Hearty Testimony for Some Special Places : Big Sur’s Ventana Inn Tops One List of the Most Romantic Getaways in North America

My wife and I never took a real honeymoon. We were married on a Saturday afternoon, and by Tuesday we were back at our desks. Maybe that’s one reason I’ve kept an eye out over the years for romantic places to celebrate anniversaries or other special occasions for just the two of us.

Time to share my secrets. I offer my personal list of favorite romantic getaways, in all 16 places around the country. I’ve stayed in all of them, and my wife and I have spent anniversaries and birthdays in several. They are the sort of spots I recommend to friends--because I’d love to go back again myself.

What makes a destination romantic? It doesn’t have to be luxurious (although a couple of places on my list surely qualify in this category), and it definitely does not boast a heart-shaped hot tub for two. Too kitschy. And stuffy definitely is out.

For me, a romantic getaway is a blend of several important characteristics--scenic setting, appealing rooms, an intimate ambience, good dining on the premises (or within walking distance), maybe a few recreational activities (a heated pool is always nice), and just enough pampering to make you feel special.

All of my choices--half in the West and half in the Eastern U.S.--share these qualities, although they range in price from modest to expensive. Some sit beside the beach with fine sea views, and others are tucked into mountain valleys. Among them are country inns and small resorts in Florida, New England, the Caribbean, the Rockies, California, Hawaii, Canada and Mexico. Four are national park lodges.

Western Getaways

VENTANA INN

Draped across the pine-forested hills above California’s Big Sur coast, the 59-room Ventana Inn is my choice for North America’s most romantic resort. It is also one of the (discreetly) sexiest, thanks to its two Japanese-style, clothing-optional hot tub spas and sauna.

At midafternoon check-in, a cheese and wine buffet welcomes guests, and an electric cart carries them to large hillside rooms of wood, tile and stone--some overlooking the Pacific and others with a valley or mountain view. Our room, in the pricey category, had a fireplace in the sitting nook and a private hot tub on the deck. Just a few steps uphill was a lovely heated swimming pool, always supplied with a stack of fluffy white towels.

During a four-day stay in October, we hiked in the hills and along the nearby wave-tossed beaches, we swam, we soaked, and one day we each signed up for a professional massage. But mostly we relaxed, reading and napping on our deck.

A full continental breakfast with heaping plates of fresh fruit is set out in the library each morning, and most guests carry their trays outside to the patio. The inn’s restaurant is perched on another hilltop about a quarter of a mile away from the rooms. You can hitch a ride on a cart, but it’s more romantic to take the lighted footpath through the woods, about a 10-minute walk.

A room for two with breakfast and a daily newspaper delivered to your room begins at $170 a night. For information: Ventana Inn, Big Sur 93920, (800) 628-6500 or (408) 667-2331.

IDAHO ROCKY MOUNTAIN RANCH

Comfortably rustic, Idaho Rocky Mountain Ranch sits on 1,000 rolling acres in the shadow of the spectacularly scenic Sawtooth Mountains, just south of the Old West town of Stanley. At sunset, guests gather on the porch of the main lodge to listen to Western tunes, sip drinks, rock in wobbly chairs and watch the sun disappear behind a long ridge of jagged, snow-tipped peaks.

Accommodations are in 17 single or duplex cabins, each with a fireplace. Down a dirt road about half a mile is the ranch’s natural hot springs pool, situated alongside the rushing Salmon River. I hiked down every morning before breakfast to soak and watch the deer browsing in the meadow. The ranch offers no organized activities, but horseback riding, trout fishing and white-water floats on the Salmon are easily arranged. We went hiking each day on well-marked trails that climbed to hidden lakes in the Sawtooth Wilderness.

The ranch serves a hearty outdoorsman’s breakfast and a sophisticated American menu with a good wine selection at dinner. We packed a small picnic lunch each day to eat beside a mountain stream or lake.

A cabin for two with breakfast begins at $106 a night; the price drops to $90 a night if you stay for a week. Dinner plans are available. For information: Idaho Rocky Mountain Ranch, HC 64, Box 9934, Stanley, Ida. 83278, (208) 774-3544.

KONA VILLAGE RESORT

This is the Hawaii you travel such a long way to see. A most unusual place, the Kona Village Resort is a cluster of 125 thatched-roof bungalows (called hales ) set beside the beach or around a lagoon in the fashion of a South Seas island village. Some are on stilts, but in island fashion, none has a TV, telephone or air conditioning. You must rely on tropical breezes and the ceiling fan for cooling. At night, torches blaze along the stone paths.

Located at the foot of an ancient lava flow, the resort rings a beautiful bay on the dry northwest coast of the Big Island of Hawaii. Our hale edged right up to the water, the waves lapping at the rocks below our deck. Each evening we sat there watching the sun drop beneath the horizon. At lunch one day, we chatted with a couple who were to be married on our beach at sunset that very evening. We were invited as the only guests, brought the only wedding present and served as the official witnesses, me in slacks and bare feet. I thought that was very romantic.

A bungalow for two with three meals begins at $375 a night. For information: Kona Village Resort, P.O. Box 1299, Kailua-Kona, Hawaii 96745, (800) 367-5290 or (808) 325-5555.

JENNY LAKE LODGE

The majestic Grand Teton Range looms above the scattered log cabins of Jenny Lake Lodge in Wyoming’s Grand Teton National Park. No wonder I spent much of my time at the lodge sitting on the porch, drinking in the views.

Sometimes the furry marmot who lived beneath the cabin emerged for a visit. Though the century-old cabins look quite humble on the outside, they are very comfortably appointed. The lodge features daily trail rides, and we alternated between rides around Jenny Lake and heart-pumping hikes high into the Tetons.

After an excellent meal in the lodge dining room, we strolled back to our cabin gazing at the stars and listening to the pines sing in the cool night breeze. A cabin for two begins at $295 a night, which includes breakfast and dinner. For information: Grand Teton Lodge Co., Box 240, Moran, Wyo. 83013, (307) 543-2855.

THE AHWAHNEE

To my eye, the most beautiful place in the world is Yosemite Valley in Yosemite National Park, and the Ahwahnee does the magnificent scenery full justice. For a national park lodge, it is luxurious and expensive. But remember, you are there to celebrate a special occasion.

The exterior of the 100-room hotel is granite, mirroring the soaring rock cliffs that ring the valley. The interior has an appropriately rustic look, with heavy wood beams and thick woven rugs. The dining room is a vast hall fit for a mountain king, much too large to qualify as intimate but appealing nonetheless.

In Yosemite, I mostly hike--sometimes along the rushing Merced River, where families on tubes float by, or up the stair-step trail that ascends through the mists of Vernal and Nevada falls to the back country high above.

A room for two begins at $208 a night; reservations are hard to come by and should be made well in advance. For information: Yosemite Reservations, 5410 East Home St., Fresno 93727, (209) 252-4848.

SAN YSIDRO RANCH

Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh exchanged marriage vows in the garden at San Ysidro Ranch, high in the hills above Santa Barbara, and John and Jacqueline Kennedy honeymooned in one of the cottages scattered over 550 acres. Photos on the wall of the lodge room attest to these events, and my wife and I examined them one late fall afternoon as we sipped wine before a roaring fire.

A 45-room luxury resort on what was once a cattle ranch, San Ysidro is a splendidly quiet retreat with distant views of the Pacific and easy access to Santa Barbara. I took a swim each morning in the heated pool, ambling to it in a terry-cloth robe provided in the room. The adobe restaurant on the grounds features California-fresh cuisine and more great views. A room for two begins at $195 a night. For information: San Ysidro Ranch, 900 San Ysidro Lane, Montecito 93108, (800) 368-6788 or (805) 969-5046.

FAR VIEW LODGE

No lodge could possibly have a more accurately descriptive name. Nestled atop the 2,000-foot-high plateau that forms Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado, the 150-room Far View Lodge yields a wilderness vista that seems to stretch forever. We sat on the deck outside our room each evening counting the stars and watching the lights pop on at isolated ranches as far south as New Mexico.

The lodge’s Southwestern setting provides the theme for its decor, and its restaurant offers Southwestern fare. Within Mesa Verde are some of the most impressive Anasazi cliff dwellings in the world, including Balcony House, reached by a high and scary stepladder. Though the park can get crowded by day, the throngs depart at nightfall, leaving the countryside to the lodge’s guests and the ghosts of the ancient cliff dwellers.

A room for two begins at $82 a night until Sept. 6. For information: Far View Lodge, P.O. Box 277, Mancos, Colo. 81328, (303) 529-4421.

CHICO HOT SPRINGS LODGE

I fell in love with this offbeat old place in Montana one winter morning several years ago, and for the oddest of reasons. I had stepped outdoors to soak in its natural hot springs pool. As I floated on my back, a snow squall dropped flakes on my belly. Above me rose a high, forested mountain disappearing into the clouds.

Suddenly, several deer emerged from the woods and began browsing in a clearing. I kept floating and watching, and the incongruity of the scene captivated me. Since them, I’ve been back twice, once with my wife to celebrate our wedding anniversary.

More than a century old, Chico is about an hour’s drive north of Yellowstone National Park in the practically nonexistent community of Pray, Mont. The main lodge is a rambling white clapboard Victorian relic with modest but clean and comfortable rooms, many (but not all) with shared baths.

But the real charm of Chico is its authentically Western flavor. Behind it, Emigrant Peak soars to 11,000 feet, and around it are acres of open pastureland. Cowboys still ride up to the Chico saloon and tie their horses to its hitching post. On many nights, a country-western band plays. The lodge’s restaurant is regarded as one of Montana’s finest. And then there is that wonderful hot springs pool, actually two of them--hot and hotter. A room (with private bath) for two begins at $64 a night. For information: Chico Hot Springs Lodge, Drawer D, Pray, Mont. 59065, (406) 333-4933.

Eastern Getaways

INN AT THORN HILL

The 16-room Inn at Thorn Hill commands the crest of a small hill on the edge of little Jackson, N.H., an unspoiled New England village with an authentic covered bridge at its entrance and a tumbling waterfall steps from the town hall.

I’ve stayed at the inn in winter and in summer, and I can’t decide which season is most romantic. In winter, the whole village becomes one of the country’s best and most scenic ski-touring centers, and guests can glide from inn to inn sipping hot chocolate at several of them. A fire blazes in the Thorn Hill’s dining room, which serves innovative American cuisine. On our wedding anniversary last August, my wife and I reserved a second-floor room with a view of Mt. Washington, the northeast’s loftiest peak.

Out in the garden, a swimming pool is hidden behind the hedge, there’s an outdoor hot tub (winter or summer), and the porch is lined with rocking chairs. Miles of hiking trails trace white-water streams in the surrounding White Mountain National Forest. During ski season, a room for two with breakfast and dinner is $140 a night; in summer, the rate is $130. For information: Inn at Thorn Hill, Jackson, N.H. 03846, (603) 383-4242.

PONTE VEDRA INN AND CLUB

The style at the Ponte Vedra Inn and Club, a beach resort just south of Jacksonville, Fla., is that of an elegant private club--but a friendly club with not a whisper of snootiness. All but a few of the inn’s 200 rooms are in two-story buildings that face directly upon a fine stretch of white sand and a gentle surf.

Lots of guests check in for the tennis or the two 18-hole golf courses. I was more impressed by the two large heated swimming pools, which in April I seemed to be the only one using. I swam laps in one before breakfast, and then for a change of views swam in the other one before dinner. Dinner, by the way, tends to be a romantic, dressy affair complete with candlelight.

An ocean-view room for two in winter begins at $125 a night; in spring (golf season), it’s $189 a night, and in the summer, it drops back to $145 a night--a bargain for such sumptuous surroundings. For information: Ponte Vedra Inn & Club, 200 Ponte Vedra Blvd., Ponte Vedra, Fla. 32082, (800) 234-7842 or (904) 285-1111.

L’AUBERGE PROVENCALE

Virginia is graced with a number of inviting country inns, but I fell in love with the 10-room L’Auberge Provencale--about a 1 1/2-hour drive from Washington in little White Post--when I awoke one morning to the sound of a cow munching on the hedge outside our window. My wife and I had stopped for a night en route to celebrate her birthday in a big resort hotel far to the south, and we thought seriously about canceling our reservations and staying put at the inn.

Innkeeper and chef Alain Borel is from Avignon, France, and his place near Winchester has the feel of an inn in the South of France--especially the colorfully tiled rooms in the new wing. The main house, a stone building dating to 1753, has three intimate dining rooms, where the menu is distinctly French. In season, Borel plucks herbs and vegetables from his garden and fruit from his trees.

A room for two with a full breakfast ranges from $120 to $165 a night. For information: L’Auberge Provencale, P.O. Box 119, White Post, Va. 22663, (703) 837-1375.

CAVALIER HOTEL

The first time I stayed at the Cavalier Hotel in Miami Beach a while back, the lobby always seemed to be filled with gorgeous European fashion models posing with the hotel’s Art Deco decor as a backdrop. My wife didn’t really believe me, so I returned with her last fall. This time the models were posing everywhere--in the hotel, on the street, on the beach, in front of restaurants and draped across fancy cars. The charming little three-story Cavalier stands front and center at this exciting show.

A room for two begins at $125 a night, including continental breakfast. For information: Cavalier Hotel, 1320 Ocean Drive, Miami Beach, Fla. 33139, (305) 534-2135.

HOTEL MAISON DE VILLE

Almost any time of the day, you can hear the faint sound of Dixieland jazz spilling over the high walls enclosing the Hotel Maison de Ville’s flower-filled courtyard. And no wonder. The little 23-room inn sits smack in the heart of New Orleans’ French Quarter.

Just steps away from bustling Bourbon Street, it is a cool and relaxing enclave in the merrymaking hubbub around it. I’ve become so fond of the inn, my sisters and I (and our spouses) treated our parents and ourselves to a long weekend at the inn on their 50th wedding anniversary a few years back.

One of our most pleasant memories is gathering in the garden each morning, like all the other guests, for an elegantly served continental breakfast of juice, croissants and strong New Orleans coffee. A room for two with breakfast begins at $130 a night. For information: Hotel Maison de Ville, 727 Toulouse St., New Orleans, La. 70130, (800) 634-1600 or (504) 561-5858.

ASHBY INN

Just over an hour from Washington, D.C., the 10-room Ashby Inn in little Paris, Va., wraps guests in a romantic 19th-Century cloak. The building dates to 1829, and the decor reflects life in an earlier era. The village of Paris, a quiet lane of old homes west of Middleburg, Va., looks as it must have a century ago.

My favorite guest room is the upstairs Fan Room, named for the window arching above double French doors. The view from the bed takes in sweeping views of the Blue Ridge foothills. A country taproom, with heavy wood beams and a stone fireplace, invites a drink before dinner in the formal dining rooms upstairs. Meals are hearty fare with a Virginia flavor.

A room (with private bath) for two with breakfast begins at $100. For information: Ashby Inn, Route 1, Box 2/A, Paris, Va. 22130, (703) 592-3900.

SEASIDE, FLA.

Seaside is an architectural fantasyland, a witty and appealing re-creation of a turn-of-the-century beach resort. It nestles alongside one of the finest white-sand beaches on Florida’s northern Gulf Coast near Pensacola.

My wife and I spent a long weekend at Seaside one winter a couple of years back on my birthday. Though the air was too chilly for a swim, we strolled the narrow village lane looking at the more than 150 very distinctive (whimsical?) rental cottages. Typical was Jack in the Beanstalk, a slender two-story cottage with one bedroom, a sitting room, a kitchen and a sea-view lookout.

An “efficiency” cottage begins at $131 a night. For information: Seaside Cottage Rental Agency, P.O. Box 4730, Seaside, Fla. 32459, (904) 231-1320.

HIPPENSTEAL INN

The lofty green ridges of Tennessee’s Great Smoky Mountains National Park roll across the horizon in spectacularly scenic waves, and one of the best places to view them is from the wraparound balcony at Hippensteal Inn. The eight-room bed and breakfast inn sits in seclusion atop an isolated hill just outside Gatlinburg. My first morning there, I awoke to watch a thick blanket of clouds lift slowly from the broad shoulders of Mt. LeConte, soaring high above me in the distance.

Innkeeper Vern Hippensteal paints lovely watercolors, many of them with a mountain theme. I was given a room called “October Promise,” named for one of his works.

A room for two with a full gourmet breakfast is $110 a night. For information: Hippensteal Inn, P.O. Box 707, Gatlinburg, Tenn. 37738, (800) 527-8110 or (615) 436-5761.