Standard vs. Standout Valentine's Day Hotels

NEW YORK
Standout: The Library Hotel
Right near the Beaux-Arts Public Library is The Library Hotel, which arranges its 10 guest floors by the 10 categories in the Dewey Decimal System, with each room dedicated to and filled with a collection of books about topics ranging from economics, botany and ethics to love, poetry, romance languages and erotic literature.

The Valentine's Day specials take a page from this plan as well; Cupid's Pink Romance Turndown package includes a bottle of Veuve Clicquot Rose Champagne, a pink roses and petals turndown service, pink Champagne truffles and a selection of romantic books chosen by the staff -- all for $395 at night. The $475-a-night Erotica Package, meanwhile, fills the shelves with a bottle of Mionetto Prosecco, a dozen roses, a Kama Sutra package of honey dust and oils, erotic dice, an "Erotic Moods" CD, a book of exotic chocolates, two plush robes and a Kama Sutra pocket guide. When guests are finished, um, considering the subject matter, a rooftop bar includes a greenhouse garden, fireplace and wine and cheese served every evening from 5 to 8 p.m.

Generations of tourists have considered a stay at the Plaza a quintessential part of the New York experience.

Standard: The Plaza Hotel
Along with carriage rides through Central Park, hours-long lines for the Empire State Building and stopping in the middle of a fast-moving sidewalk crowd during rush hour to stare up at the skyline, generations of tourists have considered a stay at the Plaza a quintessential part of the New York experience. It's difficult to argue with 103 years of tradition, that lovely park-adjacent location and the hotel's recent $6.5 million restoration to its famed Palm Court -- where the Plaza's fictional literary resident Eloise held her afternoon teas -- but this isn't the same Plaza where tourists' grandparents spent Valentine's Day. The new hotel shop and British-style food hall built by chef Todd English are lovely additions, but the recently completed $450 million reservations subtracted a number of rooms to make 152 condos. Decreased supply and steady holiday demand mean even the cheapest Valentine's Day rooms start at $600, with prices rising to $3,000 for two-bedroom suites.