Romantic / Sexy Inn in Calif. wanted

In My Humble Opinion
1

I wasn’t sure if this belonged in GQ or here, but I put it here. Mods, feel free to move.

I’m looking for a romantic / sexy inn or motel for a long weekend with my SO. A couple of years ago we went to the Fantasy Inn in South Lake Tahoe (http://www.fantasy-inn.com/) and it was a big hit.

So I’m looking for some place similar. We’re looking for a “couple’s Inn”, if there is such a category. Location: Anywhere within 5 or 6 driving hours of the Bay Area.

Anyone have any suggestions or personal experience with a similar Inn?

Thanks,
J.

2

Highlands Inn, Carmel

Stayed there in 1996 and loved it. Fantastic oceanside setting, first-class food and wine, cozy accommodations in bilevel cottages with hot tubs and such. Spendy, but well worth it.

3

I’ve been to the Fantasy Inn also, with similar impact. The only similar place I can think of is the Madonna Inn in San Luis Obispo. It has theme rooms also, but no mirrors on the ceiling, so it is more of an interesting standard hotel.

For just a standard romantic place, we stayed at a motel on the Slough in Fort Bragg, with a hot tub in the room. But I don’t know of any place like the Fantasy Inn. Did you stay in a theme room? If yes, you can try another.

4

Thanks for the suggestion. I’ve made brief rest stops in the Madonna Inn before on the way to LA, but more for the entertainment value than the “quality” of it. I suppose everyone has a different “tacky” threshold, and for me, the Madonna Inn crosses that threshold.

Keep the suggestions coming!

Thanks,
J.

5

The Carriage House Inn in Carmel. ETA- site here.

The Doryman’s Inn in Newport Beach (probably too far away).

6

Jenner Inn or River’s End. River’s End restaurant was the location for one of the great meals of my life!

7

The Blue Dolphin Inn in Cambria - just north of Morro Bay.

Stayed there one weekend - what a treat that was. Listen to some reviews of it:

Highly recommended for your romantic getaway.

8

Well, I don’t know anyone who has actually stayed there, but I may as well pimp for a local landmark. I figure it it was good enough for JFK and Jackie O’s honeymoon, it’s probably not half bad.

9

We stayed at Vintage Inn in Yountville for one night of our honeymoon. Crazy expensive but gorgeous.

Much less sumptuous, but with sea lions and whales just off shore: Turtle Rocks Oceanfront Inn.

Probably the best place we stayed on our honeymoon was Stanford Inn by the Sea just outside Mendocino. Gorgeous setting, kayaking, a delicious vegetarian restaurant, spa services and fantastic romantic rooms with fireplaces.

10

One of my old co-workers once showed me a site map of a place that IIRC was pismo or some other monterey-morro bay central coast type place. It was right on highway 1 and was pretty much a collection of 30-50 cottages buried in heavy landscaping with private hot tubs for each one, I have never been able to remember the name.

11

I don’t know of any ‘fantasy’ or theme type places like the one you went to, other than The Madonna in SLO, but I can recommend a few great places in the area.

I second Sassy’s recommendation of Jenner Inn and River’s End. I also had one of the best meals of my life at River’s End.

One Mesa is one of my favorite B&Bs in the area. It’s small and secluded, and the owners are incredibly friendly. The Sunset Cottage is amazing, incredibly comfortable, intimate, and charming.

Oleander House in Yountville is where my husband and I celebrated our first anniversary. Very comfortable.

Fort Ross Lodge is also nice, though a bit more rustic. We stayed on ‘The Hill’ one Valentine’s Day and loved it. Our own deck with BBQ, our own hot tub, our own sauna. With a gorgeous view of the ocean.

The ‘Cut Glass Suite’ at the Inn at Occidental has a private hot tub and is gorgeous. I love Occidental. Negri’s and The Union Hotel are two of my favorite restaurants in the area. If you like spa type stuff - Osmosis is nearby and is one of the best in the country. We did a weekend in Occidental one V-day and tried the enzyme bath along with massages. The enzyme bath is a neat experience, but the massages have become something of a tradition.

Others you might want to look into -

Safari West has safari ‘tents’ and cottages and they do romance packages during the spring.

Kenwood Inn - In the Sonoma Valley and newly remodeled. An ‘Italian villa’ kind of feel.

Post Ranch Inn - Big Sur, with ‘cliff’ rooms, ‘tree’ rooms, and other neat accomodations.

The Eagle’s Nest at Blackthorne Inn - This one looks pretty cool. It’s on my ‘to do’ list.