Best Places For Rekindling Romance In Los Angeles
Summer is almost over, the kids are getting on your nerves, and you and your loved one are in desperate need of some alone time. So, get out and enjoy. Get away from the city fray — or the children — with the best ways to rekindle your romance in Los Angeles.
Huntington Library and Gardens
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, CA 91108
(626) 405-2100
www.huntington.org
Price: $23 weekends/$20 weekdays
Nothing says romance like a stroll through a sensational botanical garden that'll give you the opportunity to actually stop and smell the roses. At Huntington Gardens' rose garden, which was first planted as a display in 1908, you can do exactly that. The 3.5 acres of these particular blooms should be enough to have you holding your partner's hands as you check out the offerings here, organized historically in order of the way roses were developed, going from ancient to modern eras beginning with the Egyptians, the Greeks and the Romans. As if that wasn't enough to put the kick back in your relationship, the entrance to this particular spread at Huntington puts you on a path that leads to an 18th-century French stone statue called "Love, the Captive of Youth," surrounded by French Lace roses for good measure.
Food + Lab Cafe
7253 Santa Monica Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90046
foodlabcatering.com
Because you're already out and about, and it's time for lunch, be sure to pick a spot that is ripe for romance. The best bet in this department, especially if you're looking for a venue with a garden and a place where kids don't tend to hang out, is West Hollywood's Food + Lab Cafe. Ask for an outside table, and expect more than one finch to visit while you wait for your meal, but don't worry: These birds are lovely, not aggressive, and give good atmosphere. As for menu choices, be sure to try the warm Austrian meatloaf sandwich with a side of Austrian potato salad.
Cote D'Azur
41 W. Bellvue Dr.
Pasadena, CA 91103
(626) 396-3030
www.cotedazurpasadena.com
Click here for pricing
Getting a couple's massage always eases the tension in a relationship, so release your kinks while lying next to the one you love with good rub down for two at Cote D'Azur in Pasadena. Expect your aura to be read: No worries, this is California, after all, so just have fun with your colors. Then relax as your individual masseurs get down to business in a candle-lit room built for two hidden in a little cottage. Ask for the Majestic Escape, a combination of Swedish and deep tissue massage with silk hand hydration, for a really deep experience.
Wolfgang Puck at Hotel Bel-Air
701 Stone Canyon Road
Los Angeles, CA 90077
(301) 909-1644
www.hotelbelair.com
Nothing spells romance like a low-lit, gourmet dinner at a table for two. Add in a rarified setting that has you swooning, and sure enough you'll find yourself falling in love all over again. Peruse the Wolfgang Puck menu at the Hotel Bel-Air. Not only will the meal be a ringer for romance, but the tastes created in a crossover from California cuisine to the best of what Europe and the Mediterranean has to offer were designed by one of the best master chefs in the world, and they'll linger long after you've finished your decadent desert. Ask for a garden terrace table overlooking Swan Lake, the scene of many extravagant weddings. Enjoy the heated floor, and consider sampling the wild ramp soup and the 35-day, dry-aged prime sirloin for a super fine meal to remember.
Montage Laguna Beach
30801 South Coast Highway
Laguna Beach, CA 92651
(866) 271-6953
www.montagelagunabeach.com
Click here for reservations
If you really want to escape the pressures at home and rekindle your romance but still don't want to be too far away should some emergency crop up, consider an overnight stay at mesmerizing Montage Laguna Beach. The bungalows on the premises are like little beach houses from which you can hear the ocean's crashing waves and you can feel the sea breeze on your smiling faces. Not only that, but your front door is right on the sand, so you don't have to leave your home away from home to step outside in bare feet to watch the sun set over the horizon.
Related: Top Things to do in Anaheim When You're not at Disneyland
