A Suite of Tempting Hotel Deals for Women

After millennia of men-only golf clubs, gentlemen's clubs, and other assorted boys' zones, the travel world finally realized there was a big hole on women's travel, and started offering a sumptuous slew of options specifically designed for women.

Recognizing that nearly 70 percent of all travel decisions made in the United States are by women, convention bureaus, tour operators and hotel companies have discovered their feminine sides and are trying to entice women away for the weekend.

While the majority of these packages and trips assume purely platonic pajama parties planned by ladies of leisure, those of us who have more subversive shenanigans in mind are discovering that women-only hotel floors, women's wings, women's hotels and frivolous packages for filles are appealing options for when we want to opt out of the all-boy travel network.

It's no longer only at lesbian-owned guesthouses, or at hotels in Muslim countries, that every getaway is girls-only 24/7. Mainstream hotels in several European countries are changing some of their color schemes and catering to women travelers.

No boys allowed!

Berlin's first women's hotels, Artemisia Frauenhotel are both tempting boutique properties that, while not strictly lesbian accommodations, tempt droves of women-loving-women to check in.

London's Grange City Hotel bars men from a seven-floor wing, redesigning 68 rooms with women in mind. Even these floors' staff is entirely female. Our gay brethren will wither with envy at oversize illuminated wardrobes and backlit makeup mirrors.

Hotels give the lady what she wants ...

A slew of co-ed hotels boast packages, perks and enticements to lure ladies. Kimpton Hotels is the queen of them all. The San Francisco-based boutique hotel group offers an overwhelming variety of escapes for women. Its site features information on the "Women In Touch" program and a list of current women's getaways.

The fairer sex gets good girly deals in Gotham, courtesy of the hip Flatotel. The "Gotham Gals Getaway" includes pampering at a Madison Avenue salon (choose manicures or nine-step facial options), shopping discounts and breakfast at the hotel's hip MODA restaurant.

Even cowgirls get their due.

Sizzling Southwestern options come courtesy of Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort and Spa. Located between Santa Fe and Albuquerque, the Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort boasts an idyllic setting. On 500 acres of the Santa Ana Pueblo reservation, Tamaya is near the Sandia Mountains and along the Rio Grande River. Packages tempt you with breakfasts, welcome cocktails, herbal wraps or body glows, Swedish massages and facials for two. In-room spa signature products and valet parking add to the goodies in store.

For those who'd rather get into a saddle than a spa robe, Cowgirl Camp is a four-day getaway for women at the historic Lazy K Bar Ranch, a 160-acre retreat in the Tucson Mountains. The getaway canters off to a tasty start with a margarita party, breaks into a trot for line dancing and trail rides and kicks up some serious dust at an all-girl rodeo.

by Aefa Mulholland

Photos: Getty Images