Valentine’s Day Gift Guide: The Best Hotel Getaways For Gourmets In The U.S.

Going out to dinner on Valentine’s Day is a pretty typical way to celebrate the day. Checking into a hotel known for its culinary offerings ups the experience even more. In both city hotels and inns in the countryside, gastronomy has taken on an even greater importance as it has for many travelers. Here are a few examples of places where refined, cossetting surroundings are matched by excellence in the kitchen.

Blackberry Farm and Blackberry Mountain, Walland, Tennessee Blackberry Farm has been an icon in the world of culinary focused bucolic retreats for decades, a 4200 acre estate in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains known for its production of artisan ingredients, food products and sophisticated cuisine. Drawing on that history, proprietor Mary Celeste Beall expanded to the mountaintop, opening the 5200 acre Blackberry Mountain above Miller’s Cove in 2018 with an adventure focus but maintaining the original Farm’s culinary standards. Both are undergoing some room and restaurant enhancements over Valentine’s Day weekend so dishes such as Blackberry Farm’s Smoked Pork Short Rib with Charred Cabbage, Pickled Garlic, Sweet Onions, Crème Fraîche and Garden Kal will be served in other venues. But accommodations ranging from Blackberry Mountain’s woodsy, rustic Treehouses to Blackberry Farm’s quietly opulent cottage suites are available on a three night booking.

Farmhouse Inn, Forestville, California  This plush but rustic inn on six acres in Sonoma County’s Russian River Valley features spacious, serene all white suites with featherbeds, country antiques, stone fireplaces and terraces overlooking the woods and surrounding vineyards. Many of the ingredients in the Michelin starred restaurant housed in a farmhouse dating from 1873 come from fifth generation Sonoma farmer owner/siblings Joe and Catherine Bartolomei’s ranch or the chef’s discoveries among the prodigious bounty in Sonoma farms. The menu changes frequently but includes dishes such as Ahi tuna paillard with green yuzu-kosho, pickled golden beets, shaved fennel, apple and nori-rice crisp and Duo of  Akaushi beef- red wine braised short ribs, New York strip, root vegetable puree, horseradish gremolata and blue cheese-onion butter. And when guests return to their rooms, there are always homemade cookies on the bedside table.

The Inn at Little Washington, Washington, Virginia Renowned chef-owner Patrick O’Connell opened this Relais & Chateaux inn in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains in 1978 as a restaurant within a former garage; seven years later, it expanded, opening the first rooms. Now a collection of Colonial houses and cottages on 24 acres containing 23 rooms with a Michelin three star restaurant, the inn has become a mecca for gastronomes worldwide. The furnishings are traditional; the restaurant is Regional American with overtones of Classical French illustrated by dishes such as Pan-Seared Tenderloin of Venison with Huckleberries, Caramelized Endive and Black Truffle Purée accompanied by a selection from a 14,000 bottle wine cellar. O’Connell also opened a more casual outpost, Patty O’s Café & Bakery in October featuring dishes such as pan roasted citrus lobster with grapefruit butter sauce and baby bok choy and Julia Child’s beef Bourguignon along with an array of pastries and cakes. Like the original inn, it’s located in a renovated garage designed to mimic a French sidewalk café.

Troutbeck, Amenia, New York Since the 1700’s, this historic estate on 250 acres in New York’s Hudson Valley has hosted an impressive list of political and literary figures from Henry David Thoreau to Theodore Roosevelt. Following a renovation by esteemed designer Alexandra Champalimaud, the style in the inn is subtle, refined, reflective of the estate’s past but also fresh and contemporary. Chef Gabe McMackin sources his ingredients from the farms in the area and creates sophisticated, earthy combinations in dishes such as Ricotta Cavatelli with Q Farms Lamb, Olives, Calabrian Chilis & Lemon and Hudson Valley Steelhead Trout with Koginut Sqaush, Apples, Hazelnuts & Sherry.  

Zero George, Charleston, South Carolina  It’s all historic charm at this collection of restored 19^th century buildings with a private courtyard surrounded by the cobblestone streets of downtown Charleston. The rooms are also refined and traditional in style but in the kitchen, executive chef Vinson Petrillo is known for creativity and colorful presentation. (He’s won the Food Network’s chef invention challenge Chopped twice.) Among the dishes that turn up on the changing menus: a “cigar” composed of Feuilles de Brick Wheat Flour Pastries in a cigar shape filled with chopped beef tenderloin with XO sauce, shallots and capers, dipped in a powdered mix of smoked mushrooms and brown butter and served in a glass ashtray. His extremely rich Beef Wellington is also a menu staple. And on Valentine’s Day, diners can expect a signature dish of caviar, truffles and Japanese Wagyu.

Four Seasons Hotel New Orleans/ Old No. 77 Hotel & Chandlery/ Hotel Peter & Paul, New Orleans is such a culinary wonderland that guests of any hotel are likely to find gastronomic rewards on site. But these three very different choices stand out.

The new Four Seasons is sleek, contemporary, and located in a skyscraper on the banks of the Mississippi River at Canal Street with two local marquee chefs’ restaurants on site:  Chemin à la Mer, the sophisticated Creole/Cajun/French creation of Donald Link (Herbsaint, Cochon, etc.) with dishes such as Jumbo Lump Crab au Gratin with Artichokes and Comte and Miss River, Israeli chef Alon Shaya’s (Saba) take on New Orleans classics such as Duck and Andouille Gumbo and BBQ Shrimp.

Several blocks away in the Warehouse District, Old No. 77 Hotel & Chandlery, a former coffee and wax warehouse with exposed brick walls and post-industrial décor, is the home of James Beard Award winning chef Nina Compton’s Compére Lapin. The menu is a mélange of flavors from Compton’s Caribbean upbringing, her fondness for French and Italian cuisine and the richness of Gulf ingredients in dishes such as Crispy Snapper Collar with Rundown Sauce and Hot Honey and Curried Goat with Sweet Potato Gnocchi and Cashews.

Hotel Peter & Paul in the Marigny neighborhood was destined to be a very original hotel given its setting: the former Saint Peter and Paul Church along with its convent, schoolhouse, and rectory. The rooms are funky and fanciful with furnishings acquired from local estates, European antique fairs and the workshops of local artisans.  The restaurant, The Elysian Bar, is located in the rectory with a menu supplied by local wine bar Bacchanal featuring dishes such as Snapper Tartare with Coconut, Cilantro and Tomatillo and Roasted Gulf Shrimp with Calabrian Chili Butter and Bottarga Breadcrumbs. Another advantage of staying here is the proximity to the music clubs along Frenchmen Street and on Valentine’s weekend, being surrounded by the smaller and more artisanal Mardi Gras parades specific to the Marigny. Also to have delectable jelly doughtnuts from local favorite Jamboree Jams or hot fudge sundaes from the hotel’s ice cream parlor Sundae Best delivered.

The Source Hotel + Market Hall, Denver, Colorado This contemporary, industrial style hotel in Denver’s art gallery rich River North Art District, known as RiNo, has its own special for Valentine’s Day including a $75 credit at its rooftop restaurant The Woods. But part of the appeal of staying here is direct access to the attached market hall and its array of culinary artisan shops and restaurants including Alon Shaya’s Safta showcasing complex, intensely flavorful Moroccan, Mediterranean and Middle Eastern dishes and Ismael De Sousa’s Reunion Bread Co featuring irresistible pastries such as the Venezuelan sticky bun Golfeado and croissant churros with dulce de leche. Fans of Japanese temaki hand rolls also have the choice of a special Valentine’s Day dinner at another Market Hall resident, Temaki Den. Executive chef Kenta Kamo is offering an omakase menu including a selection of raw oysters, A5 Japanese Wagyu beef and seasonal fish imported from Japan.

Hotel Emma at Pearl, San Antonio, Texas This hotel in a former 19^th century brewery was restored and designed to honor the landmark building’s architectural details with period furniture and edgy touches such as rough hewn walls. Since this hotel’s Culinary Director John Brand is also a Chef Ambassador for San Antonio, designated a UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy in 2017, and there is a culinary concierge team on staff, it’s clear that the culinary focus is serious. The concierges bring local purveyors in as part of a monthlong calendar of events or send guests out to explore the historic Pearl district in activities such as guided tours of the Farmers Market or local chef led dinners. In house, Brand showcases his distinctive Regional American/farm to table menu in the signature restaurant Supper; for Valentine’s Day, selections include Coconut and Butternut Squash Soup with Chile Morita, Pepitas and Sesame Seed and Duo Seared Scallops with Carolina Gold Rice, Sottoncenere Truffle Cheese and Pepper and Persimmon Chutney.

The Newbury Boston, Boston, Massachusetts This former Ritz Carlton and Taj Boston across from the Boston Public Garden underwent a massive, multiyear renovation, reopening last May with rooms and suites in a sophisticated, serene, more contemporary form. For Boston residents, equally important news was the opening of the rooftop restaurant Contessa, the first foray into the city of New York’s Major Food Group best known for the haute red sauce/Southern Italian and now worldwide Carbone. In a flamboyant setting designed by Ken Fulk to emulate a grand old world resort or estate in Europe, the restaurant specializes in Northern Italian dishes. For Valentine’s Day, a special menu includes Thinly Sliced Tuna with Artichoke Hearts, Spicy Lobster Rigatoni, Filet with Black Truffle Sauce and the restaurant’s elaborate chocolate cake Torta di Baci.