Flights of fancy
Warm getaways keep the flame burning this Valentine's Day
Winter in Chicago -- especially this year -- can have a chilling effect on romance.
Who wants to walk mitten-in-mitten along the blustery lakefront, rubbing frost-bitten noses with your significant other?
This Valentine's Day, heat things up by heading to a place where hypothermia isn't a hazard, the only ice you'll see is in a champagne bucket, and the underwear is more thong than long.
Make like a Dove bar and get covered in chocolate during a couples' spa treatment with the "Pick Your Passion" package at the Wailea Beach Marriott Resort & Spa in Maui. (Or you can skip the chocolate and opt for a massage once reserved exclusively for Hawaiian royalty.) The package also comes with daily breakfast delivered to your room, a post-spa glass of champagne and light lunch, a Hawaiian hot stone manicure and pedicure, shampoo and blow dry and a sunset three-course dinner at the resort's restaurant. Prices start at $500 a night, three-night minimum; good through February.
Waileamarriott.com; (808) 879-1922
Average high in February: 81
A private, candlelit dinner on the beach and a bath butler are among the bells and whistles that come with this two-night package, valid through Feb. 28, at the 50-room boutique resort Casa Colonial Beach & Spa. For $1,095 a couple, you also get bed and breakfast in a junior suite and some quality time in the spa for soaks, scrubs and massages. The price includes round-trip transfers to and from Puerto Plata International Airport.
Casacolonialhotel.com; (809) 320-3232
Average high in February: 84
Private lobster dinner in a gazebo, couples massage, aromatherapy bath with rose petals, chocolate-covered strawberries, flowers -- it's all about south-of-the-border amor in Puerto Vallarta at the Grand Velas resort, where the "Romance Vacation" package includes all food and drinks and three nights in a parlor or master suite with ocean views. Good through April 30; $3,972 a couple.
Vallarta.grandvelas.com; (888) 261-8436
Average high in February: 80
Your three-night vacation at the San Juan Marriott gets off to a sweet start with a dozen red roses after your private chauffeur picks you up from the airport. Champagne and strawberries, a Caribbean picnic, three-course dinner with wine, breakfast on the balcony and a private champagne tasting lesson keep the romance rockin' in your ocean-view junior suite. The "Romantic Rendezvous" package is good through February (use promotion code RZ8) at a cost of $1,608 for two.
Marriott.com/sjupr; (888) 817-2033
Average high in February: 83
Locavore environmentalists with some green(backs) to spare, this one's for you: The Viceroy Santa Monica's "Green Light on Romance" getaway includes a welcome package made up of organic wine, locally grown strawberries, organic bath amenities and poolside pedicures so your feet will look lovely as you minimize your carbon footprint. You get one night in an ocean-view room, dinner for two with a bottle of wine, organic breakfast and the use of the hotel's bikes so you can pedal around Santa Monica's Farmers Market. Cost is $800, available through February. (Additional nights may be added for $449.)
Viceroysantamonica.com; (800) 670-6185
Average high in February: 63
OK, Paris this time of year isn't exactly warm. But this city is so damn romantic, who cares if it's cold? The chi-chi Hotel Fouquet's Barriere has a "Paris C'est L'Amour" package inspired by the most romantic photo of all time: Robert Doisneau's "Kiss by the Hotel de Ville" (mandatory dorm art for female college students in the '80s). Guests get a makeup session and an hourlong photo shoot on Parisian streets with a black-and-white photographer, as well as caviar, breakfast, a champagne dinner, airport transfers and a chauffeur-driven tour of the city. It costs $2,080 a night, two-night minimum.
Fouquets-barriere.com
Average high in February: 45
Can't bear to leave the kids behind? Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort on northwest Florida's Emerald Coast has two-bedroom villas starting at $135 a night. The Destin area resort will hold a special "kids' night out" on Valentine's Day (for a small charge) so mom and pops can enjoy a romantic dinner.
Sandestin has another Valentine's package that includes dinner and champagne, and you get to take home a little souvenir: a Smart Car convertible. This one's priced a bit higher at $22,500.
Sandestin.com; (800) 622-1038
Average high in February: 65