage pantry for late-night reading and between-chapter fuel.
The hotel features wingback sofas, hand-carved woodwork and shared spaces with fireplaces, games, and puzzles.
Date: November 5-8, from $2,700. bookedsociety.com
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4. ‘The Haunted Edition’ retreat — Anchor Inn Beach House, Cape Cod, Massachusetts
This October, lean into spooky season vibes with a book retreat at the tip of Cape Cod in moody Provincetown, with its drifting fog, windswept dunes and haunted maritime history.
The town is located in the “Graveyard of the Atlantic,” a treacherous stretch of sandbars where over 3,000 ships have been lost since the 1600s. And with the wrecks, legends of ghostly sailors have emerged.
The venue of the retreat is the Anchor Inn Beach House, where eerie tales can be digested on oceanfront porches, in candlelit corners, and in front of your room’s fireplace.
The Bookabreak.org retreat — called “The Haunted Edition” — will feature an author chat and excursions to explore Provincetown’s bewitching shops, cafes and museums.
Date: October 1-4, from $1,000. All meals included. bookabreak.org
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5. ‘Holiday Magic’ retreat — The Inn at Round Barn Farm, Vermont
The Inn at Round Barn Farm in Vermont is the venue for bookabreak.org’s “Holiday Magic” book retreat — and it’s a storybook property that wraps readers in coziness.
It’s set on a 45-acre farm and features a circular barn built in 1910 that’s been restored and converted into a unique event space. It’s also where you’ll find the property’s lap pool.
The rooms ooze fairytale charm, with hand-painted headboards, antique drawers and floral wallpaper. Outside is an organic garden that supplies the in-house culinary team, and Vermont wilderness stretching in every direction.
Included in the stay is a high tea experience and a seasonal baking tutorial.
Date: December 10-13, from $1,950, including all meals and activities. bookabreak.org
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6. ‘Booked & Buzzy’ reading package — Moxy Charleston Downtown, South Carolina
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Guests at the 131-room Moxy Charleston Downtown can request a complimentary “Booked & Buzzy” room add-on, which is offered in partnership with local independent bookstore Buxton Books, located on King Street.
The package includes a complimentary Moxy bookmark, along with a Buxton Books tote bag filled with a curated list of the shop’s bestselling books to connect guests with titles beloved by locals, and a 15 percent discount toward a book of choice at Buxton.
Moxy guests are also invited to Bar Moxy for a courtesy “Booked & Buzzy” cocktail made with sweet honey and ginger bourbon, to enjoy as they unwind with a novel.
Rooms: from $140. marriott.com
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7. The Book Butler — The Ben, Autograph Collection, West Palm Beach, Florida
Dial “O” on your room telephone at The Ben, Autograph Collection in downtown West Palm Beach, and you can summon the resident “book butler,” who hand-delivers a complimentary bestselling book, chosen from an in-room menu.
The tome will arrive on a silver serving tray, complete with a custom tasseled bookmark.
You can flop on the bed for a read, or pick a spot on the property’s waterfront terrace, rooftop pool deck, or library-inspired lounge spaces.
The experience pays homage to Byrd Dewey, a 19th-century bestselling author and local columnist whose nearby Ben Trovato estate inspired the hotel’s literary identity.
Each quarter, the hotel refreshes its curated reading list with timely titles spanning wellness, travel, memoir and fiction.
Current selections include The Let Them Theory by Mel Robbins and Inner Excellence (recently spotlighted after A. J. Brown was seen reading it during the Super Bowl) by Jim Murphy, alongside Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain and The Dinner List by Rebecca Serle.
Rooms: from $350. marriott.com
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8. ‘The Teapot Society’s Novel Escapes’ — Mayhurst Estate, Orange, Virginia
For the past two years, the elegant Mayhurst Estate — a luxury bed and breakfast dating back to 1859, located in the foothills of Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains — has hosted literary-inspired retreats called The Teapot Society’s Novel Escapes.
They were created by co-owner Casey Cashell, who serves as storyteller and host for the three to four-night gatherings.
Each retreat blends quiet reading hours in garden nooks with afternoon tea, still-life painting sessions, scenic walks and fireside conversations inspired by beloved classics such as Pride and Prejudice and All Creatures Great and Small.
Dates: April 20-23, All Creatures Great & Small; June 8-12, Pride & Prejudice; June 14-18, Pride & Prejudice 2; September 13-17, Little Women. Prices from $850 for the entire retreat. mayhurstestate.com
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9. Or… stay in a hotel with an incredible library — Hotel Emma, San Antonio, Texas
Welcome to the hotel that’s a permanent reading retreat, thanks to a magnificent library.
Hotel Emma, in the Pearl District of San Antonio and housed within a former 19th-century brewhouse, has a library built in the brewery’s former fermentation room, with guests able to peruse a 3,700-piece collection acquired from novelist, cultural anthropologist, and Harvard fellow Sherry Kafka Wagner.
Browse the vintage card system to explore a vast selection of famed memoirs, modern novels, play anthologies, and more.
Some of the books are inscribed by the authors and numerous first editions are available for hotel guests to read through the duration of their stay (and return upon departure).
The library also has complimentary amenities. Coffee by Texas-based roaster Merit Coffee is provided to guests between 6am and 11am, and every Friday between 3.30 and 4.30pm, the culinary team offers special off-the-menu complimentary “Chef’s Tastings” exclusively for Hotel Emma guests in the library.
Rooms: from $455. Website: thehotelemma.com.
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