Overnight Staycation at The Drake Hotel Turned into Ultimate Urban Getaway - Fantasies And All

A quick glance at the day planner recently told me my forecast for a vacation was dim with a 70% chance of ‘not gonna happen’. On the upside, business is good! On the downside, when can I…you know, that thing when you aren’t doing stuff? What’s it called? Oh yeah, R-E-L-A-X. After much thinking, google-searching and discussions with my boyfriend, we decided an overnight getaway at the Drake Hotel was in order, and we were especially excited to try out the Valentine’s specials and packages. The Drake Hotel offers so much more than just an experience in one of Travel + Leisure’s top 500 hotels in the world, in the heart of one of the best cities in the world. You can keep it in the family and have drinks in the lounge, eats in the Cafe, pick up a gift at The General Store, and feast on late night pulled pork sammies and coleslaw at the new BBQ Hut.

Once our room was booked, we were packed and the day quickly approached, a simple bus ride south didn’t feel like much of a trek, and arriving at our destination fresh, not exhausted and with a latte in hand was a nice break from the typical plane flight madness. An enthusiastic hostess showed us to our room, and we set our overnight bags down and explored. The spread of gourmet treats I noticed first went well beyond hotel-peanuts. Most things in the room turned out to be for sale, in case you wanted to take a little piece of The Drake home with you. Plenty of artwork and shiny pretty things for me, and plenty of gadgets and gizmo’s for him to look at. The room was cozy, modern and reminded me of rooms I saw when Oprah goes to Sweden. As part of our Valentine’s Staycation Package (available until February 14th, rooms starting at $229), yummy Valentine’s cookies and berries awaited us, and a fluffy goose feather pillow we got to take home, with a monogrammed pillowcase. A sexy his and hers underwear treat was ours to keep as well, with a red lace thong from Tryst and custom screen-printed hot pink boxer-briefs by Superstein.

With both of us in our new red and pink undies, underneath the crisp white sheets with Saturday’s nightlife in full swing underneath us and fat snowflakes dropping from the sky above, it was enough to get the heart-rate pumping. We cracked a bottle of wine and started browsing the exclusive Pleasure Menu. Curated erotic DVDs? Check. A fine selection of the world’s best condoms and lube? Check. A plethora of sex toys to please every part of you (and him)? Check. You can even make like Charlotte and order the Sex And The City Rabbit Pearl vibrator, or for the ballers out there, a sleek solid gold one (albeit the most expensive thing on the menu). Ordering sexual accessories for a love-in with my lover from the comfort of our posh hotel room felt pretty fucking fabulous, I must tell you. We chose the Pleasure Pack 1, with a selection of condoms and lube, a red tickle-feather, a pocket rocket and an erotic DVD, all for only $39. Disco playing from my laptop and strategically placed mirrors in the room only elevated the mood.

A long time ago, an old shrink had pushed the benefits of role playing so this felt like the ideal opportunity. I decided to pretend I had gone to Vegas with my single girlfriends, eyed a sexy stranger over the roulette wheel, and after a cocktail, I asked him to have a night with me that would “forever stay in Vegas”. Tickle-feather and all. I felt a rush similar to when you kiss someone you like for the first time. Even the healthiest of relationships are not going to feel the same after 1, 2 and 10 years of teeth-brushing together, they’re just not, and that’s natural. Being in a completely new sensory experience can really be inspiring, get the juices flowing and the wheels turning. It’s fairly easy to fool the senses. We were a mere 15 minute bus ride from our place, but felt a million miles away from our lives, our workloads, our problems, our roommates, our Monday schedule. Just for a night, it was nice to have a break at The Drake.

~ Becca Lemire
~ Drake Vday pillow photos by Connie Tsang
~ Other Photos by Becca Lemire