14 perfect Valentine’s staycations for every type of L.A. couple
Sure, Valentine’s Day flowers are nice. Dinner out? Even better. But if you want an experience you’ll keep daydreaming about long past the Hallmark holiday, it helps to flee your everyday life — the laundry, the dishes, your Netflix queue — if only for a quick weekend.
In L.A., you don’t have to travel far to find unique activities, new-to-you neighborhoods and vibey hotels to cozy up in, giving you and your significant other time to reconnect and remember how much fun you have together.
Here are 14 hotel and activity pairings for every type of couple, from design lovers to outdoor enthusiasts.
For the couple looking for vintage L.A. vibes: Stay at the Hollywood Roosevelt and watch some comedy at Largo at the Coronet
Do: See your “SNL” and Netflix favorites onstage at the intimate music and comedy club Largo. “Judd Apatow and Friends” is scheduled for Feb. 17.
For art-loving urbanites: Stay at Silver Lake Pool & Inn and visit the Museum of Neon Art
Do: Why not express your love for one another in neon lights? The Museum of Neon Art in Glendale (the one topped with the girl in neon taking a swim) offers classes on the craft of neon bending and has a collection that includes the iconic sign from the Brown Derby restaurant chain. Want to really bask in the glow? The museum also hosts neon night walks and “neon cruises” in a double-decker bus.
For the wellness devotees: Stay at Four Seasons Los Angeles at Beverly Hills and take a rooftop yoga class
Do: For head-to-toe restoration, request one of the hotel’s wood-floored wellness rooms, complete with special circadian lighting, yoga equipment, a soundscape machine and guided meditations by Deepak Chopra. If you’re looking to stay active during your getaway, hop on the in-room Peloton or book a yoga class on the rooftop helipad.
For the couple looking for sun and the sea: Stay at VEA Newport Beach and go whale watching
Do: It may be too early for swimming in the ocean, but it’s the perfect season for whale watching in Newport Beach. February is when you’ll see gray whales migrating along the coast — a boat ride with Newport Landing lets you see them up close.
For the couple who wants to trot off into the sunset: Stay at Hotel Amarano and go horseback riding under the Hollywood sign
Do: If you’ve always wanted an excuse to experience the famed Sunset Ranch horseback rides under the Hollywood sign, here’s one. Around Valentine’s Day — and with a couple of days’ notice to book — Hotel Amarano will deliver a sweetheart package with a sunset horseback ride for two, a night in a one-bedroom suite, craft cocktails for two at the FYC Bar & Kitchen and breakfast there the next morning for $789.
For the high-flying (and big-spending) romantics: Stay at Hotel Indigo and take a helicopter ride over L.A.
Do: Sure, there are plenty of hotels offering Champagne and chocolates for Valentine’s Day, but this downtown hotel near L.A. Live is offering an over-the-top experience for guests with more money than time. The Hotel Indigo has a “Love Is in the Air” package that includes two nights in its presidential suite, a helicopter ride on Orbic Air over the Hollywood sign or Malibu coastline, a couples photo shoot to commemorate the night, as well as the requisite chocolate truffles and Champagne, room-service breakfast and luxe Kerstin Florian gift bags to take home. At $8,000, this kind of grand gesture doesn’t come cheap. But at least you’ll have the pictures to prove it. To book the package, email peter.choi@ihg.com.
For the couple that lives in flip-flops: Stay at the Huntley Hotel and enjoy an Instagram-worthy sunset picnic
Do: Treat your Valentine to an Instagram-worthy sunset picnic by Santa Monica Picnic Co. at Lifeguard Tower 28, with a custom picnic table shaded by an umbrella, goose-feather designer pillows, linen tablecloths, flameless candles, a wireless speaker, a charcuterie board and twinkle lighting overhead. Add flowers, a cake or even a sound bath or yoga session to amp up the experience.
For wine lovers: Stay at Temecula’s Carter Estate Winery and Resort and float in a hot air balloon over the vines
Do: If you really want to make an impression, the hotel has a hot air balloon package that lets you float over wine country with California Dreamin’ Balloon Adventures.
For the outdoor adventurers: Stay at Hotel June and hike Malibu’s Solstice Canyon
Do: Hiking doesn’t get much better than in Malibu, where the ocean breeze fans you as you ascend to sweeping views of rolling green hills. Try the three-mile Solstice Canyon Loop Trail, which passes the oldest still-standing stone building in Malibu, as well as a waterfall, a creek and the ruins of a mansion.
For the garden enthusiasts: Stay at the Langham Huntington and stroll through its gardens
Do: Stroll along the hotel’s recently restored Picture Bridge with hand-painted gables or through its relaxing Japanese garden after a cocktail in the original Tap Room bar. And if the flowers scattered throughout this Rose City hotel aren’t enough, it’s just a quick drive to the Huntington Library’s romantic Chinese Garden or to the Norton Simon, which boasts both a sculpture garden around a pond and Cezanne’s “Tulips in a Vase.”
For the ultra-creative couple: Stay at Soho Warehouse and take a pottery class at Still Life Ceramics
Do: Get your hands dirty at Still Life Ceramics, which has a “Bowl in One” class for newbies to learn how to throw a bowl on the wheel in an hour (your fired and glazed masterpiece will be ready for pickup in about three weeks).
For the couple that doesn’t want to leave the resort premises: Stay at Terranea in Rancho Palos Verdes and try archery by the sea
Do: There’s no need to get in a car here, as unique activities from couples falconry, tidepooling, kayaking, hiking, golf and tennis are hosted on-site (as well as eight restaurants, including mar’sel with its Michelin-starred chef). If you’re looking to learn a new skill, you might try archery on Terranea’s beach cove with sweeping views of Catalina.
For the couple with high hopes: Stay at Pendry West Hollywood and pass the prerolls at Ganja Giggle Garden
Do: Whether you’re cannabis-curious or imbibe regularly, West Hollywood’s Ganja Giggle Garden, on Santa Monica Boulevard behind the Woods dispensary, is worth the trip. Purchase some prerolls in the stylish shop co-owned by a group including Woody Harrelson, Bill Maher and John McEnroe, or sidle up to the cannabis beverage bar on the back patio before relaxing in the lush tropical garden, complete with parrots, Buddha statues and a koi pond.
For the musically minded: Stay at Conrad Hotel and see a show at the Music Center
Do: Watch some live entertainment at the cultural gem that is the Music Center, whether your jam is more “The Marriage of Figaro” playing at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, “The Secret Garden” onstage at the Ahmanson Theatre or John Legend at Disney Concert Hall.
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