Romantic Weekend Escapes Near Indianapolis, Indiana

If you live in and around Indianapolis and are in search of a romantic weekend, there are some perfect places to hide yourself away for a few days of bliss. Four unique, intimate getaways are presented here for your consideration. Hopefully you'll find the perfect one to fit your style and personality.

For generations, French Lick Resort has drawn visitors from around the country and even the world. In its heyday, luxury rail cars from Chicago had only one destination - French Lick and the West Baden Springs. Within the last decade, French Lick Resort Casino underwent a $382 million historic restoration and expansion, restoring gambling to the area for the first time since 1949.

The French Lick Springs Hotel, including 443 fully renovated guest rooms, was meticulously restored along with a new event center, high-end retail shops, and lovely public areas, shaded walkways the famous gazebo housing the Pluto mineral springs. The lush gardens European style greenery whisper a legacy of romance.

At French Lick, couples will enjoy a weekend to remember. "Luxurious accommodations, pampering spa treatments, exhilarating Donald Ross-designed golf and state-of-the-art conference and event facilities will make French Lick Resort Casino the ultimate modern getaway. French Lick is located a scenic 2 hour drive south of Indianapolis in rustic Orange County, Indiana,

Also to the south of Indianapolis is renowned Brown County. Hugging the foothills of the Blue Ridge mountains, the heart of Brown County is the quaint town of Nashville.

If log cabins, bed and breakfast inns, and campgrounds with an artistic aura are more your style, a weekend in Nashville is the choice for you. Brown County Lodging Association offers a comprehensive list of a variety of lodgings, each unique with its own price structure. Each lodging is custom-designed and individually owned with its own pricing structure.

A favorite, the Cornerstone Inn in Nashville "is a Victorian style bed and breakfast hotel with a quiet, inviting, homey atmosphere throughout. Guests select from 25 distinctively decorated guest rooms, each with private bath, cable television, temperature control, and many fine antiques." Will you find a romantic getaway in Brown County? You bet!

In Indiana, a state much longer than it is wide, one find charm galore to the north of Indianapolis as well as the south. What's to be found in the north? Nappanee, Indiana is in the north, in the heart of Amish country.

Bruce & Vickie Hunsberger welcome visors to their Victorian Guest House, a northern Indiana bed and breakfast, where they will enjoy elegant surroundings with the romantic feel of the 1800s. Located in the heart of Amish country in Nappanee, IN, the Victorian Guest House is a gem with gables and turrets. The 110-year-old mansion is a few blocks from Nappanee's historic town square where it recalls a resplendent Victorian age.

With an 1887 Queen Anne-style masterpiece the home was originally built for the Frank Coppes family. Antiques, including unique family pieces, are found throughout the home which is on the National Register of Historic Places. Extensive wood paneling, stained glass windows, and meticulous detail are reflective the family-owned business of fine cabinet-making.

According to promotional material on The Victorian Garden Guest House web site, "The etched-glass entryway leads through beveled-glass pocket doors into an expansive living room with polished hardwood floors and tall ceilings. Graceful Victorian upholstered chairs and tufted footstools are present here. A wide draped doorway opens to the dining room where period wallpaper softens rich wood paneling and the beamed ceiling. The massive 11-foot dining room table, with a servant buzzer hidden on the underside, is an original piece. Stained glass windows made by Nappanee's renowned Lamb Brothers, whose work rivals that of Louis B. Tiffany, line the dining room and the quarter-sawn golden oak staircase that leads to the bedrooms upstairs."

If you like shopping for antiques, you'll find Nappanee and neighboring towns Shipshewana, and Middlebury are a treasury of Indiana's best antique stores. Just fifteen minutes away is Lake Wawasee, Indiana's largest natural lake.

Frommer's Guide recommends The Canterbury Hotel as downtown Indianapolis' most charming hotel, perfect for that romantic weekend getaway. Located at 123 S. Illinois St on the south end of Circle Centre Mall, reservations can be made by calling 800/538-8186 or 317/634-3000
With 99 rooms, rates, which include a continental breakfast, are $175-$275 double; $320-$1,575 suite (lower rates on weekends). An extra person $25.

According to Frommer, "This charming European-style hotel, with direct access into Circle Centre, sports "a bit of England" and is a registered historic landmark. This is where most celebrities stay when they're in Indianapolis, and it's the best in town. Rooms are large, with four-poster beds, armoires, bathroom telephones, and refrigerators. Tea is served daily."

At the Canterbury Hotel, European-style luxury and outstanding service are the order f the day. The Canterbury, which boasts a live pianist playing light classical music on a Baby Grand piano, is Indiana's only member of the prestigious Preferred Hotels and Resorts Worldwide. Canterbury guests are sophisticated visitors from around the world, who occasionally partake of afternoon tea. To highlight a perfect romantic weekend, rekindle your relationship with an intimate dinner at the Canterbury Restaurant which features both American and Continental cuisine.

No need to jet to New York or Las Vegas for that romantic getaway. If you are in Indianapolis, you will find it right here, in your own back yard.