Room service, hotel pools and chocolates on your pillow: overrated. How about renting a Crystal Cove Beach Cottage and waking up in the morning to the sound of crashing waves? The once-private cottages, built in the 1930s and '40s, have been restored to their original state and are now protected as part of Crystal Cove State Park. Starting in 2006, the park made these cottages available for overnight use by the public, with reservations taken seven months in advance. Each can be rented for up to seven days. You can rent individual cottages, or if you're feeling adventurous, request one of the dorm-style cottages. Either way, you are staying in a piece of Orange County history—not to mention chick-flick history. At the end of Beaches, the beach house in “San Francisco” was actually one of the Crystal Cove Cottages. So, guys? If, say, you want to avoid watching a Bette Midler schmaltzfest with your best gal, go one better and let her live it instead. (Without the whole terminal-illness thing, of course.)
