Enough with Valentine’s Day. If you’ve had your fill of heart-shaped chocolates and silly Cupids—not to mention overpriced prix-fixe meals and ridiculous hotel packages—get into the Anti-Valentine’s Day spirit by traveling. Single mom Kerri Zane understands that February 14 can be a frustrating day for many, so she’s dedicated her monthly Window Seat or Aisle Seat blog to five travel opportunities that will make you forget all about stupid Cupid.
Valentine’s Day is upon us. Yet, not everyone enjoys all the heart-shaped madness and vexing need for a romantic February 14 interlude. For those not feeling Cupid’s antics, here are five destinations that will honor your super “I’m single and darn proud of it” sensibility.
Cupid’s Stupid in Miami
Sagamore, the Art Hotel on South Beach invites those who consider themselves to be the thorn in everyone’s February 14 rose to skip Valentine’s Day altogether. Available through the entire month of February, this 93-all-suite hotel is offering its anti-Valentine’s travel package for singles, appropriately named “Stupid Cupid.” Book the package and you’ll get a bouquet of (thorny) roses, complimentary bottle of vodka to numb the bitterness, free beach chairs and umbrella to fall in love with the south Florida sunshine, a three-month paid subscription to a renowned online dating site, and more. The “Stupid Cupid” vacation package is based on a minimum two-night stay, with rates from $459 per night. T0 reserve this package, visit www.sagamorehotel.com or call 877.242.6673.
Smackin’ Hearts in NYC
Highline Park New York
Exercise away the Valentine’s Day blues at The Jade Hotel in NYC’s Greenwich Village. Just grab a girlfriend and get ready for a Valentine’s Day that won’t break your heart. Components of the Cupid Smack Down Package include: Bedford Double room accommodations and a bottle of Prosecco in-room upon arrival. There’s a spinning class at Revolve studio nearby (2 person max.) to sweat out those breakup blues. After a good calorie burn, recharge with carbs from Baked by Melissa cupcakes. Then sit back and flip through a copy of the Jade Journal, a new art book featuring saucy photos. Rates start at $425 and the package can be booked at www.TheJadeNYC.com or by calling 212-375-1300.
Love Stinks, Let’s Drink in Vegas
Aliante Casino + Hotel + Spa, at the edge of Las Vegas, will host a special celebration for singles burned by love this Valentine’s Day.
Fallen lovebirds will bond over breakups at the Love Stinks: Let’s Drink party from 9 p.m. to midnight inside the swank ETA Lounge. The flirtatious fling will feature a DJ, go-go dancers, aggressive drink specials, adult Mad Libs, an erotic tarot card reader, and a miniature Cupid impersonator passing love – and lust – notes back-and-forth between participants. Guests who bring a new or gently used item from a former relationship for the ‘burn box’ will receive a free spin on the Wheel of Torture, awarding prizes such as shots, gift cards, and free T-shirts. ‘Burn box’ items will be donated to a local charity.
Partiers may call (702) 692-7777 for tickets or visit https://www.aliantegaming.com for more information.
Lifts o’ Love in the Hampshire Hills
If you’re a single who loves to ski, you are going to want to be bright eyed and perky for Black Mountain’s Chairlift Speed Dating Phenom. On Saturday, February
15, Black Mountain, in Jackson, New Hampshire will be hosting its 7th Annual Chairlift Speed Dating event. It’s possibly the highest and best use ever for a double chairlift! The premise is simple: Single guys and single gals sign up, and fill out a simple questionnaire. Every time you ride the LoL (that’s Lift of Love)
double chairlift, you get 7 minutes alone with another single. If you hit it off on the ride up, you can ski or ride down together. If not, head back to the lift on your own for another opportunity at meeting your soul mate. The Love Consultants will be matching folks based on age and some personal information, to help speed up the love connection process! Registration starts at 12:30 pm in the main base lodge. The LoL will be loading participants from 2 pm-4 pm.
Speed Dating is free, but all participants must have a lift ticket or Black
Mountain Season Pass to ride the Lift of Love. Ticket rates for Saturday are $49 for adults and $32 for juniors or ½ day rates (starting at
12:30pm) are $35 for adults and $25 for juniors.
If you don’t meet your match on the chairlift, have no fear, the resort will be hosting a special après event in the Lostbo Pub from 3:30-5:30pm. Black Mountain is located in Jackson, New Hampshire. For more information, visit www.blackmt.com or call
603-383-4490.
St. Val’s Two-Timing Desert Fantasy in Santa Fe
To truly escape the Valentine-centric insanity, La Posada de Santa Fe, has developed the Two-Night Stand package. It’s a girlfriend getaway for two nights in an authentic adobe. In addition, you can forget about cupid at the spa. The package includes Saturday AM yoga class in the spa, two Margarita Pedicures with Staab House Lounge specialty margarita, a luxurious 80-minute tangy lime salt scrub, a vitamin C-infused mask, two organic fruit facials and a “Chocolate Chile Wraps,” the hotel’s signature Southwestern treatment of warm Chimayo red Chile and chocolate. After the spa, visit the jewelry shopping trunk show, followed by two tickets to the Georgia O’Keefe Museum, and a curator-guided tour of La Posada’s on-site collection of more than 40 established American artists. No two-night stand at the hotel is complete without tequila tasting and margarita making in Staab House Lounge. Finally, for a one-of-a-kind experience you and your friend will enjoy, a fantasy writing class with La Posada’s curator and resident memoirist, Sara Eyestone.
The complete package costs $1,189, plus taxes and gratuities. For more information visit La Posada de Santa Fe Resort & Spa.
For more Valentine’s Day and Anti-Valentine’s Day travel, check out:
By Kerri Zane for PeterGreenberg.com. Kerri Zane is a family travel expert and author of It Takes All 5: A Single Mom’s Guide to Finding the REAL One, on sale now. For more advice on health, parenting or Kerri’s exclusive MomEscapes, visit her at KerriZane.com.
