Visit America’s historic love motels before it’s too late

At first glance, Cove Haven Resort in Pennsylvania’s Pocono Mountains — 100 miles north west of New York City — might pass for a run-of-the-mill roadside motel. Pulling into its car park, low-slung buildings stretch endlessly toward the horizon, their pebbledash exteriors capped with flat iron roofs. But look closer and the magic starts to reveal itself: doe-eyed resident deer frolicking on the lawn, hand-painted heart signs swirling with whimsical lettering and an amorous couple fastening a golden heart-shaped locket to a nearby fence.

Still, nothing quite prepares me for the moment when I ease open the door to the Champagne Tower suite — where a 7ft-tall champagne-glass whirlpool bath stands bubbling in the heart of the room, like a sudsy shrine to love itself. A rose petal trail beckons me upstairs to the boudoir, where a circular bed, unapologetically narcissistic in its design, reflects endlessly onto the mirrored ceiling above. Equal parts old Hollywood glamour and fabulous kitsch, entering the space feels like stepping into Liberace’s wildest dreams.

Impressive stuff, but I’m still baffled as to how this fantasyland came to be nestled into the hills of eastern Pennsylvania, a rustic landscape otherwise dotted with industrial plants and Scout Association retreats. The answer lies in the hotel’s Garden of Eden Apple suite, where a cherry-red, heart-shaped bath takes centre stage in this windowless sanctuary. It was this sweetheart tub that played a key role in transforming the Pocono Mountains into a honeymoon hotspot after Cove Haven Resort introduced it in 1963.

The brainchild of owner Morris Wilkins, the heart-shaped whirlpool bath is said to have come to him as a vision in the dead of night. Before this eureka moment, nothing about the rural Poconos had particularly screamed romance. Instead, a post-war petrol shortage made it a quicker drive for East Coast lovebirds than Niagara Falls, while the dawn of the sexual revolution drew soulmates looking for a more racy, playful escape. Then, in 1971, Life magazine published a double-page-spread photo of a blushing couple spooning in one of those heart-shaped baths, officially pinning the self-proclaimed ‘Land of Love’ to the map. Soon after, more adults-only resorts sprang forth, each more flamboyant than the last.

Poconos local Carole Turcotte, who now runs a farm market in the area, remembers those glory days vividly. Dressed in a gold-trimmed slinky toga that channelled the goddess Aphrodite, Carole had once worked weekends as a cocktail waitress at Cove Haven’s sister property, Paradise Stream. “This was the 1980s, when the resorts were still thriving around here,” she tells me when I pop into her store for supplies. “The resort was filled with young couples on their honeymoon or celebrating anniversaries, so there was a really lively, happy atmosphere,” she recalls fondly, adding that wholesome evening entertainment included Mr and Mrs quizzes and nightly comedians at the resort’s nightclub.

Heartbreak hotel

Unfortunately for the Poconos, the course of true love never did run smoothly. By the 1990s, newlyweds' expectations had shifted dramatically, while the romantic resorts remained frozen in time. Classy escapes to the cobbled streets of Europe or the sun-soaked sands of Caribbean beaches now enticed, leaving America’s love motels as little more than a campy relic of a bygone era. And so it was for decades, until the flames of desire were unexpectedly fanned for a fresh generation.

On my way to meet one such newcomer, I make my way through the hotel’s cocktail lounge — a vision in pink and glittering gold that has me feeling like I’m strutting into the disco-groovy 1970s, complete with an all-you-can-eat buffet serving nostalgic cheese blintzes. I meet hotel guest Laura Heisey in the hotel’s indoor swimming area, where a waterfall cascades down a fake rock wall that could be a set piece from The Flintstones. Laura and her partner discovered Cove Haven Resort just 18 months ago, but the Pennsylvania pair are already on their fifth visit.

“We live in a busy household with teenage kids, so we come here as a couple for a little break. We’ve already booked our next stay for Valentine’s Day,” she shares, adding that while the furnishings may be a little time-worn, there’s a comforting familiarity to the place. “The staff are always the same people. But what really keeps us coming back is the vibe — it reminds me of the holiday camp from the movie Dirty Dancing,” she laughs.

Retro revival

Like most younger guests, Laura discovered the Land of Love through the internet. The recent renaissance can be traced back to Juno Calypso, a London-based photographer who spent a week in a Poconos pleasure palace, photographing herself in retro suites for her 2015 cult series, The Honeymoon. The eerie images caught the attention of US creatives Margaret and Corey Bienert, who, in 2018, decided to also check in.

It was a game-changing decision — one that inspired them to travel the globe in search of fabulously themed hotel rooms, all lovingly documented on the A Pretty Cool Hotel Tour Instagram page to 667,000 followers and in their Hotel Kitsch coffee table book. But it also impacted Margaret on a more personal level. “I’d grown up super religious, and anything focused on love, romance and sex was kept hidden away. So, walking into that room and celebrating that side of myself felt truly life-changing,” she says of their debut stay in a suite with a dusky pink freestanding tub and a prism of mirrors lining the walls. “Visiting these sexy hotels became my therapy,” she adds with a wry smile.

Despite a revival of interest among hip, vintage devotees, the Land of Love is hanging on by the thread of a shagpile carpet. Its honeymoon hotels have mostly shuttered, including the 50-year-old Pocono Palace Resort — previously used a backdrop in a Marc Jacob’s fashion shoot and a music video for the singer Lucy Dacus. It was sold in May 2024 for a reported $17.8m (£14.6m) and won’t be reopening as a couple’s retreat. Cue an impassioned online campaign via the A Pretty Cool Hotel Tour socials and a Change.org page.

Only two love motels remain in the Poconos today: Cove Haven Resort and Paradise Stream Resort. I drive 30 miles north to visit the latter. Turning into Lover’s Lane, a bordello-red sign — heart-shaped, naturally — welcomes me to the Land of Love. Looking around, it’s as if one of the mid-century postcards, shot in glorious technicolour and for sale in the giftshop, has been brought to life. Couples play indoor mini-golf, hit a strike at the duckpin bowling alley and tuck into lobster ravioli drenched in sherry cream sauce as they watch the nightly cabaret — just as their grandparents once did.

I leave them to it, as a bubble-gum-pink foaming sweetheart tub calls me. Margaret’s earlier words echo in my mind as I approach my honeymoon suite: “If you want to see these historically important motels, go now. They won’t be around forever — and they just don’t make them like they used to.”