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You Are Here: Home » Discover Us » Luxury Travel and Romance » Love Potions »
By Lynn Waddell
Just like the song Love Potion No. 9 by The Searchers, the St. Petersburg/Clearwater area has mixed nine love potions of its own to add a lifetime of romance to your Florida's Beach vacation:
Love Potion No. 1: Un Goût de L'amour (A Taste for Love)
The cliché "the way to a man's heart is through his stomach" may not be French, but the French owners of Redwoods in downtown St. Petersburg have mastered the recipe with New/Old American cuisine. This cozy, subtly upscale bistro brings new style and a French accent to American comfort foods. Eclectic original artwork, dim lighting, crisp, white tablecloths and polished terrazzo floors create a refined and tasteful setting that's sure to impress. With dishes like crispy pork chops with cheese grits, swordfish with medallions and a hash of corn fresh from a wrought-skillet, and a premium wine list, Redwoods butters the palate as well as your amoureux. Just steps away from Tampa Bay, Redwoods is a perfect starting point for a romantic stroll along St. Petersburg's bayside parks where the moon and twinkling lights of sailboats cast a spell as powerful as any love concoction.
Love Potion No. 2: Dance to Romance
Heat up your partner and the dance floor in the historic Gulfport Casino Ballroom. Built in the 1930s, this renovated 5,000-square-foot dance hall has its original hardwood floors and charm. Connect in a rumba, swing, disco or ballroom dance. The ballroom has different styles of dancing every night, including some nights with dance lessons. Romantically located on the bay, the hall has a full bar and forbids smoking indoors.
The young and the young at heart get their groove on at The Majestic in Clearwater. National and local DJs keep the dance-floor pumping with a mix of hip-hop, top 40, reggae and techno in this trendy nightclub. With five levels, two dance floors and a VIP room, there's plenty of space for romance.
Love Potion No. 3: Sunset Sonata
Sure, watching a sunset from any of our local beaches casts a spell on lovers, but love lingers beyond the sun's goodbye on North Redington Beach. This historic beach is where Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio and other celebrity couples spread their blankets while staying at the famed Tides Hotel & Beach Club. The resort has since been replaced with the Tides Beach Club, which offers month-long stays and condo homes. The Tides and the Doubletree Beach Resort Tampa Bay/North Redington Beach now offer sunset views for a new generation of lovers. The Doubletree has romance packages complete with champagne arrival and gulf-front accommodations so you don't have to leave your bedroom to watch the sun sink into the sea.
For a more secluded spot to watch the sunset, take your loved one to Fort De Soto Park, just named the "No. 1 Beach in the U.S.A." for 2005 by Dr. Beach.
Love Potion No. 4: Island Seclusion
Find endless love on remote Shell Key, which is accessible only by ferry or private boat. The island is popular with shell-seekers (hence the name), but couples can always find a secluded spot along its undeveloped beaches and towering dunes.
Although just a narrow channel away from the roadway connected to the island of St. Pete Beach, Shell Key is primitive, which means there are no bathhouses, restrooms or water fountains. Its clear blue surf and miles of private sandy beaches more than compensate for its lack of modern conveniences.
Stroll along its shores and watch true lovebirds leave tiny claw prints in the sand. The island is home to one of the largest protected coastal areas for nesting and migratory birds.
On the other side of the ferry drop-off point, discover towering natural dunes topped with sea oats fronting a cluster of slash pines and palms. It's a perfect place to spread your towel for a romantic picnic. Just remember to bring sunscreen, water and a beach umbrella to keep from scorching the mood.
Love Potion No. 5: The Lexicon of a Love Nest
Adjectives: intimate, cozy, luxurious, charming, distinctive, private, quiet.
Nouns: Honeymoon, canopy four-poster King-size bed, whirlpool bath, hibiscus blooms, picturesque Tampa Bay, elegant restaurants.
Verbs: Relax, snuggle, kiss, sail, play.
It's the vocabulary for a perfect love nest, whether it's for a honeymoon or a romantic weekend, and the words are strung together eloquently at downtown St. Petersburg's The Vinoy House Inn. Once home to Stella and Aymer Vinoy Laughner, the six-suite bed & breakfast is across the street from Mr. Laughner's former hotel, the historic Renaissance Vinoy. Now operated as a small bed and breakfast, the Vinoy House Inn is hosted by Michael Roberts, who still makes guests feel at home.
The inn offers a special romance package that includes a night sail on Tampa Bay and dinner in a nearby elegant waterfront restaurant as well as accommodations.
Love Potion No. 6: Have a Palatial Wedding
You only say "I do" once (hopefully). So, you want it to be perfect whether that means the fairytale nuptials outside a pink beachfront castle; a Scottish wedding complete with bagpipes; or a traditional Persian Muslim ceremony. Hosting more than 300 weddings a year and having on-staff wedding coordinators, The Don CeSar Beach Resort on St. Pete Beach has hosted those types of weddings and more. They can arrange just about anything and save the bride and groom a lot of planning anxiety.
Of course, the pink palace's big bonus is its setting. Rising above a sugar-sand beach, the Mediterranean-style 1928 resort has Moorish bell towers, imperial turrets and the grounds of Eden. With the music of the surf in the background, brides and grooms regularly say their vows from atop a regal staircase overlooking a tropical courtyard of seated guests and a rolling sea of blue. How can anyone run from that?
Love Potion No. 7: Let Love Bloom
Forget roses. You're in Florida; show your love with the native plant coveted by lovers around the globe – an orchid. Thai-Rific in Gulfport delivers orchid leis, plants, arrangements and even enough orchid blooms to cover your bed. The small shop also does wedding bouquets that are as unique as they are spectacular. Prices are reasonable and the service is personal. You can have orchids delivered, or drop into their store for a tropical floral experience.
Love Potion No. 8: Give the Gift of Love
Diamonds may be a girl's best friend, but jewelry artist Evander Preston makes them her true love. That's why couples come from around the globe to search for the perfect symbol of their love. Buzz in, grab a glass of sangria and let a tuxedoed man show you around Preston's eclectic Pass-a-Grille shop and studio. Preston's fine handmade jewelry vary from a contemporary rare stone set in gold to a gold chain charmed with intricate miniature kitchen utensils.
The atmosphere alone is worth a visit. The owner's Great Danes often wander the gallery modeling their Preston-designed gold ankle bracelets. The pampered pooches along with a collection of art and antiques, ranging from a wood-carved tuxedo jacket to a motorcycle with sidecar, make it easy to forget the place is a jewelry store. However, the jewels emit a romance that can't be ignored. Sometimes shoppers leave engaged.
Love Potion No. 9: Massage the Mood
The couples that "spa" together, stay together. There's no better place to massage the mood for romance than the renowned Safety Harbor Resort and Spa Hotel. Find the passion of youth in the spring waters that nearly 500 years ago Hernado De Soto believed to be the Fountain of Youth. Couples have since discovered the vigor of love here. To enhance the mood even more, the spa offers the "Ultimate Couples Escape" package, which includes two nights' luxury accommodations, a champagne arrival, breakfast, dinner and, the best part, 50-minute in-room Swedish massages for you and your lover.
For more information on the above activities, or for help in planning your own love potion in the St. Petersburg/Clearwater area, call the St. Petersburg/Clearwater Area Convention & Visitors Bureau at 877-352-3224.
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Copyright ©2007 St. Petersburg/Clearwater Area Convention & Visitors Bureau. All rights reserved.