THAILAND
With limestone isles that jut like jagged teeth above turquoise waters, teaming coral reefs and lush jungles, the Andaman Coast is Thailand’s Eden. At The Sarojin, where 56 guest residences are nestled between a lagoon and the Andaman Sea, an “imagineer” is dedicated to creating unique experiences for couples, from an elephant ride through the jungle to a rainforest safari, or a candlelit dinner beside a cascading waterfall. Work out the kinks after a day’s adventure in your bathtub for two, or savour a massage together at the spa.
From £250 per night. Visit www.sarojin.com
Bali is known as “the island of the gods,” and your amore will certainly say “Amen” to a, Discover the Romance Journey at Anantara Seminyak Resort & Spa, located on Bali’s southern coast. Special touches range from a petal-strewn suite to a Jacuzzi soak for two overlooking the Indian Ocean, 90-minute spa treatment, dinner, daily breakfast and round-trip airport transfers.
From £330 per night, for a minimum of three consecutive nights over Valentine’s Day. Log on to www.anantara.com
Emerging like a hump-backed dinosaur from a luminous blue lagoon, Bora Bora has lured the likes of Johnny Depp, Denzel Washington and Drew Barrymore to her palm-fringed shores. But casting aside thoughts of coconut-scented, sun-kissed celebrities (sigh), what you need is an overwater bungalow where you can let your mojo flow. Four Seasons Resort Bora Bora offers a promotion throughout February that includes a complementary fifth night, with Champagne and chocolate-dipped fruits on arrival, daily breakfast, couple’s massage, and sunset Champagne cruise.
From £514 nightly. Visit www.fourseasons.com/ borabora
A safari in Kruger National Park – the largest in South Africa – allows you to observe some of the world’s most awesome animals, including buffalo, elephants, leopards and lions, as they hunt, play and court their mates beneath an infinite African sky. But just because you’re in the middle of the bush, don’t think you have to rough it. The riverside Singita Sweni Lodge features a bar, dining room, lounge and swimming pool, all shared by the guests of six exclusive air-conditioned suites. The Singita Sweni for Sweethearts package includes meals and drinks (excluding Champagne), multiple daily safaris, one complementary couple’s massage, a private wine tasting and starlit dinner-a-deux, Champagne turndown service and a tour of the lodge’s art gallery.
£3,236 per person sharing for three nights, until December 31, 2011. Log on to www.singita.com
“I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore,” Carrie Bradshaw exclaimed as her pals swept into a palatial Arabian hotel in Sex and the City 2. As far as the script was concerned, they were in Abu Dhabi – but, in fact, the designer-clad quartet filmed in Morocco. La Mamounia, where Sarah Jessica-Parker stayed in Marrakech, offers a Not Just Another Weekend deal, with airport transfers, massage, daily breakfast, a helicopter ride around the Atlas Mountains, dinner and cocktails. Don’t forget to BYOB – Bring Your Own Mr Big (or Aidan, as the case may be).
From £1,935, minimum two nights. Valid until February 16, 2011. Visit www.mamounia.com
No other American city captures the imagination quite like New York, with its glittering skyline and seductive venues made for cinematic embraces. Create a close-up-worthy clinch with The Strand hotel’s Stranded in New York offer, including two free drinks at the Top of the Strand rooftop lounge, a bottle of red wine, chocolates, £32 credit towards dinner at the Strand Restaurant, tickets to the International Center for Photography and breakfast.
From £164 nightly, minimum two nights. Valid Thursday-Monday evenings until March 5, 2011. Log on to www.thestrandnyc.com
St Valentine’s Day and Switzerland are synonymous with chocolate, so what better place to enjoy a night of sweet romance than at Zurich’s Baur Au Lac. The grand hotel’s Valentine Special features treats from their in-house chocolatier, a bottle of Champagne, bouquet of flowers, rose-petal bath, five-course dinner at the Art Deco-style Pavillon restaurant, buffet breakfast and one night in a river suite.
From £1,609; valid 14 February 2011. Log on to www.bauraulac.ch
Drive up Ireland’s wave-battered western coast, where the Cliffs of Moher thrust 700 feet out of the frothing Atlantic, and you’ll see that beyond its gently undulating interior, the Emerald Isle can be mercurial and passionately unpredictable. In County Clare, the Lodge at Doonbeg rises up over the wind-swept dunes, providing respite at its spa and a range of outdoor pursuits, from golf at the Greg Norman-designed course to horseback riding and surfing. This February’s Romantic Break offers early check in, Champagne and strawberries upon arrival, dinner in the award-winning Long Room Restaurant, silk rose petals sprinkled across your bed and a traditional Irish breakfast.
£146 per person per night. Visit www.doonbeggolfclub.com
Simply come dancing with The Ritz’s Romance and Dance deal, which includes a bottle of Champagne, plus fruit and flowers in your Louis XVI-style room, a four-course dinner, and yes, dancing in the glitzy, gilded Ritz Restaurant, with a full English breakfast the next morning.
From £550; valid February 11, 2011. Visit www.theritzlondon.com. Or book a “Rendez-Vous” at the Metropolitan London. This package comes with hand-made chocolates, one in-room movie, Champagne breakfast, late check-out – and a Seduction Bedside Box, boasting an array of adult amenities that would make even Hugh Hefner blush. From £399 per night. www.metropolitan. london.como.bz
Play pampered castaway with a Two Night Spa Getaway Package at the Isle of Eriska Hotel, Spa & Island, located two hours north of Glasgow. Book this deal with the five-star retreat, which presides over a 300-acre private isle off Scotland’s west coast, and you’ll receive bed and breakfast, dinner on both nights in the hotel’s 3AA Rosette Restaurant, afternoon tea, access to the leisure facilities (including a 17-metre heated swimming pool, sauna, steam room, golf course and croquet lawn), plus a body massage, express facial and head massage for each of you in the Stables Spa. Throughout February, you’ll also be greeted with a bottle of Champagne in your room when you book two nights or more. Gilligan and his buddies never had it so good.
Two Night Spa Getaway from £920 for two people for two nights. Visit www.eriska-hotel.co.uk
All offers subject to availability.