Around the world, hotels are igniting romance, one dinner, drink and cultural experience at a time. Whether it’s a slow afternoon of wine tasting or art-filled corridors that spark great conversations, these five destinations can turn a quick trip into a romantic getaway.
Cabo: The Perfect Date for Ocean Lovers
Where to Stay
Four-Star Nobu Hotel Los Cabos is a Zen, Japanese minimalist retreat crafted from locally sourced, natural Mexican materials and finishes. Lovers circulate among the resort’s four pools, dip in and out of swim-up cabanas and luxuriate in flower-filled boudoirs.
The top stay is the Nobu Suite, with sweeping ocean views from its wraparound terrace. It can be configured with one to three bedrooms, expanding to more than 3,000 square feet. There’s a stone fireplace for that rare chilly Cabo night, a chef’s kitchen should you want to omakase en casa instead of at Nobu Restaurant and 15-foot ceilings that enhance the airy, residential feel.
The crown jewel is the cloud-like Simmons Nobu signature bed, which is like sleeping on a slightly warm, light and fluffy mound of sushi rice.
Where to Eat and Drink
In the historic Arts District of San José del Cabo, Don Sánchez delivers one of the destination’s most refined expressions of contemporary Mexican cuisine. The restaurant’s warm courtyard setting and thoughtful service create a celebratory, intimate atmosphere, ideal for dinners featuring seasonal ingredients.
The menu moves between tradition and modern technique, presenting vibrant seafood, slow-cooked meats and carefully layered sauces that reflect the depth of Mexico’s culinary heritage. With an ambitious wine list and sophisticated cocktails, the evening unfolds at an unhurried pace.
What to Do
Charter the Avante 100 mega-yacht for an all-day fishing excursion or embark on a sunset cruise that feels straight out of a glossy magazine spread. The Los Cabos coastline does most of the heavy lifting, with the sun flashing off the Sea of Cortez and the iconic Arch as the photo-perfect backdrop.
For couples who like a little adventure with their romance, try Navima’s fishing charters. Head out together at sunrise, lines in the water and anticipation in the air. Whether you reel something in or simply enjoy the sea’s quiet rhythm, you’ll have a memorable experience. Back on board, enjoy a romantic lunch on the open deck, with vast vistas and every need met by the full-service crew.
Charleston: The Perfect Date for Food Lovers
Where to Stay
A retreat in Charleston begins with check-in at Forbes Travel Guide Four-Star Charleston Place, where the city’s historic vibe receives a contemporary kiss.
Consider the guest rooms — with elegant inlaid mahogany furnishings, antique velvet upholstery and 100% wool carpeting — your Southern sanctuary. Bathrooms finished in Italian Carrara marble with herringbone-patterned floors add an extra note of polish.
Before heading out for a walk past church steeples and hidden gardens, pose for a photo under the dazzling hand-blown Venetian chandelier (composed of more than 3,000 individual pieces of glass crafted in Murano, Italy) glimmering above a grand Georgian open-arm staircase.
Where to Eat and Drink
At The Charleston Place, you don’t have to go far to taste the greatness of the Lowcountry. Stay in for an evening and relish the cuisine of chef Daniel Humm of New York City’s Five-Star Eleven Madison Park at his limited, year-long pop-up. He puts his plant-forward, climate-conscious culinary spin on Lowcountry ingredients and traditions with dishes such as roasted chicken with lemon butter and brioche, duck breast with cabbage, apple and miso and Carolina rice porridge with black truffle, lion’s mane mushrooms and ginger.
What to Do
Take time together to the next level with a day date that combines relaxation with caviar and champagne, all in one city block. First, book a couples treatment at the Dewberry Spa, which uses products infused with dewberry in a menu curated by spa expert Lydia Mondavi. The native plant is known for its age-defying and anti-inflammatory benefits.
Second, head down the street to Camellias at the Four-Star Hotel Bennett, where champagne and caviar transform a toast into a gesture of love. The room glows with soft blush tones as the bottles pop and every drop of those salty pearls meets a pillowy blin.
Napa: The Perfect Date for Wine Lovers
Where to Stay
In the heart of Yountville, Forbes Travel Guide Recommended Bardessono Hotel & Spa reframes Napa Valley through a wellness-first lens. Each guest room transforms into a private haven where in-room massages, facials and bathing rituals take place beside secluded courtyards.
For the ultimate escape, Bardessono offers tailor-made romance, courtesy of a personal butler who will escort you to your villa adorned with two dozen roses, a bottle of Dom Pérignon, Royal Ossetra caviar, a fully stocked complimentary minibar, a reserved poolside cabana with bottle service and snacks, an 80-minute in-villa couples massage, dedicated spa bath butler service, complimentary use of a Lexus to explore Napa and breakfast for two delivered in the villa.
Bardessono also serves as a gateway to immersive wine country experiences — pairing chauffeured vineyard journeys with exclusive tastings at Heitz Cellar, Stony Hill, Ink Grade and Burgess.
Where to Eat and Drink
A romantic day of wine tasting in Napa Valley should include a visit to one of the region’s most prestigious estates. Cult favorite BRION stands apart as an independent, family-owned winery devoted to site-specific, terroir-driven cabernet sauvignon, with three winemakers interpreting individual vineyard sites across the valley.
Set on the historic Sleeping Lady Vineyard just south of downtown Yountville, the 46-acre property centers on a restored 1876 bank barn, one of only two remaining in California, alongside a 3,200-square-foot gravity-flow winery.
An industry trendsetter, BRION has an exclusive partnership with a master cooper, who crafts French oak barrels solely for BRION and B. Wise wines.
What to Do
For a Napa Valley getaway with an unforgettable soundtrack, plan a visit around BottleRock. Although this year’s festivities are already sold out, this legendary Northern California music festival takes over wine country every Memorial Day weekend. The three-day event pairs music’s biggest names — Lorde, Foo Fighters and the Backstreet Boys headline the 2026 fest — with the region’s best wineries and restaurants such as Caymus, Duckhorn, Morimoto and Press.
The Culinary Stage adds another layer of fun, with celebrities, acclaimed chefs and artists teaming up for live cooking moments. Whether you go all in with VIP upgrades or keep it casual with a picnic blanket and rosé in hand, BottleRock offers a great date for wine and music lovers.
Kyoto: The Perfect Date for Nature Lovers
Where to Stay
A couples getaway in Kyoto unfolds through contrasts — immersive and meditative, contemporary and centuries old — beginning at Five-Star HOTEL THE MITSUI KYOTO, a Luxury Collection Hotel & Spa, set beside the historic Nijō Castle. Built on the former residence of the Mitsui family, a 250-year-old site, this sanctuary features a 300-year-old Kajiimiya preserved stone gate, tranquil gardens and a natural thermal onsen fed by underground spring water.
HOTEL THE MITSUI KYOTO embodies the spirit of teioku ichinyo, an ancient Japanese design concept in which the garden and buildings are balanced in beautiful harmony. Enchanting, awe-inspiring and intimate, the design by Andre Fu appears intentionally quiet, framing views of greenery and sky, while the Five-Star Thermal Springs Spa and courtyard pathways encourage a slower, more reflective pace.
Where to Eat and Drink
Dinner at Jean-Georges at The Shinmonzen is the crescendo to a remarkable date night. Tucked along a narrow, canal-side street in the historic Gion district, The Shinmonzen is a boutique hotel designed by famed Japanese architect Tadao Ando and his artist collaborators. Its dining room fuses minimalist architecture with meticulous French technique shaped by Kyoto’s seasonal ingredients.
What to Do
teamLab Biovortex Kyoto is the art collective’s largest permanent immersive digital art museum in Japan, featuring more than 50 interactive sensory and “biocosmos”-themed installations. Moving barefoot through glowing digital landscapes and mirrored environments, couples wander into rooms where projected flowers bloom and dissolve with each step.
The installation is playful yet intimate — light responding to movement, color reflecting across water — creating a shared sensory memory suspended outside of time.
Amsterdam: The Perfect Date for Art Lovers
Where to Stay
Within the Studio Piet Boon-designed former Palace of Justice, Rosewood Amsterdam is the final hotel development permitted inside a landmark. Part of its charm is that each of the 134 guest rooms and suites and five residential-style Houses is different due to the building’s historic nature, originally constructed in 1665.
Overlooking the canals, this Amsterdam escape feels like a private love nest, enriched by an eclectic art collection of more than 1,000 works, including pieces from Studio Molen’s monumental Statica, Frank Stella’s vibrant reliefs and Maarten Baas’ whimsical clock. Divided into four themes, the collection features “Urban Art” (street art), “Re-Masters” (Dutch masters reinterpreted by contemporary artists), “Next Generation Talent” (the bold voices shaping the future of Amsterdam) and “Innovative Media” (which features a digital art screen in the lobby co-curated with Nxt Museum).
Where to Eat and Drink
The hotel’s Advocatuur cocktail bar balances justice-themed cocktails (see: The Uprising and Order + Disorder) with a speakeasy distillery program that produces the malty Provo in tribute to the Netherlands’ jenever (a liquor made with juniper berries) tradition. Gaze at portraits by Dutch photographer Anton Corbijn, Depeche Mode’s and U2’s creative director, that capture entertainment icons such as Candy Dulfer and Kate Bush while enjoying creative plates from Indian tandoor ovens.
What to Do
Stop by the Van Gogh Museum to explore the artistry of the Dutch master up close. The museum provides a rich insight into the brief life of the groundbreaking artist, who completed a great deal of his most highly regarded works in one decade.
As part of the institution’s ongoing conservation efforts, the exhibit “Yellow. Beyond Van Gogh’s Colour” houses his iconic Sunflowers (1889), which is in stable yet fragile condition and is no longer permitted to travel.
