If you haven’t yet lifted a finger for your significant other this Valentine’s Day, there’s still time. The holiday falls on a Friday this year, which means it’s perfect for booking a long weekend away.
To help you, here are the most romantic new hotels and resorts for a quick escape—places where weeks of stress can melt away in minutes, or destinations that are easy to explore in just a few days.
And please, hold the flowers and chocolates. For each of these 14 getaways, we’ve found sweet, easy-to-schedule excursions or amenities that are much more original. No matter where in the world you’re starting out from, at least one will be close by; their romantic appeal, on the other hand, is universal.
If You’re on the East Coast
Shou Sugi Ban House, Hamptons
A midwinter trip to the Hamptons may seem backward. But there’s no more romantic way to stroll a beach than in total quiet, wrapped in a blanket with your loved one. Afterward, retreat to the Japanese oasis that is Shou Sugi Ban House, where you can grab a cup of matcha from an onyx-colored bar and sit around an outdoor fireplace set in a Zen garden. There are wooden soaking tubs in the rooms and flax linen robes for lounging. What else could you need?
The romantic gesture: The hotel’s expansive spa has hot and cold hydrotherapy plunge pools, a solarium and roof deck, chromatherapy showers, and apt wintertime treatments, like the “Deep Within” hot stone massage, to soften chapped skin and relieve tight joints. (It’s paired with pre- and post-treatment soaks and tonics to extend the “me time” magic.)
Maison de la Luz, New Orleans
It’s not yet a year old, but this whimsical hideaway in the Big Easy’s Warehouse District feels like it’s been there forever. Its rooms have an historic, palatial feel reminiscent of Paris’s hôtels particuliers, and the bordello-like Bar Marilou has quickly become a local fixture.
The romantic gesture: Do dinner at one of the city’s so-hot-right-now restaurants like Gautreau’s or Coquette, both of which have sexy dining rooms and elegant menus that aren’t overly fussy. Then have the hotel staff draw up a bath and set a bottle of Champagne on ice in your room while you mix your own after-dinner drinks in the living room.
Royalton Antigua