Sunday, February 10, 2008
Life, Travel

Road to romance

Follow Cupid’s arrow in less than two hours to these nearby resorts

By David Danzig

THE RITZ-CARLTON LODGE AT REYNOLDS PLANTATION

Check most national travel magazine’s “best of” lists for North America, and most rank the Ritz-Carlton Lodge at Lake Oconee way up on their lists. The lodge fuses the rawness of rustic beauty with the preparedness of five-star luxury but without any stuffiness or pretension. The second you pull onto the property, an understated opulence overwhelms you and is consistent from the pristine grounds and the gorgeous lake view to the 26,000-square-foot spa and the feather bed with Frette linens. In a class by itself, you would have to work very hard to blow it in the romance category here.

Where: Greensboro, Ga. An hour and change out on I-20 East.

Valentine’s Day Special: The Valentine’s Bed & Breakfast includes accommodations, breakfast for two, a rose-petal turndown, champagne and chocolate-covered strawberries starting at $329 per evening. The Valentine’s Dinner and Dreams package includes accommodations, dinner for two, rose-petal turndown, champagne and chocolate-covered strawberries starting at $429 per night.

Insider Tip: Weather permitting, step up for an outdoor Chiminea Dinner: a lakeside dinner in Adirondack chairs and blankets with a personal chiminea bonfire, Ritz-Carlton Southern cuisine, chilled champagne, truffles and chocolate-covered strawberries. Complete the experience with build-your-own s’mores.

Details: 706-467-0060 or www.ritzcarlton.com

BARNSLEY GARDENS

Follow some of the most beautiful, winding country roads in the foothills of the North Georgia Mountains and arrive at Barnsley Gardens, a fairytale recreation of a quaint English village. Built near the still-standing ruins of a massive 19th-century mansion (originally constructed by British immigrant and businessman Godfrey Barnsley in the 1840s), dozens of small cottages, replete with the finest luxury creature comforts are neatly arranged on perfectly manicured gravel lanes. Since there’s no central inn or concentration of buildings where guests stay, the feeling of seclusion is more like a mountain hideaway than a resort. But you are far from being out in the wilderness; just a short walk from your cottage brings you to three outstanding restaurants, a world-class golf course, a gym and a small spa offering all the requisite pampering. Plus, with horseback riding, bicycle rentals, tennis, fishing, skeet shooting, paintball and even a nine-hole Frisbee golf course, the two of you will surely find an activity to agree upon.

Where: Near Adairsville, Ga. About an hour and a half north on I-75.

Valentine’s Day Special: “Romance in the Ruins” includes a welcome gift of chocolate strawberries and champagne, dinner for two, a special romantic turndown gift from “The Fairy Godmother” and breakfast the following morning. Package prices start at $518 for a standard Manor Room. Upgrade to a suite for $703 or an Arbor Cottage for $831.

Insider Tip: A stroll around the ruins and nearby trails is a must as is a visit to the kitchen wing of the old mansion (now a museum) beside the ruins. Bullet holes and blood stains from a real-life Cain and Able murder, Civil War memorabilia and other mementos from the original family’s haunting past are faithfully preserved there.

Details: 877-773-2447 or www.barnsleyresort.com.

CHÂTEAU ÉLAN WINERY & RESORT

If your vision of romance looks like a rolling French countryside, but you aren’t quite ready to make a transatlantic journey, Château Élan is the place for you. Enter the property and approach the massive château perched above thousands of rows of grape vines on 75 acres, and suddenly Atlanta feels worlds away. Featuring accommodations in a traditional inn and also in a more secluded spa, the property has been turning out its own wine for almost two decades. Dining, spa, wine tasting and 63 holes of championship golf are just a few of the onsite escapes you and your partner can easily melt into.

Where: Braselton, Ga. About 40 minutes north up I-85.

Valentine’s Day Special: Packages include accommodations, a commemorative special bottle of wine, turndown service including a single rose, dinner for two at one of the resort’s restaurants and breakfast for two. Rates range from $370 to $500, depending on whether you book the inn or spa.

Insider Tip: Sign up for a cooking class with wunderkind executive chef, Marc Suennemann. A former pro hoops player in Germany, Suennemann brings world-class culinary mastery to Braselton.

Details: 800-233-9463 or www.chateauelanatlanta.com.

THE LODGE AND SPA AT CALLAWAY GARDENS

Fifty years ago, Atlanta was a mere fraction of the megatropolis that it is today. But some saw “Big City” written all over it and founded Callaway Gardens, perhaps the original Atlanta getaway. Callaway has recently stepped up in the luxury category with the impressive Lodge and Spa. This brand new facility instantly conveys the down-home feel of a secluded, deeply wooded hunting lodge but with flat screens, fine linens and all the other blessed pamperings of an extravagant property. Their Spa Prunifolia easily holds its own with the top spas in the region with 13 treatment rooms and first-class facilities for a complete disintegration of stress. Callaway also offers a myriad of activities, including golf, skeet shooting, fishing, tennis and a ropes course.

Where: Pine Mountain, Ga. An hour and a half south, starting on I-85.

Valentine’s Day Special: Actually, this is a special good all of February: Get luxury accommodations at the lodge and spa, a $150 spa credit, dinner for two in the Piedmont dining room (located right inside the lodge), use of the lodge fitness center and gardens admission, including the Day Butterfly Center, Sibley Horticultural Center and Birds of Prey show. Taxes and gratuities included. Starting at $499 a night.

Insider Tip: Rent bikes at the recreation center and take a short ride to the Day Butterfly Conservatory to see 50 different species of butterflies all aflutter). On the ride back, take in the Birds of Prey show, and watch soaring carnivores swoop inches from your heads.

Details: 800-225-5292 or www.callawaygardens.com. SP