Charlyne Landgraff and Jason Fothergill had been dating just two months when they decided to take the plunge.
They settled on a weekend in April. Jason picked up Charlyne at her office – excited and a bit nervous – and they drove 21/2 hours from Vancouver to Whistler. When they arrived, they checked into a deluxe room at the Fairmont and let the hotel take care of the rest.
By the time they returned home, “happily exhausted,” it was clear that their relationship had overcome its first true challenge. Yes, the twentysomethings had survived their first “holidate.”
Romantic getaways are nothing new. Most hotels offer weekend packages for lovers clocking serious alone time. Some concierges have become marriage-proposal consultants. Increasingly, though, front desks are also being blitzed with phone calls from guests anxious to impress new girlfriends and boyfriends – in some cases on their second or third dates.
And hotels are launching new programs catering to couples on their first trip as a “we.”
Take Fairmont Hotels & Resorts. Intrigued by what their concierges were saying, the chain embarked on a research project with the Canadian dating website Lavalife. What they discovered: More than 41 per cent of singles would travel with a partner two months into dating; and more than 27 per cent of men and 19 per cent of women would hit the road after just four weeks.
All of which affects how cozy couples want to get.
“With a ‘holidate,' romantic undertones aren't as heavily at the forefront,” says Mike Taylor, a spokesman for Fairmont. “They're really trying to get to know each other in a relaxed atmosphere. If this is your second date, maybe you don't want the roses or the honeymoon suite. You're just breaking the ice.”
I should know. I spent one second date on a trip to Montreal. We were living in different countries at the time and wanted to reunite on neutral territory. But it was a risky move. What if we were wrong about our instincts? What if we got on each other's nerves? Did I even remember what he looked like? And where would we stay? I ended up booking two hotels – one with a pull-out sofa – and crossed my fingers. We're now married. But that weekend in Montreal was some icebreaker.
Appropriately enough then, Fairmont recently rolled out “icebreaker” packages aimed directly at holidaters. They not only emphasize romance, but also keep guests busy during the longest – and potentially most angst-ridden – stretch of time they'll spend together.
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 in Whistler, Charlyne and Jason went on a three-hour ziptrek – where they were guided along steel cables suspended above a whitewater river that flows between two mountains.
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.”
