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What comes to mind when you think of February? Groundhog Day, maybe, or cold and snow? How about romance?
With Valentine's Day smack in the center of the month, some might find their thoughts drifting to flowers, chocolate (OK, more than usual) and, maybe, a relaxing getaway with someone special.
For that last part, take heart and know that you need not go far for a romantic bed and breakfast experience. Within about 25 miles from Madison, in fact, are a number of places where you can get away from it all, none more highly rated than Lodi's Victorian Treasure Inn.
The inn, owned by Renee and Eric Degelau, has received AAA's prestigious Four-Diamond Award for four years running, making it one of just five Wisconsin lodgings to be so honored this year. (Other four-diamond spots are Mansion Hill Inn, Madison; the Pfister Hotel, Milwaukee; Grand Geneva Resort, Lake Geneva; and the Osthoff Resort, Elkhart Lake. The American Club in Kohler is the state's only five-diamond lodging.)
"It's become a part of our standard procedures and treatment of our guests," Eric Degelau says of the four-diamond excellence, which is based on evaluation of everything from carpet to cuisine.
"It's kind of built in to our operation, from greeting guests to handling luggage to making sure each room is spotless, and also as far as the maintenance and repair. It's standard
practice now."
Eight rooms are available at the inn, most with a whirlpool-fireplace combination, which is just right for romance.
"That's what we hear is in demand for romantic getaways," Degelau says.
The inn adds to the romance with a limousine service for guests (they have their own car) and also offers special packages such as the February Romance Package, which includes a two-night stay, chocolates, roses, dinner, limousine ride, champagne and breakfast delivered to the whirlpool suite ($650 per couple, weekends; $539 Sunday-Thursday).
Of course, February tends to be a busy month for many inns -- Degelau calls it the busiest month of winter for his bed and breakfast -- but activity at the Victorian Treasure trails off late in the month and slows down in March, he says. Rooms tend to book up three to four weeks out for weekends, but midweek stays are usually pretty open.
Guests at the Victorian Treasure Inn can generally be broken into four demographic groups, Degelau says, with visitors from the Madison area leading the way, followed by the Chicago metro area, other parts of Wisconsin and the Twin Cities area.
Degelau and his wife left jobs in the corporate world two years ago to try their hand at innkeeping. Eric went from cooking as a hobby to being in
charge of the inn's three-course gourmet breakfasts.
"The best part is meeting new people and having people say what a wonderful time they had," he says. "That's the most fulfilling."
* Victorian Treasure Inn, Lodi: 115 Prairie St.; 592-5199 or 1-800-859-5199,
www.victoriantreasure.com.