Sweet high-season specials

By Brad Kovach and Emily Kruckemyer

updated 1:37 p.m. ET Dec. 20, 2006

Winter is here (shiver) and so are high-season prices (shudder). But we’ve found some thoughtful people who are offering heart-warming holiday incentives – enhanced amenities and activities, spa specials and dive discounts. So pack your new swimsuit … the forecast calls for fun in the sun.

Romance

More Amore
Five intimate nights at St. Lucia’s adult-contemporary Ladera are sure to stoke that lovin’ feeling – and so is the deeply discounted VIP treatment that comes with this generous offer. The normal nightly rate in an open-air suite with plunge pool is $550 – or $2,750 for five nights. Book the all-inclusive special, though, and you pay only $2,130 for five nights – a $620 break. But wait, there’s more! You also get all meals at the resort’s superb Dasheene restaurant, a beach picnic and a treatment at the Ti Kai Pose Spa.

Package: All-inclusive.
Rate: $2,130.
Available: December 21 to April 30.
Contact: 800-738-4752; http://www.ladera.com/

In the Mood
A bottle of champagne, a couple’s massage, a gourmet dinner with wine, a sunset catamaran cruise – these are some of the seductive amenities that come with a five-night getaway at the Radisson Aruba Resort & Casino on Palm Beach. If you want to rev it up, the resort can arrange a myriad of other activities, including scuba diving, Jeep safaris, submarine rides and duty-free shopping. Or you can just relax under a Palm Beach palapa, basking in island breezes and enjoying each other’s peaceful, easy feelings.

Package: 2007 Romance.
Rate: Starting at $3,125, including breakfast.
Available: January 1to April 30.
Contact: 800-333-3333; www.radisson.com/aruba

Fantasy Island
A luxurious link in the Grenadines chain, Mustique is one of the most exclusive private islands in the world, and the elegant, relaxed Cotton House Resort invited you and your partner behind the velvet rope. The recently renovated hotel, formerly an 18^th-century coral warehouse and sugar mill, is offering couples four nights of top-notch accommodations and amenities: two 60-minute massages each, a picnic on the beach, a candlelight dinner with a bottle of wine, and a tour of the island.

Package: Escape to Rejuvenate.
Rate: Starting at $2,660, including breakfast.
Available: January 9 to April 9.
Contact: 800-223-1108; http://www.cottonhouseresort.com/

Let it all Hang Out
Start your marriage off in high gear with an action-packed honeymoon at the Golden Reef Inn on Bonaire. You’ll select four activities from a list of 10 that includes land sailing – popular on the island due to the constant trade winds and salt flats built for speed – windsurfing, a mangrove kayak/snorkel tour and a scuba diving course. You’ll stay for seven nights in a one-bedroom honeymoon villa and receive a bottle of champagne, chocolates and even a rental car.

Package: Adventure in Paradise Honeymoon Special.
Rate: $2,400.
Available: January 1 to April 30.
Contact: 866-790-7333; www.goldenreefinn.com

Celeb Status
Your week as an A-list couple starts when you’re whisked away by private helicopter from Antigua to the Beach House’s helipad on Barbuda. You’ll stay for seven heavenly nights at the deluxe resort, where a dedicated “service ambassador” will see to your every need. Daily breakfast and four-course dinners are served outside on the pool deck or in the contemporary Club House, as you prefer. A 30-minute massage for two rounds out the star treatment.

Package: Very VIP.
Rate: $6,866.
Available: January 1 to April 30.
Contact: 888-776-0333; www.thebeachhousebarbuda.com

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