At the historic corner of Hollywood and Vine in Los Angeles, visitors can now walk a red carpet to check in at the just-opened W Hotel. It is the new-new in place in L.A.

Achieving the highest level of socio-political correctness for any large hotel in Southern California, the W earned silver-level LEED certification for its environmentally conscientious building, operating practices and materials. Part of the “green” ethic involves working in concert with the Los Angeles-area Metro system (public transit) to incorporate a Red Line station within the hotel, connecting guests directly with the city’s light rail system.

This also means that anyone who chooses to arrive in Los Angeles via Amtrak can connect directly from Union Station (the city’s central train station) to the W Hotel via the Red Line … offering W guests the opportunity to bypass LAX entirely, a clear edge in drawing regional visitors.

There’s even an option for those who don’t want to leave. About 140 W residences offer “whatever/whenever” concierge service, hotel signing privileges, and terraces with iconic views of Hollywood, including its famous sign. It’s one way to keep a flat in L.A. with maximum glam and minimum fuss.

The thing about roses and a box of chocolates on Valentine’s Day is, it can often feel perfunctory, and even put a layer of camouflage over one’s real feelings.

Even when married, many of us feel awkward about saying, or asking for, the super-kind things we may secretly long to hear. It may have been years, even decades, since we received a love-letter … or wrote one. And Valentine’s Day is that one extra-special opportunity each year to figure out how to move past the usual constraints and commercial pitches to get, literally, to the heart of an important relationship.

Getting Started Too Late?
If too many of us get lost in this process, it may stem from attending to the holiday when it’s actually too late to do much about it. Grocers, florists and mall jewelers love our tardiness because it causes crowds to rush into their stores during commuting hours to stock up on high-margin items, to be delivered at home with virtually no returns.  Restaurants love our desperation because it drives us to fill their reservations books, often pretending we made reservations weeks ago rather than within the last 48 hours.

I wonder, if we procrastinators had earnestly considered Valentine’s Day in, say, October, could we have done a better job? Probably. But let’s be honest; not many of us are likely to do that.

So here’s an alternate proposal of sorts: Use the occasion of Valentine’s Day to plan something to do together in September/October/November. By all means go out to dinner in February; but under the flicker of candlelight, pull out a map of Asia, or the south of France, or the Outback, and figure out how to get there from where you are now.

It’s never too late to build richer lives together; so let’s not forget to take the time to make those plans. After all, it’s in the planning and intertwining of our futures that we create a place for romance to thrive.

Happy Valentine’s Day.