Help me find a perfect weekend getaway!
 

Hi there, fodorites, I would love your assistance with helping me find a perfect city to spend a romantic weekend getaway with my hubby for my birthday. I want it all, from natural scenic beauty, with lots of fun things to do during the day, great shopping and fun and hip bars and restaurants at night! I do not want to have to worry about transportation, but be able to locate a hotel right in the middle of everything, so we can just stroll down the streets! Since its my birthday, I want 5-star accomodations! Is this asking too much? I live in Houston, TX and will travel anywhere, as long as we're not too too long in the "air".

What's this doing under Montana???

San Francisco? You wouldn't need a car to hang out in the City, and there are some pretty swank digs there (I'm a sucker for the Mark Hopkins Intercontinental, up on Nob Hill, for one suggestion).

Closer to where I live, I'd recommend La Jolla (Lodge at Torrey Pines is a AAA five-diamond property) or maybe Laguna Beach, but you'll need a car for either place.

Continental will get you to any of these places out of Houston on non-stops, won't it?

John
Excuse my ignorance, but what are you talking about when you ask about Montana? This is posted under United States. ????? Your question confuses me. ??????

This message was posted to the state of Montana. If you select Montana just above then all messages pertaining to the state will show. The romantic weekend in a perfect city is for the state of MONTANA!!!

Calalily
Las Vegas or New Orleans come immediately to mind.
VCL, who found this in New Jersey

This is really bizarre, I found it under CALIFORNIA!!

New Orleans would fit nicely except for the scenic beauty requirement although our drunken, naked people can be a sight and yes, natural it doesn't compare to say Mt. McKinley :)

I may have it and it wouldnt require flying at all from Houston... San Antonio! The natural scenic beauty might require a car though, damn... SF fits, but I dont know if the natural beauty is close enough to the other things on your list or not? Aspen, Colorado! High on the natural scenic beauty, but is the shopping substantial enough... hmmm well, boutique wise yes so this might work and the 5 star accomodation requirement is there as it is with SF too. If you went in Sept. Nantucket would qualify even though its a different kind of beauty than something Yosemite-esque, but lovely all the same, although Murrays Toggery while venerable isn't exactly Saks.

I dont know, the solution may well lie somewhere in California, but thats not my area of "expertise" :) LOL if you want Southern beauty or New England beauty I might be of help. :)

What time of year? What's your climate goal? I'm thinking: Quebec, SoBe, NOLA, even Philadelphia!

I found this under Florida? Now I'm confused. I've only been to Orlando in Florida. I hear Ft. Lauderdale is nice, so is Naples Fl, and Sanibel Island. If this helps. We are personally looking into a nice romantic Florida getaway ourselves!!

No scenic beauty, but what about Memphis? You can stay downtown at the Peabody, go to the civil rights museum and Graceland, party at night on Beale street, plenty of shopping down town, catch a concert at the Pyramid thing if you're lucky, and take a dinner cruise on the Mississippi. Oh, and don't forget about the great BBQ! There's a trolly system throughout downtown, so you wouldn't have to drive anywhere. You may not think it's "romantic", but my husband and I had a BLAST there together.

San Francisco or Seattle or Vancouver B.C. would be my choices in that order.

Are you talking about staying in Texas, or is anything within easy jet range in the ballpark??

If just in Texas, I'd agree with the suggestion to do San Antonio. Either that or Austin.

For easy getaways, I've always loved New Orleans. It's one of America's most distinctive cities and the food there is second to none! It's also been SSSOOOO easy to find good hotels there lately, plus I've been able to snag airfare on Continental as cheap as $79 RT on the weekend getaways.

Washington DC is always a favorite of mine. Partly because there are SO many first-rate museums, but also because the city is so upscale and sophisticated with lots of great restaurants and good hotels. Plus it's easy to get around on the Metro.

Of course, many of the great Mexican beach resort towns are only an hour or two flight from Houston, and it's hard to beat a weekend of loafing on a clean white beach, just watching the crystal clear turqoise waters...

Yep...possibilities are endless.

Have fun!
Mark
www.tiogringo.com

San Diego, Monterey/Carmel, and Lake Tahoe. I don't think that SF would qualify for the natural scenic beauty, unless you find concrete beatutiful.

Well - calalily either clicked on every state or she clicked "general/region wide". That is why it is showing up under every state.

calalily: There really wasn't any need to click on anything in that window. That is really for state-specific posts, and doesn't really add that much anyway.

Not knowing enough about what you want but mainly going with not needing to "worry about transportation" and wanting scenery - my best recomendations would be Seattle, San Francisco, or San Diego

Carmel won't work too well because you need to drive a fair bit to see Big Sur, Carmel valley, Monterrey etc.

Thank you everyone for a reply. I didn't mean to confuse anyone, I posted this message under each state, to get a wealth of information from those that know that State, as I'm open to visiting anywhere for a fun weekend getaway. San Francisco seems to be recommended quite a bit. Can anyone tell me more about it? New Orleans is great and what I'm looking for in terms of being able to just stroll down the streets, but I've been there and wanted to visit somewhere new. Can anyone tell me about Charleston? It's listed quite often in "weekend getaways". I'm wanting to travel during October by the way.

Thanks again!

Go to search and type in Charleston, you will find great info. there. I've been to Charleston twice and it's very stately and the epitomy of southern beauty. You would love it! Have fun whatever you decide.

Another thought is Santa Fe.

Whta about a bit more to the south - in fact, South Beach. It meets the needs you stated. And the weather in October will be spectacular. Daytimes on the beach, the main drags, people watching. Nights in great restaurants and bars, salsa clubs, people watching. It is art deco and european chich all the way! Plenty of good flights into MIA. Great hotels. And no need for a car!!!

Along the lines of delightful small cities such as Santa Fe and Charleston, how about Asheville, NC?

It's an architecturally gorgeous city in a stunning mountainous setting, with all that you requested -- great shopping (especially for jewelry, artwork, books, music, wine, furniture, antiques, and home decor), the aforementioned natural scenic beauty, hip bars and restaurants, plus the city is easy to get around in! Downtown is spectacular and easily walkable, and it's only a short drive to most other notable attractions such as the Biltmore Estate, the botanical gardens, the arboretum, and nearby attractions like Chimney Rock Park, Lake Lure, the spa in Hot Springs (or even the renowned spa right in town at the Grove Park Inn) and the numerous charming small towns that ring the city.

As far as five-star accommodations, Asheville has three four-star/four-diamond properties, and an elegant all-suite boutique hotel in the heart of downtown that might suit your needs, plus numerous three- and four-star, and a handful of five-star restaurants. Best of all, there are direct flights from Houston to Asheville, and I believe travel time is right around three or four hours.

If you perform a search here on Fodor's you'll uncover a wealth of information on Asheville, since it's such a popular resort city, or you can take a look at this website, which seems tailor-made for the information you're looking for.

www.romanticasheville.com

Charleston would be great - esp. in October. Sante Fe and Aspen, CO. are two other great choices. I love cities like San Francisco - but I'd pick one of these smaller towns for the romance part.