Being cooped up never felt so good
Valentine's Day getaway
With Valentine's Day coming up, the mind turns to romantic getaways. What couple's collective heartbeat wouldn't pick up speed with a gondola ride down the canals of Venice or over a bottle of bubbly in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower?
Some places -- Italy and France -- scream romance. The Midwest, well ... it screams cows and corn.
(Courtesy)
GETTING THERE: Canoe Bay near Chetek, Wis., is a six-hour drive northwest of Chicago.
STAYING THERE: Guest rooms are in one of two buildings: the lodge and the inn, which also includes Canoe Bay's top-notch restaurant. For even more privacy, book a duplex or stand-alone cottage.RATES: Rooms start at $325; cottages at $425. The best of the bunch -- for $1,800 a night -- is the stunning Edgewood cottage, a 2,000-square-foot home designed by Frank Lloyd Wright protege John Rattenbury.
CONTACT: Various packages and reservations may be booked online at Canoebay.com, or call (800) 568-1995.
That doesn't mean the Midwest is devoid of romantic escapes. We just have to look harder to find them. And if you look on 280 wooded acres in northwestern Wisconsin, you'll find the best of the bunch.
Canoe Bay, near the tiny town of Chetek, Wis., is an intimate retreat that's all about peace, quiet and relaxation -- a solid tripod on which to build a romantic weekend.
A total of 21 Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired rooms and cottages -- with four more being built this year -- share the secluded property with a trio of spring-fed lakes.
Dan Dobrowolski's grandfather used to take him fishing on these lakes as a child. Dobrowolski, a former meteorologist for WFLD-Channel 32, ditched his TV career 15 years ago to buy the land, which was an abandoned church retreat. Dobrowolski and his wife, Lisa, who are both big fans of Frank Lloyd Wright, went about turning this hilly patch of earth into a sanctuary that practically forces couples to unplug, unwind and reconnect.
Dobrowolski wanted to create a refuge where guests would be surrounded both by raw nature and creature comforts; a place where everything is organic, from the architecture and landscape to the food. Dobrowolski's recipe for his ideal destination deliberately omitted one ingredient: children.
"Don't even say that word around here," Dobrowolski joked. Kind of. Canoe Bay is strictly adults-only. "I know it's the Midwest and the Midwest is all about kids, all about families. But it's hard to feel romantic when you've got screaming kids running around."
A few weeks ago, my husband and I checked into one of Canoe Bay's lakeside cabins. No. 11, to be exact.
The spacious cedar-and-stone structure -- straight out of the pages of Architectural Digest -- was made for cocooning. The cabin's honey-colored wood wraps around you like a big blanket, warming you up almost as much as the Dolomite stone fireplace in the living room.
Flowers and a chilled half-bottle of champagne -- an extra touch that costs lovebirds an additional $85 -- waited on the cantilevered breakfast table jutting out of the cabin's interior stone wall. Some extra dough also will get you a horse-drawn carriage ride on a nearby farm, an in-room massage and a private dinner in Canoe Bay's wine cellar.
As I scanned our little love shack, it didn't take long for my well-trained eye to catch the word "spa" written on the frosted glass door off the living room. Behind that door lurked a private sauna, a Jacuzzi tub, a two-person steam shower and an elliptical trainer that undoubtedly feels pretty neglected amid a whirlpool and sauna.
If you consider big beds romantic, then ours was the Cyrano de Bergerac of slumber. So big, the Egyptian cotton linens had to be custom made. Not to be outdone by the living room, the bedroom also has its own stone fireplace.
Canoe Bay is the only Midwestern lodging that's part of the Relais & Chateaux chain of hotels and restaurants.
You can hop in the car and go looking for some action, but why bother? You're paying good money to be here, so soak up every serene second of it. Borrow a book from the lodge's library and read by the fire. Grab a DVD and settle in on the couch. Or look out your picture window and watch snowflakes fall on Lake Wahdoon.
Pretty much the only time we vacated our cabin was to make the short walk to the cozy-but-elegant on-site restaurant, which serves a $75 prix fixe dinner every night except Tuesday. Breakfast gets delivered to your doorstep each morning.
After two blissful days and nights in our romantic digs, we made the six-hour drive back to the real world. We passed plenty of cows and cornfields along the way.