There’s lots of things to do in Orlando, or NYC or San Francisco, but when you’re on a holidate, that’s a moot point. It’s not what’s inside the city that matters, but what’s inside the hotel that’s important. Holidates are fast entering the travel lexicon as a first getaway trip taken together by couples who just hooked up. Photo by Kreetube via Flickr

When you’re looking to move from second base to third base in a new relationship, sometimes its best to do it in a new environment where there’s nothing familiar around. And nothing like a hotel room in a vacation resort to help break the ice. That said, its not good form to take a hotel room in the city where you both live, which brings on the need to travel to a getaway. And that’s a ‘holidate’. Hotels across the U.S. are taking full advantage of this need for new couples to spend some quality time together, and offering specials and themed rooms specifically meant to help new couples bond and take relationships to a higher level.

Ellen Himelfarb, Globe & Mail, writes about all the hotels in different cities who are competing to be the holidate hotel.

At the Fairmont Lake Louise in Alberta, for example, that might mean ice skating, ski lessons and yoga à deux. At the Fairmont Chicago, the package includes a couple’s massage, a five-course tasting menu and a “Kama Sutra turndown” (it involves various gels and a feather tickler).  And the Fairmont isn’t the only hotel trying to woo customers wooing each other. The Ritz-Carlton in Orlando, Fla., has a package for pairs hoping to make the city “the first mark on their love story map.” It includes a lakeview room and tickets to the Discover Cove water park.

Maria Roa-Warnant, nightlife concierge at the Four Seasons Miami, has itineraries for new couples feeling out the town – and each other. “I tell them to avoid Miami’s busy club scene and look for more relaxing activities that encourage talking and bonding,” she says. “A private yoga class followed by a couple’s massage in one of the hotel’s poolside cabanas, or a sundown picnic at the Fairchild Tropical Garden.”

Then there’s the Library Hotel in New York. It doesn’t offer anything for new romances per se. But with its view of the New York Public Library and a Dewey Decimal theme, it’s a hot spot for bookish sweethearts. The most popular room: 800.001 – which in the Dewey system corresponds with Erotic Literature. 

Get a Room, Ellen Himelfarb, Globe and Mail, April 26th, 2008

Oh, and if you need some advice on how to go about turning this ‘holidate’ thingy to your advantage, you might want to read this howto on sensual vacations by the Sheknows.com editors. “I believe that sensual vacations can happen anywhere,” says Leslie Karsner, founder of RomanceInstitute.com and author of The Long Distance Romance Guide (see Resources section below). “The key is to be in a place where you truly spend time together connecting.” Karsner says that participating in athletic activities, such as scuba diving or skiing, helps to get the adrenaline flowing, which, she says, “makes for great sexual encounters.”

Posted on May 9th, 2008 by PLing
Filed under: Travel Tips