A Where-To for Lovers

Not too long ago, the illicit weekend tryst in the country often demanded more skill at the front desk than in the bedroom. Couples approaching a frowning innkeeper would go into contortions as they twisted school rings around to look like wedding bands and shuffled their suitcases to hide the fact that the initials did not match. But today door men do not wink, porters do not leer, and managers in even the starchiest establishments could not care less if a couple fails to sign in as Mr. and Mrs. -- as long as they pay the double-room rate.

Now the tryst even has its own whereto literature. A newly published (by Collier/Macmillan) Lovers' Guide to America lists inns, hotels and resorts that both welcome and appeal to couples. Scottish-born Travel Writer Ian Keown, 36, visited some 275 spots across the " country, and found 137 that were sufficiently charming and nonchalant to be awarded anywhere from one cupid (good enough for "a one-night stand") to four cupids (where a couple could live "happily ever after"). Among Lovers 'listings:

For Budget Watchers: The Deerfield (Mass.) Inn, where weekenders can "nod off in Colonial bliss" in a $10 double room after a day touring one of New England's handsomest villages.

For High Rollers: Florida's 700-room Boca Raton Hotel and Club, where $400-a-day suites are available for the "grand gesture."

For Bargain Hunters: The Breakers, Palm Beach's answer to Rome's Villa Medici, offers doubles in the off season at $24 a day (winter price: $105).

For Privacy: Greyfield, a "slightly decaying" mansion right out of Tennessee Williams, set amid live oaks and alligators on Georgia's Cumberland Island, reachable only by chartered boat or private plane.

For Kicks: San Francisco's Miyako Hotel, offering Japanese-style sunken tubs for two and room-service massage.

For the Energetic: The C-Lazy-U Ranch, 8,000 ft. up in the Rockies in Granby, Colo., where guests are provided "personal horses" with the $90 room rate.

For the Lazy: The Seacrest Inn on the Sea, perched on the rocky coast of Kennebunkport, Me., which is "basically a place for wave watching."

In all, only 25 states made the Lovers' list; California led them all with 27 recommendations, including five four-cupid inns and hotels. The guide finds the Midwest to be a romantic wasteland, however, and Keown has special scorn for Iowa and Ohio. The only place to tryst in these states, he says, is aboard an Amtrak sleeping car, "watching the scenery, such as it is, roll by."

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so viewer discretion is required.