Plan a Cozy Romantic Vacation - Peter Greenberg

Valentine's Day Getaways in Tight Spaces

By Athena Arnot-Copenhaver for PeterGreenberg.com
Oprah.com | February 09, 2010

Talk about cozying up to your partner. Check out five oddball places where you can spend a night with your main squeeze so there's no choice but to get a little closer with the one you love.

Desert for Two
The Ammarin Bedouin Camp , a village located about 6 miles north of Petra, Jordan, is the real deal. With a large common area comprised of airy, shady tents and low-rise tables, all campers cozy up in the evenings for dancing, drinking, traditional music and local food prepared and served by the Ammarin people. You'll see some of the clearest night skies available on the planet and then retire to your mattress to slumber snuggled up to your one and only.

Operated under the Beidha Tourist and Archaeological Cooperative, the Ammarin Bedouin Camp offers a range of services to its guests. One night camping in a Bedouin tent costs about $160 per person, but you can pitch your own tent if you want and pay extra for access to amenities and services.

Discover 10 more oddball places to spend a night at PeterGreenberg.com

A New York Minute
Tiny and affordable, The Jane Hotel in New York City does a remarkable job of cramming luxury into a small pod. Best known as the space where the rescued Titanic crew stayed, The Jane has been revamped into a quirky, modern hotel, with each room packing style and comfort in as if they were meant to be that small. The largest room is a whopping 250 square feet, with a teeny-tiny private terrace and an en suite bathroom, starting from $209 a night. A more standard cabin features a single bed—making sure you and your partner have to get really close—plus a shared bathroom, starting from an easy $79 per night.

Believe in the Tower of Love
Clavell Tower in Dorset, England, is a special type of edifice the UK known as a "folly," aka a seemingly random building constructed on someone's estate purely for the fun of it. Now owned by the UK's Landmark Trust, Clavell Tower sleeps only two people—total. Although the structure, which has been standing since 1830, was once in disrepair, today the happy couple that stays inside this one-bedroom mini-fortress will enjoy posh décor, pierced parapets, 12 exterior columns and a wrap-around outdoor viewing area. Split over three modest floors, the tower offers running water, a kitchen, double bed and sitting room. Three nights of isolated, comfortable coziness in your own personal tower costs about £546 (about $880).

Have a Ball
Free Spirit Spheres , located on Canada's Vancouver Island, is something even the most imaginative children might not have conjured in their wildest dreams. Slung from a sturdy web of rope, the two spherical tree houses—christened Eve and Eryn—hang above the ground about 13 feet and are available for overnight rental. Eryn's rates start at $175 per night for two people, and Eve is $125.

Couples staying here ascend wooden staircases that wrap around the tree trunks and pad across a small footbridge before stepping down into the floating, 10-foot, 4-inch sphere. Once inside the wood and fiberglass orb, couples share a modest bed, a tiny table and spacious windows—all of which combine to create an air of forest nymph romance crossed with a dash of Robin Hood adventure. The larger campground offers sauna facilities, hot showers, clean towels and bedding and outhouses located at the base of the stairs.

Find more romantic travel ideas at PeterGreenberg.com

Big Sur Yurt Deluxe
Among the redwood forests and seascapes of California's central coast lies Treebones Resort , an eco-friendly, yurt-and-tree-tastic getaway for campers in love not only with each other, but with the natural world. With scrumptious dining options including an outdoor tapas and sushi bar, the romance will have to fit into the remarkably comfortable and spacious yurts.

Visitors can choose from 16 different yurts, all of which come with at least one queen-size bed (from $190 per night) and all the amenities of modern living, but with the rugged, cozy feel of a tent. Each yurt is stacked with a redwood deck where, of course, you'll face myriad views, including the Pacific Ocean.

If you've done the yurt thing before, instead try the fantastically bizarre yet snug "eco-sleep" experience: the Human Nest, which is, literally, a sleeping chamber made to look like a bird's nest. The stick and wood conglomerate, which opens at one end and is otherwise fully enclosed, is raised off the ground so lovebirds use a ladder to get in and out.

Where do you like to travel for a romantic getaway? Share your comment below.

Printed from Oprah.com on Sunday, May 19, 2013