Written By Cari Pierce

Close your eyes. Now, inhale deeply through your nose. Do you smell it? That’s the sweet aroma of romance.

Guys, perhaps you’ve been hiding away an engagement ring waiting for the right time. Ladies, some of you may have a bare finger on your left hand that has been itching for a promised bauble. And, for you committed long-together folks, that scent may just prompt you to rekindle the feelings that burned during the first years of your romance.

If the sweet air of intimacy moves you to act, we invite you to consider some great local and regional getaway destinations, which promise to pamper and relax you, catering to your romantic whims in a variety of ways.

Slowing Down
“Enjoy each other’s companyÉ just be special to the other person.” That’s the experience that Joan Bradford, owner and innkeeper of the Yellow Turtle Inn in New Windsor, seeks to create for her guests.

Over the last 11 years as proprietor of the inn, Bradford has helped many gentlemen propose and spends just about every weekend attending to the details of weddings that are held there.

The four-story historic home, built in the 1840s, exudes romance. The large wraparound porch, the well-tended gardens and the intentional lack of televisions set the stage for intimate moments between couples.

“Atmosphere is everything,” said Bradford. “I’ve just worked very hard at all the details.”

The details include relaxing rubdowns by massage therapists, catered dinners from Paradiso (in Westminster), roses in the rooms, balloons and chocolate candies welcoming couples to a bath drawn in one of the inn’s whirlpool tubs.

“Everything is personalized,” said Bradford. Whether you’re seeking an overnight or weekend getaway, or you’re having Bradford plan your wedding, “All you have to do is show up,” she said.

A featured nuptial package at the inn is the “Only Us Wedding” for two to ten guests, starting at $875, plus gratuity. The package provides couples with an elegant, intimate wedding ceremony and reception, complete with a rose bouquet, champagne, a two-tiered wedding cake and a served dinner. For the newlyweds, the “Only Us Wedding” also includes overnight accommodations in a suite with a whirlpool, massages for the couple and complimentary roses and chocolate chip cookies in the room.

All the couple needs to plan for or provide is wedding attire, the marriage license, a minister to marry them and a photographer. However, for an additional fee, Bradford can even arrange those details.

Leaving no request unanswered, Bradford has been known to sneak a teddy bear and chocolates into the room. She will plan your wedding for two, six or sixty. And she will make sure that the inn’s Garden Room, Gazebo Garden and guest rooms nurture the intimacy of the occasion – for whatever you’re celebrating.
“It’s a place to treat people right,” she said.

Feeding the Fever
Taneytown may not come to mind when you want to steal away for a weekend of romance. If it doesn’t, you are missing a stunning gem of a location and an unrivaled “taste” of love.

“It’s a fabulous place from the time you walk in the front door to the time you walk out,” said Antrim 1844’s director of catering, Keith Jagdhuber. Antrim earned the title “Best of Weddings in the Mid-Atlantic Region” by the popular wedding resource Web site, www.TheKnot.com.

Weddings at Antrim can range from small wintertime ceremonies by one of the mansion’s cozy fireplaces, to formal fall receptions for 250 seated guests in the ballroom, or grand outdoor affairs under summer tents on the croquet lawns and formal gardens.

The views from the windows of Antrim’s 29 private guest rooms and suites, located in the mansion and surrounding outbuildings, afford guests scenic vistas that rival the elegance and grandeur of the interior spaces. And, perhaps to trump the views, Antrim may be best known for the romance of a gourmet meal prepared by Chef Michael Gettier.

Antrim’s wedding packages include a six-course feast in the restaurant and breakfast in the morning.

“We’ve done weddings for which we’ve served a venison chop and paired that with a sausage-stuffed quail,” said Jagdhuber. “I don’t know of another place where you can go get a wedding menu like that.” Of course, for the less adventurous, a simple filet mignon is always a reception or dinner option at Antrim.

Wedding packages at Antrim start at $55 per person and include “any menu the couple wants and a full, open bar,” said Jagdhuber.

In addition, every marrying couple gets a complimentary bridal suite, which the mansion staff adorns with rose petals, chocolates and champagne after the bride uses the space for her preparations.

“We refresh it when they leave the room for the ceremony and reception. When the bride and groom go back [to the room], it’s a nice treat for them,” said Jagdhuber.

Heightening what is already a resort-like environment, staff at Antrim will accommodate any request. “We do anything from arranging massages to delivering flowers and chocolates to the room,” said Jagdhuber. “There’s nothing we won’t do for someone.”

For those seeking a romantic overnight, Antrim’s Winter Getaway Special runs through March 31, 2007. The package includes the room of your choice in the mansion, afternoon tea in one of the formal drawing rooms, evening hors d’oeuvres, a six-course dinner in Antrim’s renowned Smokehouse Restaurant, a continental breakfast wake-up tray delivered to your room and a gourmet country breakfast served in the mansion. Costs of the getaway special are $119 Sunday through Thursday, $139 on Friday and $165 on Saturday (per person, based on double occupancy).

Discovering Nature
Nestled in a valley along five and a half acres of Big Elk Creek in Elkton, Maryland, Elk Forge Bed & Breakfast Inn and Retreat is a serene, intimate retreat.

“Even though we’re close to everything and only three miles off of Interstate 95, once you drive those three miles, you’re pretty much in a country setting,” says LeAnn Lenderman, who together with her husband, Harry, owns and operates Elk Forge.

“We’re surrounded by about 30 acres of state land, so that gives us a country feeling,” said Lenderman. “We’re on the Big Elk Creek. We have nature trails. There are no other buildings around. It’s that nice, quiet getaway feeling, but it’s still close to everything – lots of choices for dinner, entertainment, touring and shopping.”

Elk Forge offers 11 rooms and suites from which to choose, and the unexpected attraction-in addition to the natural setting-is the inn’s full-service health spa.

Lenderman says that the spa attracts couples who want to get away.

“They can have couple’s massages – we do a [few] different couple’s packages – and teach basic massage techniques.” she said, “and they get a little booklet to help them remember the things they learned so they can practice.”

For those interested in a retreat to Elk Forge, check out the Snuggle Inn Winter Romance Package, available through February 2007. For $358, the package includes two nights in one of the inn’s luxury bed & breakfast rooms, a one-hour hot stone massage for two and wine and roses en-suite. For an additional $78, couples can upgrade to a suite with a whirlpool.

For Valentine couples, Elk Forge features several romantic add-ons to a standard stay. This year, the Valentine offerings are a Couples Chocolate Passion Package, a half-hour chocolate body polish spa treatment for him and her for $70; a Lovelight Welcome Package, which includes a dozen rose and tea light candles in the room, with the bed turned down and sprinkled with rose petals for $40; and a $65 Romance Gift Basket, designed to pamper couples and help fuel their romantic fires.

Of course, Elk Forge is a year-round wedding destination, which can accommodate up to 50 people indoors or 150 outdoors under tents. The inn offers an elopement package for a maximum of 12 people, starting at $789, and an intimate wedding celebration package for 13 to 30 people, starting at $989.

The already married can consider renewing their commitment. Around Valentine’s Day, Elk Forge offers a Vow Renewal Package, including the officiant, music and traditional vows – or vows provided by the couple.

Escaping in Any Direction
For couples who wan-or need to-get away to get close, reconnect and rekindle the romance, the destination options truly are limitless. A 15-minute drive within Carroll County can transport you to what feels like another time and place – like at the Yellow Turtle Inn or Antrim 1844. Venturing by car from Carroll in any direction will lead you to gems – like Elk Forge Bed & Breakfast Inn – hidden among nature’s soothing vistas.

In Harper’s Ferry, West Virginia, the Hilltop House Hotel is a quaint historic inn with plentiful overnight accommodations and numerous wedding packages. On Maryland’s Eastern Shore, Great Oak Manor in Chestertown is a grand, English-style bed and breakfast with the Chesapeake Bay lapping at the banks near the inn’s manicured grounds.

The North Glade Inn Bed & Breakfast’s sweetheart and spa packages promise to make this Deep Creek Lake property in Swanton, Maryland, a relaxing and romantic getaway. Pennsylvania’s Adams County beholds Stoneybrook Bed and Breakfast, in Fairfield, which beckons couples to sit, talk and reconnect on the expansive front porch, complete with rocking chairs.

Researching Getaways
A Hagerstown couple, Mike and Barb Druckenbrod, manage the Web site, www.MidAtlanticRomanticGetaways.com. They have dedicated their site’s compilation of romantic getaway locations “to couples who understand getaways on a regular basis offer a much needed respite from the everyday stress in our fast-paced world.”

The Maryland listings of the Druckenbrod’s site, www.MarylandRomanticGetaways.com, allow visitors to search the state for the accommodations that suit their tastes. From cozy bed and breakfasts to historic hotels and country inns, you may be surprised at the number of options available for your wedding or next getaway.