United States

Alaska - South Central, Sutton
Matanuska Lodge: “No Moosing Around” Romance

Nestled in the jaw-dropping milieu of the Saddlenotch Mountains and Matanuska Glacier, the 60-acre originally homesteaded land includes a 100-mile lake, core-sampled at 14,500 years old, two minutes from the recently built log cabin quarters; stunning views and thoroughly thought-out amenities define Matanuska Lodge. Although innkeeper Brenda Goldberg, who operates the property with her business partner Rodney Johnson and one staff member, prefers to avoid the over-used word “eclectic,” but nothing better expresses what she says is “definitely different than your traditional Alaskan lodge.”

Arizona - Southern, Sasabe
Shoot for the Milky Way at Rancho De La Osa Guest Ranch

The Milky Way glitters, twinkles and dances against the canvas of the coal-black sky. Stargazing, paralleling the ambiance at the Rancho De La Osa Guest Ranch in the tiny hamlet of Sasabe, Arizona, has all the components of romance: intrigue, pursuit and wonderment. “Until you actually get here and see how remote and isolated the property is, nobody even knows the property is here because it’s a mile and half back from the highway, and sits between two mountain ranges,” explains Veronica Schultz, proprietress of the ranch, located 65 miles southwest of Tucson.

The Weller House Inn: Live! Love! Tango!

“Come let’s make a date to tango quite late….”– from a 1913 postcard. Cheek to cheek. Keep your upper body straight. Shift the weight onto the balls of your feet. Step smooth. Pulsate. Step sharp. Oh, the voluptuous joys of the tango. Wouldn’t it be nice if a couple’s life were a tango? Well, it is—almost—at the Weller House Inn in Fort Bragg, California. Each guestroom touts its own personality. In some of the quarters, a fireplace or woodstove helps take the chill off. Tuscany, Fountainbleu, Tulip, Midsummer…whatever the room choice, overnighters have an array of conveniences like a refrigerator, microwave and icemaker. Some of the full, private bathrooms contain a Jacuzzi or claw foot tubs.

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Turtle Rocks Oceanfront Inn
Where Eco-topia Rocks!

“It’s just such a glorious setting and view,” says Innkeeper Roger Glidden. The almost 7,000 square-foot inn perched high on a bluff offers the closest oceanfront lodging for miles around and falls nothing short of romance. Appropriately, all six guestrooms boast sweeping windows and glass-paneled decks that afford front-seat views of the Pacific Ocean. Spacious and airy, the guestrooms as well as the common quarters provide eclectic selections of both contemporary and antique furnishings.

California, Palm Springs
A Village Vibe: Revved up for Romance
Palm Springs Bureau of Tourism
“We have a collection of over 70 small hotels (meaning boutique-style, 80 rooms or less), and many of them are in the Spanish-Mediterranean style or the mid-century, modern architecture.” Hillary further elaborates that couples can uncover secluded retreats “that you can’t find anywhere else,” says Hillary Angel. “We have the hip environment; great village vibe happening, great bars, great lounges, great restaurants, boutique shopping. Whatever couples are looking for, they have it here,” Hillary further describes.

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Facilities: AAA 3 Diamonds, restaurant, Meeting Facilities, Day spa, Indoor Pool.
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Maine, Mid Coast, The Youngtown Inn and Restaurant
Food & Wine Lovers Getaway in Downeast Maine
The rural allure of the southern Maine coast, about midway between Portland and Mount Desert Island, is what snatched Manuel and MaryAnn Mercier’s fancy. For two years, early in their marriage, the then New York City residents had hit the Interstate-95 North stretch and spent hours searching for what Manuel describes as “a place of our own.” Ultimately, the Mercier’s newfound treasure would become the Youngtown Inn and Restaurant, which fulfilled their dream to run a restaurant outside of the city. Manuel has an accomplished hospitality and culinary career that started at the age of 16. His wife, on the other hand, comes from an impressive financial service profession on Wall Street.

Facilities: Full Service Restaurant, Wedding Facilities, Internet Access, Fireplaces

Ivory Creek Bed and Breakfast Inn: Auspicious, Delicious and Fabu-lious

“We’re on 24 acres, up in the woods. We’re very secluded from the road,” says Judith Loebel who along with her husband Tod, operates the award-winning inn in Hadley, most recently a Yankee Magazine Editor's Award Winner. For starters, the inn is located in the five-college area (Mount Holyoke College, Smith College, Hampshire College, Amherst College and the University of Massachusetts Amherst) of the Pioneer Valley; set worlds apart in natural surroundings that include Ivory Creek and the Mount Holyoke Mountains ...

Nevada, Reno
The Grand Romance Brand in America’s Adventure Land: Grand Sierra Resort and Casino

Since its inception as the first-ever destination resort in northern Nevada, the resort has anteed up the bar and has earned a world-class reputation among discerning travelers and certainly couples who seek an extraordinary romantic getaway. Although the motto is “Get lucky at GSR,” there is no “get lucky” about it; once visitors arrive on the 145-acre desert oasis, boasting 33 acres of lakes, they “are” lucky. The jackpot is staying at the resort, which ranks 15th in the nation as the largest hotel and convention center.

The Sweet Smell of Love: White Lilac Inn
Anyone can fall in love with the White Lilac Inn; but more accurately, most couples who visit cannot resist magic realized, their romance rekindled by such auspicious surroundings. “Very peaceful.  Very Clean.  Very Victorian,” innkeeper Mari Kennelly says, explaining the feel that she strives to evoke at the circa 1880 inn.  In fact, she conceived of the inn’s name before planting the lilacs! 

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New York, Buffalo
Mansion on Delaware: Isn’t life Grand?
The restored 1867 Second Empire mansion is grander than grand with such distinct features as spiraling pillars and gargoyles. The magic continues from the moment guests swing open the large wooden front door. Once inside, the “oohing” and “aahing” hit a high note. Not surprisingly, the Delaware Avenue landmark continuously wins awards and praise from an array of discerning travelers For example, AAA has awarded the 28-guestroom hotel its coveted AAA four-diamond hotel distinction every year since 2004.

Winds Resort Beach Club - Sea Breeze Sea-duction
Banana leaves loom overhead. There are so many varieties of palm trees, 11 to be exact, it is easy to lose count. Sea breezes waft through the air. Oh, and the sweet smelling faces of hibiscus flowers—what perfume! On its own private island on the southern North Carolina coastline, the Winds Resort Beach Club, in Ocean Isle Beach, connected by a bridge to the mainland, seems eons away from the Myrtle Beach crowds, but is only 20 minutes in driving distance.

Inn at Yonahlossee Resort
Commanding a prominent stance at 4,000 feet in the heart of western North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains, guests at the Inn at Yonahlossee Resort will discover in these 300 bucolic acres not a mere pot, but a paradise of honey. As a matter of fact, “Yonahlossee” is the Cherokee word meaning “Trail of the Bear,” and nothing less than sweet is the tapestry in these parts defined by mountain ranges and lush green valleys. “Absolutely divine,” are the two words that Marketing Director Mary Jane Rice chooses when she describes the property that she began managing in the early 1990s. Her husband John, a developer, began renovating Yonahlossee in 1986.

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Ohio, Great Lakes Area, Marblehead
Life’s a Beach at South Beach Resort
Ahhh…Adirondack chairs. Sand castles aiming skyward. Sunsets as pretty as the autumn foliage. Cooler-temperature months resonate at their own mellow pace. Ahhh…in any season, a private beach. Your own cottage or sweetly furnished hotel room, what better? Life is good, near perfect at the South Beach Resort nestled in northwest Ohio’s charming seashore village of Marblehead. “We have had weddings right on the beach. There’s a marina down there with a rock wall. There are gazebos on the rock wall that some people have gotten married in. Some people have gotten married on the lawn,” says proprietor Jeff Kolar.

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Red Horse Inn, Built By Mavericks for the Quintessential Breakfast-In-Bed Experience

As breathtaking as the natural scenery, the interior showcases Roger’s exceptional woodworking talent. Mary’s eye for design helped the inn achieve an award for décor from Inn’s Extraordinaire. In the main inn, complete with conference center and dining room, out of the six luxurious, spacious guestroom suites, the Dovecote and the Gable Bedroom boast balconies while the East Bedroom has its own flagstone terrace.

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South Carolina, Landrum
Red Horse Inn, Built By Mavericks for the Quintessential Breakfast-In-Bed Experience
The Wolters tailored the six cathedral-ceilinged Victorian cottages, featuring a kitchen, living room with fireplace, to offer privacy. While most afford whirlpool tubs, all provide relaxing outdoor sitting areas. Couples delight in the two-person jetted spa hot tub on the decks (imagine the stargazing opportunities) of the Springhouse and Hayloft Cottages. After all, how many vacationers can say that they snuggled into a comfy bed only to read the inspiring writing of love and romance inscribed on the parchment-like walls above…

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Life’s a Peach at Beach Spa Bed and Breakfast

For a consummate romantic interlude, reserve the spacious deluxe suite, the Avamere. Enjoy the layers of so-soft bedding in the king-size bed. Continue the pampering in the spa shower and jetted tub. Quiet moments punctuated by tranquil hours that stretch into days, and ah, the spa! Visitors in Virginia Beach already appreciate Beach Spa Bed and Breakfast, a relative newcomer on the hospitality scene, and rank it as a top starfish.

Virginia, Lexington Area,  Steeles Tavern

Alpine Hideaway Cottages: “Thoreau-ly” Tranquil
No human in sight; wild turkeys strut and doves croon a somber “coo-ooh.” “Fee-bee-fee,” the black-capped chickadee sings. On the highest point in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley with an 80-mile panorama of the Blue Ridge and Allegheny Mountains, simplicity takes precedence over frazzled lifestyles. In this “Thoreau-ly” tranquil backdrop, the Alpine Hideaway Cottages impart a perfect marriage between comfort and sophistication. According to innkeeper Eileen M. Hoernlein, who operates the venture in Steeles Tavern with her husband Bill, one of the most frequent comments in the guestbook is that the website does not warrant the property justice.

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Amenities: Cozy cabins for two, and family cabins, to spacious group chalets.
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