I don't know. I'm thinking that if there was a tawdriness scale of 1 to 10 (with 10 being the highest), Eliot Spitzer would definitely fall below the new Governor Paterson now - judging them solely by the hotels they frequented. There's quite a difference between the Mayflower Renaissance in DC as opposed to rekindling sloppy seconds at the Days Inn up the road from the Albany branch office. Kind of makes one wonder how that kind of disparity will play out in other areas.

But I digress. Yes indeed, there's nothing that amps up the action more than staying in a really great hotel. Wealth begets wealth, as they say.

I've stayed in a few grand hotels in my own seamy, tawdry past, and looking around here at the plethora of (ahem) seasoned posters, surely some of you must have your own luxury accommodations of preference? By far my absolute favorite hotel for a rendezvous of this nature would have to be The Pierre, in NYC

This hotel is just over the top superb. Enormous rooms with 20 foot ceilings. (Hmmm. Curious, how everything seems so much bigger in a great hotel) Spectacular beds with those huge pillowtop down mattresses and comforters, Central Park in all its splendor from every window (telescopes available from the Front Desk upon request). And of course, five star Room Service.

How about you?

this place. Both me and my wife, two weeks on the company dime - and it wasn't even my company. Of course, I had to work during the day, but it was with a bunch of French guys so it wasn't exactly working - it was mostly arguing about where to go to lunch.

The first weekend, we took a ballon ride over the Marquis the Sade's old stomping grounds and had brunch with the Swiss couple we landed on and the Dutch guy who owned the balloon. The next weekend was in Nice, which was nice.

topazz:

• The Drake - Chicago
• Landmark - Bangkok
• Amari - Bangkok
• Shangri-la - Cebu
• Dusit Nikko - Manila
• Rennisance - Pittsburgh

China had some nice hotels too. Other than my wife in Chicago and in Pittsburgh, I was very much alone in these hotels.

I've forgotten practically every hotel I've ever stayed in, but not that one.

Mayaland Hotel in Chechen Itza or a forgotten hotel in Montego Bay Jamaica.Santa Fa,Chama,N.M.Jackson Hole or Cody or Douglas Wyoming.

Salt Lake City is nice too.

The Little BigHorn mountain is breathtaking and the mountain goats on Mt Rushmore.

Seattle is fantastic and the mountains lovely.

New Orleans french quarter hotels of years ago.San Juan and Charlotte Amalie in winter.

The Raphael in Rome. It's something in the water. * Sigh *... did you know there's a whole freakin' city outside that hotel? Really.

The Royale in Luxembourg. The best, how I booked it. I phoned information from London, asked the telephone operator for the number of a hotel .. any hotel .. that's the one she gave me. Exquisite.

Second best. The Mayfair near Green Park underground station off Piccadilly. Not the hotel, but what happened. I'd been there a couple of times. This time I mentioned my wife was flying in, on her own, first trip to London. So they moved me. Enormous, luxury suite, sounds like the one you talk about, except the way the Brits would do it. Heaven. (One time only, next time was back to regular fare.)

Oh, third. Some joint in Hong Kong, overlooking some harbour, facing the old airport. The whole outside wall was a sheet of glass. Watching the boats, ferries, steamers, planes in and out ... nice.

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you blew it. how often do you get a chance to drop "gubernatorial" into a subject line?????

but had I used "gubernatorial" I would not have been able to plagiarize Iso's intended subject header so brazenly.

a tent and sleeping bag to a fancy schmancy hotel. So, with that in mind, here are some of the best spots in the country:

Shenandoah Valley, Virginia. The gem of the east coast. We vacationed in Virginia often when I was a kid, and I think that's the place where I fell in love with the outdoors.

Grand Tetons/Yellowstone, Wyoming. Oceans of wildflowers, every view enhanced by those great tits! If you MUST stay in a hotel, the Old Faithful Lodge is a nice, romantic choice. "As Time Goes By" was playing the first time my wife and I walked in. So romantic we decided to stay indoors for a night! Plus, we needed to bathe.

Crater Lake, Oregon. Look at the "tails" side of the Oregon quarter. If you look closely at the island in the middle of Crater Lake, you'll see my wife and I cavorting nekkid and skinny dipping in the 38 degree water.

North Rim, Grand Canyon, Arizona. Nothing wrong with the South Rim, but the extra 8 hours of driving discourages most tourists. Fewer tourists means more opportunity for...um, being romantic in the great outdoors.

Glacier National Park, Montana. Anywhere in Montana will do, but Glacier is the most beautiful place I've ever seen (and I've seen some stuff). Indescribable rugged beauty.

Lots more, this is just 5 favorites off the top of my head. And while they don't have amenities like your posh hotel, I think the romance in the great outdoor places is undeniable. Plus, camping allows anonymity. Something a Governor might appreciate when he's arranging his extra-marital adventures.

And if you want an anonymous tryst in NO complete with funky antiques and huge rafters you could hang ropes from, try the Dauphine. But for sheer decadence at a mere $6K rack rate, we liked the Boca Beach Club (Boca Raton FL) if you're not allowed to leave the country, or the Carlyle (Antigua) if you're confined to this hemisphere. Both feel utterly secluded, have full spas and insanely gorgeous beaches and grounds, but the Carlyle serves tea at 4 wherever you want it, and you can watch Montserrat's volcano erupt.

It was too good of a top post title not to blatantly steal.

Lono:

Madeline Island in Lake Superior. Quiet and secluded from the rest of the world.

Dave:

While on Kowloon, I used to stay here: www.rghk.com.hk/index3.htm "Royal Garden." This was a nice hotel and had all the amenties. Since I was a frequent visitor, they usually put in in a suite and you could see the bay.

I did aspire to the "Peninsula:" http://hongkong.peninsula.com/

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The company felt we could just as well do our work out of the "Royal Garden" as compared to the "Peninsula." Loved the Mercedes rides in from the airport. It was a period of recouping after coming out of China.

as misanthropic?

Suppose it's because I am...quiet and secluded suits me just fine.

Spa-Suites at The Luxor: King Size bed, hot tub in the room, plenty of space to get wild in.

Luxury Suites at The Venetian: No spa, but quite luxurious in every other sense of the word. Romantic settings abound throughout the hotel, too.