Rules, Guidelines and FAQ

Site Rules and Guidelines

Just a few rules, to keep thing civil. Please give your honest opinion of a hotel if you have stayed there. If you have a valid complaint about a hotel or it's management,  try to work it out with them before posting negative comments. Many of these hotel owners are true romantics who set their theme rooms up as a labor of love, and take great pride in what they do. If you are unhappy, 9 times out of 10 they will do everything in their power ensure customer satisfaction. 

Please don't rate a hotel if you haven't stayed there. We're trying to get a honest 'romantic's eye view' of places for a weekend getaway.

I'm a perfectionist, but for the sake of fairness, I've given a wide range of criteria for you to rate hotels by. Try to rate these hotels not by the usual standards, but with the idea of a romantic weekend in mind. The perfect romantic weekend, in my opinion, is one where your only thought is of the person you're with. Here are some guidelines you can use when giving your own rating:

1. The absolute best: This hotel had everything promised, and more. The perfect hosts, they are experienced innkeepers who know how to make a romantic weekend perfect for their guests. There was noting lacking in your room, and you never had to pick up the phone to contact them. A flawless visit.
   
   
2. Very good, only minor complaints: As above, but there were just one or two things that could have made your stay better. Maybe something in the room wasn't working properly... maybe the addition of one or two amenities such as a coffee maker or small fridge in the room would have made the difference. Tiny complaints, but still something that took your mind off your partner during the weekend.
   
   
3. Good, more than a few complaints. Not a bad experience, but definitely more than two things wrong with the room. There were a few irritations that broke the mood of the weekend.
   
   
4. So-so, not really recommended. You wouldn't stay here again at all for a number of reasons. A dirty room, even at the best 5-star hotel (yes, I have experienced that) will definitely get this rating from me. Actually, more 5-star hotels get this rating from me than smaller mom-and-pop type motels. I'm always surprised when I'm treated rudely, or when the value of the hotel doesn't match the price I've paid. Beyond price, however, this hotel did not live up to the promises, and is not a place you would recommend.
   
   
5. Avoid at all cost: Theme room motels have a reputation for being seedy, and this hotel perpetuates that stereotype. A horrible weekend in every way. A dirty room, creepy guy at the front desk, bad neighborhood, no amenities at all.. you get the idea. Instead of feeling transported by beautiful decorations, you feel instead you're on a porn set with cheesy props! A horrible experience.
   

FAQ

Here's the answers to some questions that have come to me by visitors. As more questions come in, I'll add them to the list:
 

1. Why this site?
 

There's a short answer and a long answer. The short answer is, I'm a hotel nut. I love staying at outrageous hotels and I try to get away at least every other month. When I go away, I want a hotel room that's going to make me forget everything about home - housework, job, kids, the dog - everything. 

The long answer is, because it's so hard to find a list of really romantic and/or theme room hotels online. Many hotels listed under 'romantic hotel' searches are incredibly expensive. Do a search for theme room hotels and you'll either get tons of google spam or links that may be inappropriate for many people. I wanted to create a directory that would be easy to search, have rooms that were affordable, and have no content that made anyone uncomfortable.

2. Have you stayed at all these hotels?
 

Not yet! Many of them on the east coast I have stayed at, but I try not to rate them because I want to get a varied opinion from other visitors. Once I start to get some votes, then I'll add my own. 

3. What's your favorite?
 

Hands down it would have to be the Hyatt Regency in Connecticut. No theme rooms, but the overall atmosphere of the hotel is so incredibly romantic it definitely transports you to another place.
 

Because you'd be surprised by the interiors of some of these chain hotels. With increasing frequency many chain hotels are renovating to break out of the standard old boring hotel room interior. Dark woods, beautiful duvets with matching curtains, newly tiled bathrooms - the more I travel, the more I see this. They are often quite affordable and provide an inexpensive way to have a weekend alone in a very pretty location.

The other reason ties in with the Plan the Perfect Weekend Getaway article. The ultimate goal of this directory is to have enough hotels listed so that no matter where in the US or Canada a visitor is located, there's a very pretty and inexpensive hotel less than an hour drive away. There's not that many theme room hotels out there, but there are plenty of Choice Hotels, Best Westerns, Super 8's, etc. that have taken the time to renovate their interiors. I'm also a large fan of the Holiday Inn Express hotels. They are much less expensive than the regular Holiday Inns, and yet their rooms are often newly decorated and quite lovely.

Nothing! I think all B&Bs are romantic and lovely, but I don't list many of them for two reasons. First, there are hundreds of B&B directories online. Why repeat what someone else has already done? I wanted to list romantic hotels and motels that often fall outside of the normal travel directories. Many of my hotels you won't find in Travelocity or Expedia. 

Second, it has to do with the privacy and noise factor.  If I can hear the person in the next room, that means they can hear me. That's going to ruin the entire mood of the weekend.  There are plenty of B&Bs here where the rooms are quiet, private and remote. It's a must for being included here.

6. How do you find these hotels? 
 

Some are places I've stayed at. Others have been recommended to me by visitors to this site. Other than that, a lot of searching through search engines, portals, directories and travel sites to weed out the junk and focus on hotels that are pretty and not too expensive.

7. Do the hotels pay you to list them here? 
 

Nah. Any hotel, motel, inn, or B&B gets free advertising here granted they follow a few certain guidelines (they have rooms under $200 a night, they offer either theme rooms, jacuzzi suites, or very beautiful rooms, etc.) Some of the chain hotels are affiliate sites where I'd get a commission in the event of a reservation, but the majority of these hotel links go right to the hotel's home page itself.

8. $200 a night!!?? I thought this list was supposed to be 'affordable'! 
 

It is. If I'm going away for my wedding anniversary, I'll pay close to $200. For the most extreme, out of this world, romantic hotels, that's cheap. 

Go ahead and search google for 'Romantic Hotels'. Most of those hotels will be way over $300 a night. I've got plenty of hotels in here that charge less than $100 for a room, but the most elaborate will be in the $150 - $200 range. 

Building a theme room costs a fortune. These hotels need to recover their expenses some way. If you want a theme room with a King bed, elaborate Egyptian decorations, jacuzzi, etc., it's not going to run cheap.