FLORIDA

Florida: Romantic B&Bs

Here are 10 cool bed-and-breakfasts sure to heat up your love life.

BY MARY THURWACHTER

Palm Beach Post

You can get by this Valentine's Day with red roses and chocolates in a big, heart-shaped box. But if you really want to keep the flame of romance burning, spring for a night or two in an intimate bed-and-breakfast. Nothing evokes closeness like a getaway to a B&B with a great four-poster bed, fine linen sheets and plump pillows. Nothing says lovin' like toasting your union before a crackling fireplace or in a tub for two brimming with bubbles and surrounded by candles.

Some of Florida's bed-and-breakfasts are on sandy shores with palm trees and hammocks. Some come with horses who lead guests down happy trails. All of them include yummy breakfasts you don't have to make.

Here are some of our favorites:

• Heron House in Key West: This gem comes with lush, exotic gardens and unique room designs that give guests a sense of seclusion and privacy. Shaded sitting areas surround the pool, and with an outdoor reading room like that, no one needs to enforce peace and quiet. It just happens.

Even during breakfast and afternoon wine-and-cheese gatherings -- both held in the courtyard near a waterfall -- life remains joyfully civilized at The Heron House. Guests have time to admire the gardens filled with bougainvillea, rare palm trees and orchids.

The Honeymoon Junior Suites have double French doors, floor-to-ceiling marble baths and/or breezy second-floor porches and sitting areas. Turn-down service is provided, upon request.

When it gets too hot, couples can splash in the pool with a heron painted on the bottom of it. Then they can repair to the second floor sun deck.

Cap off the day with a walk to Mallory Square to watch the sunset, then have dinner at elegant Antonia's Italian Restaurant on Duval Street.

• INFO: 888-861-9066; www.heronhouse.com. Rooms from $219 (from $199 in summer).

• Bokeelia Tarpon Inn in Pine Island Sound: The waters around this village are filled with tarpon, spotted sea trout, snook and redfish, but you don't need to be an angler to fall in love with this unassuming, slow-paced village on Florida's southwest coast.

You just need some time to kick back, breathe in the salty Gulf breezes and take in the panoramic view of Charlotte Harbor from Boca Grande to Matlacha.

The Bokeelia Tarpon Inn on Bocilla Island in Pine Island Sound is a perfect spot to do all three -- especially if you plunk yourself down on one of the handmade Indonesian chairs on the spacious, screened-in, second-story porch.

The bed-and-breakfast occupies the two-story, 1914 Poe-Johnson house. The home, one of the earliest buildings on the island, has been lovingly restored to show off its handsome hardwood floors and original fireplace. The five bedrooms have queen-sized beds and louvered shutters for privacy.

You'll want to hold hands as you watch the sun set and seal the day with a smooch or two.

• INFO: 866-827-7662; www.tarponinn.com. Rooms $159-$295.

• Harrington House Beachfront Bed & Breakfast Inn on Anna Maria Island: This seaside B&B, the site of dozens of weddings each year, oozes romance. Innkeepers go overboard to make couples feel special, from serving chilled champagne on the beach or in the pretty gazebo or making sure there are roses in the room. These amenities are extra, of course, but even the standard fare is outstanding here.

All the rooms have a different décor, but some elements are common to all. Most feature French doors opening onto balconies that overlook the heated swimming pool or the Gulf of Mexico.

The beds are comfortable, covered with stylish modern covers and plenty of plump pillows.

Outside, dolphins and manatees swim in the gulf.

Breakfast, served pool-side or in the dining rooms overlooking the pools, is made to order. Guests always have choices, a welcome extravagance at a bed-and-breakfast.

• INFO: 888-828-5566; www.harringtonhouse.com. Rooms $139-$499.

• Shamrock Thistle & Crown Bed & Breakfast in Weirsdale: If there's hustle and bustle in this picturesque corner of the world, you certainly don't sense it as a guest at the Shamrock Thistle & Crown. It's a quiet, peaceful place, where couples have time to savor a book, listen to music, stroll the grounds or sip iced tea while resting on the front porch swing.

The Victorian bed-and-breakfast with an Irish flavor was once the site of a prosperous orange grove. Built in 1887 and designated as a historical landmark in Marion County, the house impresses with its refinished hardwood floors, wood-burning fireplace and formal dining room set with Irish crystal and fine china over lace tablecloths.

The second floor has an observation deck, from which guests can see the water tower in Belleview, almost 9 miles away. Cypress trees border the property.

Some second-floor rooms come with four-poster antique beds, fireplaces and whirlpools. The Victorian dollhouse cottage is a favorite with honeymooners.

All guest rooms have bathrooms with thick, soft towels and sweet-smelling soaps. Unlike some old homes, the water pressure is great, permitting wonderfully relaxing showers.

• INFO: 800-425-2763; www.shamrockbb.com. Rooms $95-$215.

• Inn on Charlotte in St. Augustine: From fine, locally made chocolates to Eggs Benedict fit for a king and queen, it's gourmet all the way at the Inn on Charlotte.

Expect first-rate breakfasts. Owner Lynne Fairfield, with 25 years' experience in the hospitality business, and her sister Valerie Wright, a graduate of London's Le Cordon Bleu, sometimes give cooking classes at the inn.

And the food isn't alone in its grandness. Attention to detail inside and out, and the use of antiques and fine reproductions give this Old Town inn a luxurious feel. Most rooms have Jacuzzis.

The inn's porches, comfortably furnished with wicker rockers and chairs, are perfect spots to catch late-day breezes.

The Castillo de San Marco, a historic fort, the Bridge of Lions, horse-drawn carriage tours, evening ghost tours and the shops of St. George Street, are within walking distance. Parking can be challenging in this heavily visited tourist town, hoof it or take the trolley.

Toast your love with complimentary mimosas, available on request during breakfast on weekends and holidays.

• INFO: 800-355-5508; www.innoncharlotte.com. Rooms $139-$289.

• Elizabeth Pointe Lodge, Amelia Island: The lodge is a Nantucket-type shingle-style beach house with lots of porches and plenty of rockers. It looks like it was built in the 1890s, but it's only 17 years old, and that modernity has its advantages, including an elevator.

When you tire of sandcastle-building, shell-collecting, horseback-riding and swimming in the Atlantic Ocean, there are board games to play and telescopes for star gazing.

The cookie jar is always open, and there's lemonade to quench thirsts after a fun day outdoors.

When it's cold outside, innkeepers provide blankets and hot chocolate while you rock in chairs on the deck and listen as waves crash ashore. Of course, you can bypass the wind and opt to snuggle beside the roaring fireplace. Romance is sure to kindle.

• INFO: 800-772-3359; www.elizabethpointelodge.com. Rooms $195-$450.

• King's Manor Bed & Breakfast in Oviedo: A 15-minute drive from tony Park Avenue in Winter Park, King's Manor B&B has a formal parlor, sunroom with television, upstairs and downstairs front porches. Sprinkled among the antiques are lots of flowers, angels, cherubs and birdhouses.

Guest rooms come with four-poster beds, white bed coverings, desks and fainting couches. Soft white robes hang in the closet. Some rooms have fireplaces.

Guests can order breakfast from a menu and place the order on their bedroom door the night before. Options like that are always welcome, because even the closest of couples don't always agree on breakfast.

My husband loved the French toast and bacon. I savored my scrambled eggs. The home-made cinnamon scones, still warm from the oven, were scrumptious.

And, in keeping with the royal treatment guests receive at King's Manor, innkeepers may even pack up a few spare scones for the ride home. If the way to your main squeeze's heart is through his tummy, these scones are sure to score.

• INFO: 321-202-6985; www.kingsmanorbb.com. Rooms are $119-$139.

• Heron Cay Lakeview Bed and Breakfast in Mount Dora: They call the largest room here Heavenly, and it is. It has a gorgeous antique king-size bed, fireplace, sitting room and a huge bathroom with Jacuzzi and shower, and a pretty view of the lake.

But smaller rooms at the Heron Cay are romantic, too, filled with antiques and Highwayman landscapes. And breakfast is divine.

When you've fueled up on home-baked breads and muffins, take a little trail right into the downtown shopping area.

Shopping is a popular pastime here, especially for antiques and collectibles, and the biggest shopping venue is Renninger's Antiques Extravaganzas on the edge of town. Some of the dealers are there all year, though the big draw is the Extravaganza weekends. You'll find Fiestaware, pickle casters, furniture and Depression glass, for starters.

Built on rolling hills around a lake, Mount Dora has so many Victorian-style buildings that it is known as the New England of the South.

While you're in town, take a trolley tour through the historic district or a boat ride on the lake.

• INFO: 888-437-6622 or 352-383-4050; www.heroncay.com. Roome $175-$295.

• The Fairbanks House on Amelia Island: Decadence and romance are the name of the game in Bill and Theresa Hamilton's 1885 Italianate mansion.

At night, guests find chocolate mints on their turned-down bedsheets and fluffy white terry-cloth robes to wear after a swim in the pool or a relaxing bath. Smoking is prohibited inside and out.

We like The Queen's Suite, with its arched windows, white sheers and aqua-and-yellow floral-print swags that match the bedspread. There's a separate sitting room with a fireplace, a Jacuzzi and a porch that overlooks the pool.

Gourmet specials include pecan French toast with caramel sauce. Fresh fruits, sorbets, waffles, coffee and juice are all served on the porch or in the dining room. Guests can mingle during a social hour with complimentary drinks and hors d'oeuvres.

Good restaurants and shops are a short walk away.

• INFO: 888-891-9882; www.fairbankshouse.com. Rooms $175-$395.

• Equus Meadow Inn B&B and Riding Stable in Tampa: This top-notch inn delivers urban charm in a country setting. It has comfortable beds with plenty of plump pillows, a enticing hot breakfast and innkeepers who make you feel like royalty (but not the stuffy kind).

The Victorian-influenced B&B and horse farm, complete with circular drive, white fence, swimming pond, shady oak trees and riding trails, have a nostalgic, Old Florida feel. It's not the kind of place you'd expect to find in the middle of Tampa.

Innkeepers Sandy Rousse and Ken Boyung built the two-story, retro farmhouse in 2004. One guest room occupies a large space on the second floor. Other accommodations are in the antiques-filled guest cottage on one side of the house.

A stable and corral can be found on the other side. There's a spring-fed pond with a lighted dock in the back.

Most guests at Equus ride the horses, but guests who don't opt to ride can still have plenty of critter contact. There are guinea hens, ducks, chickens, cats, a dog and tropical birds galore.

Warning: Don't wait too long to book a room here. The owners have plans to move north, and we can't promise it'll be there as a B&B next year!

• INFO: 813-806-5566; www.equusmeadowinn.com. Rooms $159-$239.