Great High-End Getaways
By Andrew Collins

You don't have to have a ton of money to enjoy the destinations described in this article - but it helps. These are places rife with trendy restaurants, swank cocktail bars, fancy hotels, cushy inns, and sybaritic spas - it's not hard to blow $1,000 a day in these celebrated cities and resort towns. And if you have money to burn, or you're traveling on a sky's-the-limit expensive account, why not indulge?

With that in mind, here are some of the best couples- and singles-oriented places in North America to pamper yourself.

Traveling with your mate?

The Napa and Sonoma Wine Country, California
The Wine Country north of San Francisco doesn't have a huge reputation as a specifically gay hideway, but if you ask Bay Area residents where they like to travel in style or celebrate a romantic occasion, this land of ultra-posh inns, stylish restaurants, and esteemed vineyards tops many lists. Same-sex couples are almost always made quite welcome at the chic accommodations in these parts, from Auberge de Soleil in the Napa Valley to Madrona Manor in the tony Sonoma County village of Healdsburg. Just remember to set aside some extra cash to ship home all those bottles of wine you buy.

Maui, Hawaii
Maui didn't get to be one of the world's favorite gay destinations by offering a wild nightclub scene - gay bars are few and far between on this island. But Maui is arguably the most romantic gay-friendly getaway in North America, where couples can relax along white-sand beaches and at five-star resorts beside lagoon-inspired pools. The top-of-the-line resorts here - such as Wailea and Kapalua - have outstanding restaurants and world-class golf courses and spas.

Savannah, Georgia
In courtly Savannah, many of the most lavish and romantic historic inns have developed an increasingly strong following with gays and lesbians in recent years. Most of these luxe properties lie near or directly facing one of the city's elegant oak-shaded grassy squares and typically have massive four-poster beds with carved headboards, museum-quality antiques, and whirlpool soaking tubs. Savannah can definitely be a land of excess, as illustrated in John Berendt's best-selling book, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, and the wealth of outstanding restaurants here definitely proves the point.

Litchfield County, Connecticut
This countrified patch of exquisitely preserved colonial hamlets, sophisticated restaurants, fine antiques shops, and scenic state parks has long been a second home to prominent glitterati (Dustin Hoffman, Diane Sawyer and Mike Nichols, Meryl Streep, Larry Kramer, Bill Blass, Stephen Sondheim, and so on). There are no gay bars or gay-specific B&Bs here, but just about every hip restaurant in the county has a steady gay following, and A-list New Yorkers have long frequented the many posh inns throughout the region, such as the Mayflower and the Boulders. The towns of Litchfield, Salisbury, Norfolk, Washington, and Woodbury all make ideal bases for exploring this area adjacent to both New York's Hudson River Valley and Massachusetts' Berkshire Hills.

Aspen, Colorado
There may not be a more romantic - and decadent - way to celebrate a special occasion than spending the weekend holed up at the Hotel Jerome in Aspen. And that's just one of several wonderful places to stay in this super-wealthy Rocky Mountains ski town. It's not the easiest place to meet other single gay folks - unless it happens to be Gay Ski Week. But if you're here with a friend, whether it's ski season or not, there are terrific opportunities for indulging your interests at every turn: food festivals, spectacular hikes, fly-fishing excursions, art galleries - you name it.
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