Escape - Romantic Getaways

Crissy Conte got engaged at L’Auberge in Del Mar. “The room had wine, a beautiful basket full of luxurious bath products, and it was just gorgeous,” she says.

The hotel staff had prepared a basket of wine, cheeses and breads for Conte and her boyfriend to take to a park by the ocean. “My boyfriend got down on one knee and asked if I wanted to marry him,” says Conte. She gave him the nod, and the lovebirds watched the sun set before returning to the hotel.

“The hotel staff knew what was going on,” she says. “and it made us feel really special.” When Conte and her fiancé returned to their room, the bed had been turned down and strewn with red rose petals. Music was playing, candles were lit, and vases of white, yellow and red roses were everywhere.

“I was overwhelmed,” says Conte.

There’s an art to being romantic—and a little sleight of hand. It might look easy, but romance professionals know there’s more to amour than a dozen roses and a box of chocolates. Nancy Hirsch, romance director at L’Auberge, has been helping love bloom at the resort for 14 years. She believes it’s the ambience that makes or breaks a romantic occasion. So at L’Auberge—where many of the rooms have large fireplaces—the fire is lit before a couple arrives.

Literally and figuratively.

“We create an atmosphere that’s conducive to letting go and being romantic,” says Hirsch. “It’s very warm: soft lighting, a fire, candles all around the room, champagne and truffles in the bathroom, rose petals on the bed.” That’s just for starters. The hotel helps fan the flames with in-room masseuses, oversize Jacuzzi tubs and private four-course dinners.

Of course, you don’t have to get engaged to kindle love’s passion. Romantic getaways happen for no reason at all, sometimes just to reinvigorate a neglected love life. And if you’ve got some cash to spend, you can find some truly once-in-a-lifetime experiences.

Like L’Auberge, more and more hotels are dedicating staff to the niche of travelers seeking romantic getaways.

The Inn at Fisher Island, on a 216-acre island off the coast of south Florida, offers a romantic getaway package that runs $50,000 per couple. As you would expect at that price, the service and amenities are obscenely hedonistic.

The inn is a mansion built by millionaire William K. Vanderbilt (yes, that Vanderbilt) to be a private vacation home. The library is paneled with mahogany from an estate of Napoleon (yes, that Napoleon).

Couples are picked up in a luxury helicopter at the airport and brought to the island. They get acquainted with their personal butler, who’s at their beck and call for four days. Suites have breathtaking views of the Atlantic Ocean, full-size kitchens, fully stocked bars, Jacuzzi tubs, Dom Perignon in Baccarat crystal, bouquets of roses and his-and-hers silk lounging robes.

Every morning with breakfast, guests receive a small gift from Tiffany’s. In the evening, they are tucked into bed with chocolates from famed Hoffman of Palm Beach. Guests can pick a car for their use while at the hotel—Ferrari, Aston Martin, Bentley—and will find custom baskets in their room, filled with that couple’s cravings.

“When I take the couple’s reservation, I listen for what they really love,” says Heiko Dobrikow-O’Hep, the inn’s general manager. “It might be a thing for cigars, caviar, spa products—whatever it is, I find it.”

Guests get a half-day cruise on a yacht all their own, complete with a crew and chef. Don’t like boats? Dobrikow-O’Hep will arrange for a seaplane to fly you to a private island for a gourmet picnic lunch.

One night during their stay, guests are treated to a private dinner for two, accompanied by live music of their choosing, in the library. “Whatever their dream meal is, they have it,” says Dobrikow-O’Hep. “Whatever they want, we get it.”

If seclusion is what you want, head to an unlikely spot for romance: northwest Wisconsin. There you’ll find Canoe Bay, a 280-acre country estate in Chetek, surrounded by 500 miles of nothing. Owner Dan Dobrowolski describes the place as “frighteningly quiet.” Children under 18 are not allowed.

The rooms—inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright—are all natural wood, with large stone fireplaces. The beds are bigger than king-size. Dobrowolski calls them “emperor beds.” Some of the higher-end suites come with their own Finnish sauna and double-whirlpool Jacuzzis. All rooms have a view of the private, glacier-created Lake Wahdoon.

Couples reconnect by cross-country skiing, downhill skiing, hiking, walking, snowshoeing or canoeing (depending on the season). Everything on the property is aimed at couples. The glass-enclosed, candlelit dining room above the lake only has tables for two.

“We do couples,” says Dobrowolski. “If you call me and say you want to come with two other couples, we say no.” Room rates run $270-$750 per night.

You can take seclusion a step further by staying at Portico West, a 40-acre private hideaway in Sonoma, California, nestled in the vineyard-covered mountains that separate the Sonoma and Napa valleys. Douglas Pinter designed the place for himself. His aesthetic was heavily influenced by Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello.

Portico West won the design award of the Sonoma League for Historic Preservation in 1991. Several years later, Pinter designed and had built a pool, cabaña and spa compound, with multilevel terraces leading down to a stunning pool overlooking the mountains. The cabaña has a fireplace, a kitchen and bar, original art, Frette linen, a king-size bed and fine crystal.

Pinter rarely had time to spend there because he was away on business for weeks at a time. He hired an English butler to care for the property. After becoming friendly with several Hollywood celebrities desperate for some R&R, Pinter offered the use of his cabaña compound.

“I got the most amazing feedback,” he says. “Everyone said there’s nothing like it—it’s like being the only residents of a luxury hotel.” Pinter decided to make Portico West available to the public.

Guests are provided with everything they need. Pinter makes sure he knows all preferences before guests arrive. The butler attends to all needs. “You can have massages delivered poolside, swim naked, whatever you want,” says Pinter. “It’s completely private.” Rooms are $550 per night with a minimum two-night stay; $3,000 a week or $9,000 a month.

If your idea of romance runs counter to holing up out of sight, there are plenty of resorts and hotels in urban settings that will put you in the lap of luxury.

For a sophisticated romantic getaway, there’s the Ritz-Carlton Central Park in New York City (suites are $700-$1,600 per night). Concierge Frederick Bigler says the hotel’s most popular romantic offerings are couples’ in-room massages, carriage rides in the park (complete with champagne and a basket of chocolate truffles) and shopping.

Shopping?

“Sometimes for the couple it’s not only being together that makes it romantic,” says Bigler, “but doing things for one another.” In New York, that means a shopping spree.

Bigler also frequently arranges intimate dinners at restaurants he knows are romantic. “One of my favorites is Erminia on the Upper East Side,” he says. “And French restaurants are always great.”

Couples can also order up specialty baths in the hotel’s extra-wide, deep tubs. Milk baths—served with Bailey’s Irish Cream and white chocolate truffles—include exfoliates, teas, bath salts, shower lotion and bee soap. The Ritz’ rose bath is filled with rose petals, accompanied by champagne and fresh strawberries. Bigler’s personal favorite is the Chavre bath. “It’s got oils like musk, birch, lily of the valley and rose, and a little bit of hemp oil,” he says. This one comes with Chardonnay and grapes.

Pass the soap.

 

Love, San Diego Style

Bill Griffith’s mantra of late: “Vacation in San Diego.” The Channel 10 (KGTV) newscaster says not enough San Diegans understand their hometown advantage.

“San Diego is an awesome place to get away,” he says. When Griffith and his wife, Jenny, wanted to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary, they drove from their East County home to Paradise Point Resort & Spa. A 44-acre spread in Pacific Beach, Paradise Point was built in 1962 by Hollywood producer Jack Skirball.

Griffith and his wife like Paradise Point because of its lush landscaping, white beaches and beach-cottage-style accommodations. “We just walked around, laid by the pool, acted like tourists,” says Griffith. “Our room faced west, and we watched the sun go down every night. The best part was the peace and quiet, and being alone together.”

The Enclave suites at the Hilton San Diego Gaslamp offer a more urban escape. Rooms are contemporary, loft-style suites. Roomy beds are outfitted with Frette linens.

Couples looking for romance can splurge on the hotel’s “Ultimate” package, which puts them in the Presidential Suite—one of San Diego’s most expensive rooms, at $3,800 a night—designed with floor-to-ceiling windows offering striking city views. The package includes a bottle of Dom Perignon, a gift from Tiffany’s, roses and an in-room dinner. Guests can also take advantage of 24-hour room service to call for romance necessities like champagne, caviar, chocolate-covered strawberries or a side-by-side aromatherapy massage. Or whatever else you can dream up.

San Diegans Sarah and Sheridan Dowling often stay at Rancho Bernardo Inn. It allows them to get away without having to travel far, says Sarah. The Dowlings have a tradition of sharing a glass of the inn’s 150-year-old Grand Marnier in front of a fireplace off the main lobby. “The staff stokes it up for us before we leave our table,” she says.

The inn rests in the San Pasqual foothills, on 165 acres that include an 18-hole golf course. An “Ultimate Romance Experience” package ($1,169 a night) includes a one-night stay in a luxury suite, breakfast, dinner and massages or any spa treatment, either in the room or at the spa.

“We work full-time, and our lives are so busy,” says Dowling, speaking for all of us. “This is romantic simply because we completely slow down and just be with each other.”

—E.Z.

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