USA Travel Guide

Now here’s one you don’t see often: a Valentine’s Day package that doesn’t so much pamper you with lovey-dovey crap as it does get you off your butt for a little cardio. I’m not sure I see the Valentine’s connection myself, but even with no package at all, Valentine’s Day in Redondo Beach, California is a good idea.

Valentine’s Day Packages in Redondo Beach, CA
We’ve mentioned our fair share of Southern California beach hotels over the past 16 months – Santa Monica, Santa Barbara, Laguna, Dana Point – but for that well-honed blend of peace and personality, we really do like Redondo Beach and the Crowne Plaza Redondo Beach Hotel.

Days are all about the beach, all about luxuriating in the warm South Cali sun and letting the resonant hum of the surf melt away your stress. Nights are whatever you want to make them. Hit up a vibrant dance scene, or keep it laid back with a meal and a beachfront strolls. You might even let the Crowne Plaza decide for you with a couple of Valentine’s Day Packages:

Valentine Bikes at the Beach
Like I said, unusual. This package includes a half-day bike rental so you two can celebrate your love in heart-healthy style. Might we recommend that South Bay Bicycle Trail. Package also includes:

• Deluxe accommodations
• Full American breakfast for two
• ½ day bicycle rental
  

Crowne Royal Spa Package
Don’t want to spend Valentine’s Day working on your gluts? Can’t blame you. The hotel also has a more luxurious package:

• Deluxe ocean-view accommodations
• Two full-session (50 minute) spa treatments of your choice:
  • European Facial
  • Body Massage
• OR One couple’s massage
• Buffet breakfast for two

View all Redondo Beach hotel packages at the Crowne.

With the day less than a week away, our Valentine’s Day coverage is dwindling down, but that doesn’t mean you can’t find a great option in your area. Head to our Valentine’s Day Getaways and Packages portal for all of our stories.

Throw care to the wind, escape the retched cold of February, and turn this Valentine’s Day into a three, four, or even five night romantic retreat for two on the idyllic coasts of Baja California. It’s not too late to reserve a Valentine’s Day getaway to Hilton Los Cabos Beach & Golf Resort in beautiful Los Cabos, Mexico.

Mexico Valentine’s Day Packages
Just imagine it: soft sands beneath your feat, a warm tropical sun, vivid blue waters that roll on to infinity – who needs a partner? I’m just joking, the Hilton Los Cabos is picture perfect for romantic couples looking to celebrate together. Whether its candlelit fine dining, an adventurous hike, a shared day at the spa or just a quiet evening on your private balcony, the escape is sweeter when you share it with loved ones.

The packages help, too

Fun in the Sun Package
While not a romance package per se, the Fun in the Sun package encourages you to enjoy what the Hilton Los Cabos Resort has to offer however suits you best. Use your resort credit at the spa, on drinks and dining, on an excursion. The fun part is, you get to decide.

• 2 or 3-night stay = $100 resort credit per stay
• 4 or 5-night stay = $200 resort credit per stay
• 6+ nights stay = $300 resort credit per stay
• Option: for every 3-night stay, you earn a fourth night free. Don’t think that affects the credit though – I’m sure that’s based on paid nights.

Learn more about their Mexico vacation packages.

Tucked away in the reservations system you can also find an actual “Romance” package, which includes a bottle of wine, full breakfast and accommodations, but honestly we’d go Fun in the Sun. Do it your way, ya know.

You might also check out Fun in the Sun PLUS.

Have an incredible Valentine’s Day, or a romantic escape anytime, to the Hilton Los Cabos Beach & Golf Resort in Mexico.

A bit extravagant for your budget? We’ve got plenty of more affordable Valentine’s Day suggestions, and one of them might be in your neighborhood. Head to the Valentine’s Day Getaways and Packages portal.

If you’ve never been to a fringe festival, well, then you’re either in for the time of your life or a wicked bad case of attendee’s remorse. You will either be blown away or thoroughly stupefied. Actually, you’ll probably be a little of both.

The Fresno Rogue Performing Arts Festivals in Fresno, California takes this Europe-inspired tradition, slaps on a new name, and delivers it to all lovers of off-the-mainstream entertainment. What’s a fringe festival? Simply, it’s a non-professional, typically non-juried art and theatre festival dedicated to alternative entertainment. Fringe festivals skim the outskirts looking for one-of-a-kind acts. The outliers, if you will.

The Fresno Rogue Festival (because “Fresno Fringe Festival” was too alliterative for those fussy Fresno folk) truly operates on every level: they’ve got main stages, auxiliary café venues, art galleries, and even Bring-Your-Own-Venue venues. For these brave do-it-yourselfers, the festival doesn’t even provide the space. BYO Venue acts must arrange their own space, act as box office, set prices, and manage everything themselves. That’s pretty rogue.

What can you expect to see at the festival? Plenty of stuff you won’t see anywhere else! Off-off-off-Broadway type theatre, avante garde dance, experimental film, multi-discipline performance art, puppetry, storytelling and just about anything else the participants can dream up. There’s no jury, no glad-handing – the Rogue is the very essence of “just be yourself”.

If at this point you’re thinking, “Hey, I don’t want to get ripped off watching 30 minutes of leotarded albinos doing interpretive dance to Iron & Wine’s The Creek Drank the Cradle!”, then maybe the Fresno Rogue Festival isn’t for you. Festival organizers stand behind the quality of their performers, and the growing attendance since 2002 backs them up, but fringe festivals are as much a state of mind as a set of shows. Get yourself in the Rogue spirit, and you will absolutely have a good time.

The 2010 Fresno Rogue Performing Arts Festival will take place from March 4 – 13, 2010. The festival is free to attend, and you pay per show (the performers keep 80-100%, depending on venue). For more information, check the Web site.

Need a hotel in Fresno? The Holiday Inn Fresno Hotel Downtown offers a convenient location to several common performance venues, free weekend parking, free Internet, and approachable rates. Have fun!

I was surprised to find that Disneyland doesn’t celebrate Valentine’s Day. At least, not enough to put it on the official calendar. It inspires the romantic memories of so many couples, many of them now families, that a little Valentine’s promotion really seems a perfect fit.

Well, if they won’t do it, USA Travel Guide will! Relive the magic and romance, or discover it for the first time, with a Valentine’s Day vacation to Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California.

Disneyland Specials and Deals
I could rattle off some of our favorite attractions, but what one person finds romantic another person might find reprehensible. Besides, Disney’s “1955 Experience” is all the roadmap you need. Really, we’re here to suggest the right hotel near Disneyland to celebrate your Valentine’s Day affordably.

Holiday Inn Anaheim Resort
Located just minutes from Disneyland, California Adventure and Downtown Disney, the Holiday Inn Anaheim Resort is a good choice to experience the park for less. The rooms are cozy (try the junior suites) and the free parking and Internet help you avoid the incidental costs. The hotel is also honoring an excellent Disneyland vacation package:

3 Days for $154 Park Hopper®
Basically what it sounds like – ask for this package when making your reservations and you’ll get a 3-day Park Hopper® admission for only $154, about $40 bucks off the top. The package also includes Magic Morning admission and straight-to-gate entrance.

View the flyer. | View more Disneyland specials.

Earn cheap tickets through your stay at Holiday Inn Anaheim Resort and make it a romantic escape to Disneyland this Valentine’s Day.

Have fun!

Find more of our coverage on the Valentine’s Day Getaways and Packages Portal.

If the wilds of central Texas don’t inspire your desire, what about the mountains of Southern California? It’s the peak of ski season in Big Bear Lake, CA, and Valentine’s Day sounds like the perfect excuse to grab your alpines, and your loved one, and hit the slopes.

Valentine’s Day Specials in Big Bear Lake, California
Big Bear Lake, California is really an all-seasons destination, but you can bet that mid-February, it’s all about the skiing. Avid skiers and snowboards drive in from all over California and Nevada to cut some powder at the Bear Mountain and Snow Summit ski resorts. Only 3 hours out of Los Angeles, it’s always worth that drive. Learn about Big Bear Lake ski resorts.

Big Bear Vacation at Northwoods Resort
With ski slopes come ski resorts, and for your Valentine’s Day getaway, we like the Northwoods Resort. The Adirondack-inspired lodge hotel has great dining, charming décor and affordable rates, not to mention one rather unusual feature: the outdoor pool is open year-round. Heated, of course, you can take a dip even with snow falling all around. Kind of cool. The package is kind of cool, too:

All-Inclusive Romance Package
This package has midweek and weekend rates, so if you can’t make Valentine’s Day proper, don’t stress.

• Deluxe king room
• Complimentary bottle of house champagne
• Chocolate-covered strawberries
• Fruit and cheese tray
• Breakfast for two ($25.00 value)
• Optional fee: Upgrade to junior suite

This package actually runs through April 15, 2010, so again, no rush!

Learn more about a Big Bear romantic getaway at Northwoods Resort.

Ski vacations in Big Bear Lake not your thing? We have plenty more Valentine’s Day getaway ideas. Check’em out at the Valentine’s Day Getaways and Packages Portal.

Not feelin’ all lovey-dovey this Valentine’s Day? Does the idea of spending a candlelight dinner gazing into some schlub’s ugly mug make you want to gag? Had enough of this Hallmark holiday?

Celebrate your independence with an anti-Valentine’s Day getaway to beautiful Hampton, Virginia. No roses, no schmoozy atmosphere – just you, your best girlfriends and a weekend of fun.

Crowne Plaza Hampton Marina Hotel
The only waterfront hotel in Hampton, Virginia welcomes you non-traditionalist females with its “Single Ladies Package”. Round up your three best friends for a Virginia vacation that puts romance on the way back burner:

• Junior suite
• Chocolate-covered strawberries
• 4 glasses of champagne
• Breakfast buffet for up to 4 persons
• Complimentary high-speed Internet
• 10% off any restaurant or room service
• Rental of Beyonce on Tour DVD and Sex in the City DVD series

Learn more about this Virginia vacation package.

Got any special anti-Valentine’s Day plans? Let us know about them in the comments below.

And for more Valentine’s Day coverage, whether for or against, check out our Valentine’s Day Getaways and Packages portal.

Can’t call a night in town a getaway no matter where you spend it? Well, then get outta town. Get way outta town. Make this Valentine’s Day something special with a romantic getaway to the Texas Hill Country and the Canyon of the Eagles Resort.

Valentine’s Day Getaways in Texas – Canyon of the Eagles
Nestled against Lake Buchanan in the heart of its own 940-acre nature park, Canyon of the Eagles is a hearty Texas vacation destination that’s ideal for romance. Serene, tranquil, secluded – there’s no better chance to enjoy nature and enjoy each others’ company.

Because it’s in the middle of nowhere (about one and a half hours from Austin by car), Canyon of the Eagles is blessed with one out-of-this-world attraction: the stars! Share an evening admiring the full beauty of the night sky, possibly like you’ve never seen it before. There’s also the package:

Valentine’s Romance Package
Canyon of the Eagles also knows a thing about cozy contentment. Highlight your Texas romantic getaway with this Valentine’s Day package:

• Overnight accommodations
• Special Valentine’s dinner for two (view menu)
• Hot breakfast in the morning
• Chocolate covered strawberries in room
• Bottle of wine in room
• A long stem rose at dinner

You can also stay an extra night for cheap. Learn more about Valentine’s Day getaways in Texas.

Don’t sell your Valentine’s Day short. Make it something memorable with a trip to Canyon of the Eagles in the Texas Hill Country. Have fun!

For more V-Day ideas, visit our Valentine’s Getaways & Packages Portal.

After two weeks of hearts, roses and other frou-frou crap, I’ve got a hunger for big slabs of slow-cooked meat and voluntarily broken bones. The only place I know to get all that action at once is the 2010 Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo and World’s Championship Bar-B-Que Contest.

Actually, these two major Houston events don’t occur simultaneously, but they do run back to back and all the reason you need to head to Space City this February or March. Question is: which do you choose?

The World’s Championship Bar-B-Que Contest kicks off a month of entertainment with a 3-day run of slow-smoked competition. Pitmasters come from all over the country to slice, pull and plate some of the best smoked sausage, brisket and baby back ribs you’ll have in your life. Don’t be alarmed if the pits seem a little loony – there’s an award for that, too! This Houston Bar-B-Que contest runs at the Reliant Center February 25-7, 2010.

It’s all a smoky, meaty warm-up, however. Starting March 2 all the way through March 21, 2010, the Reliant Center is given over to the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, one of the biggest Houston events of the year. All the traditional rodeo sports – bronc and bull riding, barrel racing, roping – earn the brave riders over a million dollars in prize money. For the fans, the prize is dangerous competition and a relentless concert schedule of country music superstars. Throughout the three weeks you can see Alan Jackson, Kenny Chesney, Tim McGraw, Rascal Flatts, Brad Paisley (personal fav) and Keith Urban.

So, that’s the World’s Championship Bar-B-Que Contest from February 25-27, 2010. Learn more.

Or the 2010 Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo from March 2 – 21, 2010. Learn more.

Choose one, choose both, and don’t overspend doing it by staying at one of our favorites hotels in downtown Houston, the Crowne Plaza Houston Downtown. The hotel is offering cheap rates during both events through a duo of packages. Both the “BBQ Cook-Off Weekend Package” and the “Houston Rodeo Package” will get you a nice room (and they are!), breakfast buffet for two, free valet parking and transportation to the LightRail Station. Learn about these Houston Bar-B-Que and Rodeo packages here.

Have fun!

I’ve been playing favesies with the coasts the last few days, but wouldn’t you rather celebrate Valentine’s Day in the Heartland (come on, Hallmark, you know you want a piece of this). So this morning we’re heading way inland to the oft enlightening and always surprising Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Valentine’s Day Packages in Tulsa, Oklahoma
A southwestern city with uptown ambitions, we like Tulsa, Oklahoma a lot. Like nowhere else in the state (that we’ve found, at least), art, culture and fine dining come together in Tulsa and give the whole scene an unexpected cosmopolitan flavor. Stay right, and you can live it and love it yourself.

The Mayo Hotel
Why not a little boutique luxury to celebrate this Valentine’s Day in Tulsa. The Mayo Hotel first opened all the way back in 1925, at which time it was the place for the affluent socialite crowd. More than 80 years later, the Mayo has been beautifully restored to its historic glory. A wonderful stay any time, a downright fabulous choice for Valentine’s Day. The package:

Valentine’s Day at The Mayo Hotel
Celebrate Tulsa, Oklahoma Valentine’s Day:

• Luxury accommodations
• Dozen red roses
• Champagne
• Complimentary Valet Parking
• Optional: Add a $100 dining credit to Trula

Learn more about the The Mayo Hotel Valentine’s Day package.

Hilton Tulsa Southern Hills
Sure, you can read up on things to do for Valentine’s Day in Tulsa, OK, or you can just let the Hilton Tulsa Southern Hills take care of everything for you. The always-inviting and newly renovated Hilton Tulsa Hotel has got your whole night planned:

Valentine’s Day – Package Two
I don’t know why this is number two. It’s far cooler than number one.

• Overnight accommodations
• Tickets to see Kris Kristofferson at the Mabee Center
• Shuttle to concert, VIP entry to the Mabee Center
• Dinner for two at Legends Grill
• Full American breakfast for two at Legends Grill

Valentine’s Day – Package One
Because hey, Kris Kristofferson isn’t for everybody:

• Special Valentine’s dinner for two at Legends Grill
• Red rose for ladies upon arrival
• Full American breakfast for two in Legends Grill

Learn more about these Valentine’s Day packages at Hilton Tulsa here.

Have a fantastic Valentine’s Day!

Tulsa not convenient? Well, maybe one of our other selections is. Head to the Valentine’s Day Getaways & Packages portal to see all of our coverage.

See this morning’s post for all the fancy jib-jab I’m so well known for. Truth is, New York City is such a large destination we just had to come back with a couple more suggestions. Enjoy.

Valentine’s Day Hotels – New York City
We’ve got a stop at an affordable boutique destination in Manhattan’s financial district, then we’re hopping across the Hudson for Valentine’s Day in New Jersey (if you can believe it!).

Hotel Reserve
The boutique Hotel Reserve offers upscale sensibility for not too much money, not to mention brilliant views of downtown. New York City Valentine’s Day destinations nearby include Battery Park, SoHo and Central Park. Of course, they’ve got the package, too:

A Little Romance at Reserve
Gotta love the classics:

• Deluxe king room
• Breakfast for two at Federal Café (on-site)
• Bottle of champagne in room
• Chocolates in room

Learn about this Valentine’s Day package at Hotel Reserve.

Crowne Plaza Englewood Hotel
Englewood, New Jersey is actually closer to some things to do in Manhattan the most hotels in Manhattan. Take the quick drive over George Washington Bridge and New York City is yours for the taking. The package:

Romance Package
Clean, comfortable rooms complement your night:

• Overnight accommodations
• A bottle of champagne
• Chocolate-covered strawberries
• Full American breakfast for two at Carlyle’s Restaurant

Learn about Valentine’s Day in New Jersey.

We’ll be back soon with more Valentine’s Day picks. In the meantime, head over to our Valentine’s Day Getaways portal to see all of our coverage.