Looking to plan that special getaway? Choosing to stay at a West Coast inn, bed and breakfast or boutique hotel is a time-tested recipe for romance. You and your sweetheart are sure to feel pampered and refreshed after a few days of unparalleled hospitality.

Popular travel writer Karen Brown has explored both California and the Pacific Northwest and found some of the best and romantic inns and B&Bs in these two areas. Her website, Karen Brown’s World of Travel, is filled with helpful information about the West Coast, as well as exciting destinations around the world. You’ll find detailed trip itineraries, maps, and listings for hundreds of exceptions inns and hotels.

Karen Brown’s readers have voted and chosen the following lodging choices as the “Most Romantic” and best “Splendid Splurges” in California and the Pacific Northwest. For a romantic getaway, the following is a good place to begin your search:

Carmel, a stunning seaside village on California’s Central Coast, is an ideal catalyst for romance. The area boasts some of the state’s best scenery, as well as plenty of excellent shopping, gourmet restaurants and world-class golf courses. Tickle Pink Inn, a fanciful bed and breakfast located just south of Carmel near the edge of Big Sur, offers couples privacy and amazing scenery. Each of the rooms boasts a balcony, most have a stunning ocean view, and many have a wood-burning fireplace, as well. The most elegant suites also include a whirlpool tub. King beds are topped with Egyptian cotton and down comforters. In the mornings, a lavish continental buffet is served, which you can enjoy along with an amazing view on the Cliffside Deck. In the evenings, a reception featuring local wines and an assortment of cheeses and fresh fruit are served. Tickle Pink Inn was named the “Most Romantic” lodging in California by Karen Brown readers.

The Karen Brown Readers’ Choice Award for the best “Splendid Splurge” in California goes to The Inn Above Tide in Sausalito. Every room has excellent views of the panoramic San Francisco Bay and offers unbelievably plush accommodations. Most of the rooms contain fireplaces and private decks, affording exquisite vistas of the night lights in the city. Enjoy the oversized tubs, flat screen TVs, luxurious linens, soft robes and Bvlgari bath products. Continental breakfasts are fabulous, and the evening wine and cheese reception is not to be missed. The Inn Above Tide also offers the Penthouse Suite with a glass-enclosed whirlpool tub overlooking the bay as well as a romantic fireplace and private deck.

While not as posh as some of the inns listed in this article, the Channel House in Depoe Bay, Oregon, has plenty to offer. The location affords almost total privacy, located right on the edge of the Oregon coast. Many of the guest rooms have a deck with an ocean view hot tub, as well as a fireplace. A continental breakfast buffet is served in a room that affords stunning sea vistas, a perfect start to the day. The staff is happy to help guests plan their daily adventures, offering suggestions for activities and local restaurants. The area is ideal for whale watching and The Whale Center is located within walking distance of the inn. The Channel House was the recipient of the Karen Brown Readers’ Choice Award for “Most Romantic” lodging in the Pacific Northwest.

One of the highlights of lodging in beautiful British Columbia is the elegant boutique hotel, the Sooke Harbour House, which is nestled on the Whiffen Spit Beach in the village of Sooke. Winner of the Karen Brown Reader’s Choice Award for best “Splendid Splurge” in the Pacific Northwest, this charming boutique hotel overflows with ambiance and elegant accommodations. Each room offers a fireplace, balcony or terrace and fabulous views of the restless ocean. Perfect for a romantic getaway, the Sooke Harbour House boasts a fanciful room named the Kitchen’s Garden, which includes a shower surrounded on three sides by stained glass. Or, check into the Passion Flower Room, which includes a bed with a headboard that resembles wooden doors opening onto a mural of a garden path. Each room is artfully decorated with a different theme, and the gourmet restaurant with its excellent wine cellar is a treat to not be missed.

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Honeymoon planning should be approached with caution to make sure you have the honeymoon that you have always wanted. You should look forward to your honeymoon particularly following the ordeal of planning a wedding. If you have doubts about what to arrange then attempt to obtain some advice from any newlywed relatives and colleagues and do some research about what is available. Do not let anyone push his or her wants onto your plans.

Before any plans are booked you need to consider your style. What types of places to you want to visit, a city beach, cruise ship, someplace exotic or maybe a few locations. Determine your budget and stick to it. Also when do you want to go on your honeymoon? Traditionally honeymoons occur after the wedding but you can go on your honeymoon straight after the reception, several days after the wedding,or at the wedding venue. Your honeymoon can last for several weeks or only a couple of nights.

You need to determine the type of resort you want to stay at. Someplace secluded, close to nightclubs or entertainment, small with a few rooms or a villa, large with a lot of amenities, all-inclusive, soups or adults only, or in the heart of a city. Determine|Work what activities you want to participate in and consider where your food will be coming from. Will you prepare all of the meals, eat at cheap restaurants, order in room service or resort food, have an all-inclusive package or do fine dining? Finally chose what activities you want o do at night whether it be live entertainment, bars, clubs, walks in the moonlight, movies or some romantic time.

Will your meals be included, will you have to prepare them, are you planning on doing any fine dining, or simply use room service. Finally want activities do you want to do, take some long walks on the beach, go to clubs and bar, see some live entertainment or have some romantic time.

You can also find some great deals by off-season travel as well. If you are booking the hotel yourself you should contact the hotel, cruise line or resort and let them know that it is a honeymoon. Otherwise your travel agent should take care of that.

If you are on a budget you should look into doing some off-season travel as you can find some fantastic deals. Whenever you are booking your honeymoon for yourself you should inform your hotel or cruise about it. This way they may have some specials or extra for you that travel agents know about but you may not.

There are honeymoon packages available from many travel companies and hotels. If you are on a honeymoon you may receive couples massages, flowers in the room, chocolates and champagne, and candlelit dinners. Honeymoon packages are designed to be very romantic and if you are great options if you are unsure about what to chose.

Make sure to pay attention to the extras such as room placement and room options. Do you want bathrobes, a plunge pool, air conditioning, CD player, minibar, DVD player, king size bed or whirlpool bath in your room. DO you want your balcony to overlook a gorgeous white sand and turquoise water beach? A little planning can go a very long way.

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Do you want to take a tour of Mississippi that includes the scary things to do there such as the “Candlelight Ghost Tour” during Halloween week in Vicksburg or the Ghosts and Legends tour in Columbus? If ghosts aren’t your thing how about going to Noxubee and seeing the restored 1907 jail with it’s operative gallows? If you want beauty rather than ghosts and scary things then maybe you should visit the Magnolia mansion which was built in 1850 with the antebellum architecture features showcasing the exquisite mahogany staircase and the stunning furnishings of the time. You can visit the mansion in Aberdeen.

You might want to stop in at the Tom Bevill Visitors Center and Museum in Pickensville. This museum show the story of life on the river in this replica of an 1830 – 1860 Greek revival antebellum plantation mansion built on the Tombrigbee River.

Stopping on Columbus on a Saturday night from March through September will allow you to visit the Columbus Speedway. This 3/10 mile, oval clay track with the high banks will give you lots of thrills as the cars race around. There is nothing quite like the noise, dirt and of course the greasy food at a track to make your vacation just a bit more special.

Many areas celebrate Black History Month, but in Columbus there is a driving tour that will give you a tour of the African-American Heritage sites. You can participate in the Friday night celebration of music, food and fun at Catfish Alley. The driving tours are at 9 a.m., 11 a.m., and 1 p.m. during this annual event. The tours are free on Saturday for anyone wishing to go.

A visit to the small town of Magnolia will be something you will really enjoy. There are two National Historic Districts in town, the Myrtle Street District is representative of a typical neighborhood at the turn of the century. The Southtown Historic District has a variety of late nineteenth century residential homes to take you back in time. There are three of Mississippi’s premier Queen Anne residences and an antebellum Greek revival cottage in this area that will be well worth seeing.

To get there Magnolia can be reached by Interstate 55, north or south, at exit 10, from the east on Highway 48 from Hattiesburg, Ms., and from the west on Highway 24 from Liberty, Ms.

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