Romance is a yearlong proposal. Every successful couple I know seeks out a bit of romance on every trip they take together. Heck, even if the kids are around, they can share the romance of quick glances, shared beauty and warm smiles. And, without the little ones, expect passionate adventures.This list is basically off the top of my head, based on my own experiences. Please, in comments, share with us your experiences and some of the hotels and locations you have found “most romantic.” Since this “romantic” list comes before Valentine’s Day, there is a bit of a winter slant to some of my selections.
Most romantic hotel: Inn of 5 Graces, Santa Fe, New Mexico
This is the only hotel I have ever stayed where my significant other never wanted to leave the premises. Even in Santa Fe!
The magic starts at the moment of arriving at this cluster of unassuming adobe huts just across the river from Santa Fe’s historic center. The staff springs into action bringing in baggage and guiding visitors to their rooms. Margaritas are prepared, chips and salsa are waiting inside each unique room in the hotel. Tips are politely declined.
And, what charming rooms! Each is furnished with fanciful artifacts from central Asia. Cut glass and tile mosaics adorn the bathrooms. Hefty beams and ornate carved wooden doors collected along the Silk Route highlight the room. And, lush carpets from the exotic lands of Turkmenistan, Kazakstan, Uzbekistan and Afghanistan cover the floors.
The layers of royal luxury are palpable. The rooms exude an overwhelming tactile, colorful and visual beauty that is hard to describe and that must be experienced. This must be the way a shah used to feel.
Click here for more photos and a better sense of place for the Inn of Five Graces.
Most romantic ski resort: Sun Valley or Crested Butte
After writing ski and snowboard guidebooks for more than two decades, winter romance has always been a quest. Some skiers travel to have quality time with their families. Others ski for the physical pursuit of the sport, skiing or riding thousands of feet of vertical each day, then collapsing to sleep and do it all over again. Some come to resorts for the partying. They enjoy the downhill experience from around noon until mid afternoon, then retire to a local watering hole for aprés-ski. However, some are searching for an amative place where they can search out romance and enjoy the spectacular mountain beauty and the town’s enticing atmosphere.
Romance means more than steep slopes, pounding music and rollicking bar scenes. Romance combines the silence and beauty of the jagged mountain peaks and the colors of sunrise and sunset together with a brilliant star-filled night sky. It offers walks down evocative streets, each with its own fascinating lore. It blends in cozy restaurants oozing with charm and delightful, creative cuisine and includes enchanting hotels and B&Bs where couples can find themselves wrapped in fluffy comforters and alluring ambiance.
Sun Valley, Idaho, and Crested Butte, Colorado, are two of the West’s most picturesque winter mountain resorts. Both exude a sense of place — Sun Valley offers the world of high-flying old Hollywood and the playground of America’s super rich, and Crested Butte provides a taste of the Wild West and its mining history. (If Crested Butte could get everyone to toss their cell phones away during their stay, it would be an even more wonderful escape from everyday and make for an enchanting stay in the here and now.) Both resorts have plenty of sensual lodging and exceptional restaurants. And, of course, there is wonderful skiing and snowboarding as well.
Most romantic Canadian city: Quebec City
Most of us go to Disneyland if we want to experience the magic of castles, walled cities, and recreated fantasy worlds. But, the real thing, in one of the oldest cities in North America (ranking up there with Santa Fe, NM, and St. Augustine, FL), is Quebec City, Canada.
From the romance point of view, this Canadian city has it all in winter or summer. Let me count the ways: Cozy, wonderful restaurants; scores of boutiques; a setting along the dramatic St. Lawrence River; majestic hotels; museums; evocative, narrow, atmospheric streets; massive city walls; a European feel without the long transatlantic journey.
The Fairmont Chateau Frontenac rises impressively over the old town. A funicular brings shoppers between the upper walled city and to what is purported to be the oldest shopping street in North America. A ferry crosses the river — in winter through chunks of ice and in summer past a flotilla of boats — always with spectacular views.
For everyone from shoppers, foodies, history buffs, skiers and snowboarders, gourmands, military students, revolutionary war experts or simply moon-eyed romantics, this city serves it all in a very inspiring fashion.
Most romantic grand hotel: Mt. Washington Hotel, Bretton Woods, New Hampshire
One of the only remaining “grand hotels” in New England, this impressive hotel with expansive views of Mt. Washington and a connected ski and snowboard area fits my idea of romantic and semi-secluded. This hotel is a step back in time, but with all of the amenities of a luxury palace. Though the radiators might clank every so often, and guests may find themselves lost in the labyrinthian halls where ghosts are believed to be wandering in the night, this hotel successfully transports visitors to another era. Almost a movie set.
The lobby is elegant and filled with historic memorabilia harking back to the days of the Bretton Woods accord that organized the world’s currency systems to allow for open international trade. The dining room oozes elegance, even at breakfast. Linen-covered tables all have picture-window views of the Presidential Range of New Hampshire’s White Mountains.
All in all, this is a secluded romantic and glamorous hotel with enough to keep one busy during the times you are not focused dreamily only on each other.
Most romantic small city: Charleston, South Carolina
I was lucky to have once lived in this romantic city. The old town spreads for miles along a long peninsula bordered by the Ashley River and Cooper River. It carefully preserves the delicate atmosphere of the Old South. Large sections of downtown have been preserved, little changed from almost a century ago.
The old market is packed with crafts and art. Carriages clatter down cobblestone streets that wind between elegant mansions along the Battery. Meeting, East Bay and King Streets are lined with fashion shops, antique stores and restaurants like 82 Queen Street or Magnolia’s, where upscale southern cooking reigns.
Charleston’s skyline is punctuated by dozens of steeples, a result of religious tolerance not found elsewhere in the original colonies. Here, the first theater built in the United States still hosts plays during the Spoleto Festival, when music and dance fill the theaters, churches, clubs, parks and streets of this city.
Just outside of the city, many of America’s most beautiful plantations still welcome visitors. Along the coastline long sandy beaches lure bathers and world class golf courses stretch through dunes and forests.
Most romantic large city: New York City
I didn’t want to do it, but everyone I spoke with seems to agree that New York City is the most romantic big city in the US.
Few major cities are as walkable as New York. No where else can visitors find the selection of high-end shopping; for that matter any level of shopping. I can’t think of another American city that has so many phenomenal restaurants of every ethnicity and for every wallet.
Sightseeing can be a full-time occupation for months on end. And, though one might think of The Big Apple as a traffic disaster, the subways and taxis whisk millions back and forth and up and down through the city where plenty of romantic nooks and crannies can be found, whatever your desires.
Take a walk through Central Park. Go to the Bronx Zoo. Stroll across the Brooklyn Bridge (better yet, after enjoying a coal-fired pizza at Grimaldi’s, on the Brooklyn side, under the bridge). Take the Staten Island Ferry. Dine in Little Italy or Chinatown. Meet an old lover at the top of the Empire State Building. Thrill to a Broadway musical. Sing along to show tunes in a piano bar or enjoy cutting edge entertainment in “The Village.”
For the romantically impaired, any one of these hotel destinations will just about guarantee a romance adventure to remember.
Does anyone have other great romantic destinations that you have discovered? Go ahead, share them in comments below.
Charlie Leocha is the President of Travelers United. He has been working in Washington, DC, for the past 14 years with Congress, the Department of Transportation, and industry stakeholders on travel issues. He was the first consumer representative to the Advisory Committee for Aviation Consumer Protections appointed by the Secretary of Transportation from 2012 through 2018.
