Romantic Mountain Top Retreat in Waynesboro, N.C.

Discover the highest award winning luxurious, romantic retreat and mountain top inn east of the Mississippi in Waynesboro, North Carolina. The Swag Inn has been rated as 92nd among the best hotels worldwide by Conde Nast in 2011.

This unique nature retreat is located on 250 acres and is just steps away from free admission to Smoky Mountain National Park. It attracts people from all over the world who desire true privacy, luxury, and pampering. The last two mile drive to the top climbs 1,000 feet. The inn has received high praise from many travel reviewers. It has nine guest rooms and five suites or cabins. It features a four course evening meal in the main house dining room. Guests select from a menu and before dinner enjoy delicacies on the main house porch. Private dining is also available.

It is popular for hiking as it is on the Cataloochee Divide Trail and connects with other great trails such as Double Gap Trail and Caldwell Fork. It is in the midst of nature where 200 different species thrive from humminbirds to deer. The Inn also offers Romantic “Add Ons” which are activities such as 1/2 day fly fishing, massages, private yoga, eco tours and more. For further info on this romantic getaway see www.theswag.com .

Discover Oktoberfest In Upper South Carolina

In the Fall, the German town of Walhalla, South Carolina is alive with Oktoberfest at the foot of Stumphouse Mountain. The Cherokees named this greater area of the Blue Ridge the Great Blue Hills of God. It is a rugged area with fierce rivers, walled cliffs, and water falls. It also includes areas such as Anderson Greenville, Clemson, Spartanburg, and Greer.
Cascading water brought textiles mills which have given way to new industries from around the world. Today, the big crop is peaches. However this area is also famous for the essence of the apple harvest which sweetens the air. There are many opportunities for picking and clogging plus cultural museums, gardens and events by colleges and universities. There are also attractions at golf courses, state parks, plantation houses, and waterfalls. It is a good place for a romantic getaway or family weekend.
Richard Choura (www.retreatvacations.com/romantic-getaways)

Romantic Retreat Package Breakout

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Romantic  Retreat  Package Breakout

This is the year for a romantic retreat that is in line with your core values.  A well deserved romantic vacation or weekend will do wonders for what is rare and sensational about you.  Let this be your breakout year to let your many talents shine.  The right kind of relaxation will push you to focus and finish like never before.

Change is exhilarating if you release your grip on the past and everyday routines.. Setting your own way is practically up to you.  Don’t let life cheat you of what you need..

Discover excitement and love at one of the following romantic resorts :

1.The Shores (Daytona Florida)

Romantic bliss deserves the ideal couples escape! Enjoy amazing nights at The Shores – voted the #1 Resort for a Romantic Getaway by readers of the Orlando Sentinel. Indulge yourself at Daytona’s only AAA 4-Diamond Resort.  Enjoy any romantic occasion with luxurious accommodations, oceanfront dining, lounging around the outdoor fire pits, listening to the waves come ashore or a romantic stroll on the beach provide the ultimate romantic setting.

Enjoy the Romance at the Shores package at a special discounted price.
http://www.shoresresort.com/florida-romantic-getaways.php

2.Morningstar Beach Resort (Virgin Islands St. Thomas)

The largest vacation resort in the US Virgin Islands offers AAA, seniors, corporate, government, and military getaway discounts.  See also the Free Night, Escape Inclusive package, resort credits, and rewards program

Frenchman’s Reef / Morningstar Beach Resort  has just finished a $48 million renovation and provides guests with a beautiful view to the best of the Caribbean: casually-sophisticated accommodations overlooking a secluded beach warmed by aquamarine waters, luxurious  seascapes of the Caribbean’s most majestic Charlotte Amelie Harbor.

Choose from 479 hotel  rooms, 5 restaurants, 6 bars and 3 swimming pools.  Frenchman’s promises an unparalled Caribbean vacation in the only U.S. territory in the islands.
www.marriott.com/…/sttfr-frenchmans-reef-and-morning-star-marrio…

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Lake Geneva, Wisc. Where To Stay, What To Do

This is just one way Lake Genevans share the wealth.

Express interest and they’ll tell you about the wealthy Chicagoans who built summer lakeside estates here starting in the mid-1800s; how the local Playboy Club turned into Grand Geneva Resort & Spa; why it’s worth spending $6,000 a year to dismantle docks each fall (freezing water is murder on wood); and about “hard water” escapades such as ice boating.

Awaiting carryout flatbread at Sprecher’s Restaurant & Pub, I’m engaged by a third-generation Lake Genevan who tells me about free Saturday tours of Yerkes Observatory, an architectural wonder on the lake’s northwest shore that boasts the world’s largest refracting telescope. My “Sprechtangle” arrives; he suggests reconvening over coffee or a New Glarus brew to discuss a conspiracy theory linking Yerkes and the Vatican. Lesson learned: These folks love to share their good fortune — the juiciest apples, the freshest greens, the purest lake, the quaintest and quirkiest antiques.

That civic pride is in full force when I visit the Baker House, a lakeside Queen Anne restored to Gilded Age glamour. There, lifelong Lake Geneva resident Rodney Whetlow and his friends Lorraine, Helen and J.B. regale me with tales of four-season fun at the lake.

First stop: a hallway with racks of saucy vintage hats. A bystander docks one on my head. All guests must wear a hat; that’s dressing for dinner at the Baker House. Meanwhile, the staff wears period costumes complementing the sumptuous interiors of the 1885 turreted Victorian, which owner Bethany Souza revived last year as an inn, the culmination of a lifelong dream.

Over specialty cocktails (star fruit, apple), finger foods and mismatched vintage tableware, local lore flows as the setting sun is reflected in the quicksilver lake that reaches depths of 146 feet. In the background — soon to become the foreground at singalong time — Tom Stanfield, outfitted in ragtime regalia, plays yesteryear standards on piano, pocket trumpet and fluegelhorn.

Rodney describes riding motorcycles across the frozen lake, praising J.B.’s skills in studding tires for an optimal mix of traction and speed. They’ve sailed the ice as well. “Most of Geneva Lake freezes two feet below the surface, which is perfect for ice boating,” says Rodney. An ice boat has a long, narrow hull, like a kayak; its large main sail acts as an airfoil. “Sailors with good winds can reach speeds over 100 miles per hour,” Rodney explains. “Some parts of the lake, such as the Narrows, don’t freeze.” These “faults” are one to 30 feet wide. “You try to gain enough speed to jump the fault.”

By Robin Soslow, The Washington Post, Nov. 11,2011