1. Belle of the French Riviera
Hôtel Hermitage Monte-Carlo has to be the most elegant hotel in Monaco, oozing elegance, calm and understated refinement, all matched with a belle époque design. For Valentine’s Day, the hotel is serving up a beautiful package that includes dinner at Michelin-starred Le Vistamar, with terrace views over the port of Monaco, after-dinner drinks at Crystal Bar for a creative cocktail or fine champagnes, followed by a night spent in one of its decadent Superior Queen Rooms. You’ll also receive access to Casino de Monte-Carlo, Thermes Marins Monte-Carlo wellness complex and Monte-Carlo Beach Club, as well as preferential rates at Monte-Carlo Golf Club and more.
2. American Beauty
Blantyre in Massachusetts is an award-winning Relais & Châteaux hotel that screams romance and escapism. Bringing something beautiful no matter the season, it deserves to be experienced in both snow and sunshine. For February, however, its Timeless Romance package will entice guests with a two-night stay, special Valentine’s Day dinner, after-dinner chocolates and drinks amid a live piano performance in the Music Room, a rose petal turn-down service, and a stunning breakfast each morning. For those looking for even more, you’ll find a special hot chocolate menu, snow-shoeing, ice-skating and board games in the Warming Hut.
3. Halcyon Days of India
Taj Hotels invites guests to celebrate the bygone era of luxury and grandeur this season, with vintage car arrivals, lounge access, and attentive, personalised royal butler service. You’ll also find specially-curated heritage walks and lavish afternoon teas. But where to bed down? Well, the design of the aristocratic Sukh Niwas suite at Rambagh Palace in Jaipur draws on Rajasthan’s centuries-old architectural heritage, and features elegant interiors, lush drapes, arched stonework and ornate furniture all embellished with little hints of history. Don’t miss the bedroom ceiling, with its beautifully painted gold-leaf frescoes and traditional motifs. Book Taj Hotel’s Suite Surprises offer to enjoy all this, plus complimentary airport transfers and breakfast.
4. A Romantic Beach Retreat
A secluded beach resort in Koh Samui, Avani+Samui is the perfect bolt-hole for couples looking for a heavy dose of tropical escapism all wrapped up in romance. Here, you can hide away in one of the area’s most blissful retreats, on the quieter,sunset-facing side of the island, and make one of its stylish villas your new home. Just steps from the sand, privacy is paramount, just as it should be when seeking your own slice of paradise. For Valentine’s Day, guests staying three nights will receive a bottle of sparkling grape, complimentary breakfast, a private romantic beach dinner for two, a 60-minute couples’ massage and, to top it all off, a private longtail boat trip to Koh Madsum Island for you and your loved one. With airport transfers already part of the guests experience, your Avani adventure starts as soon as you touch down.
5. Eat Well, Feel Well
Majestic Hotel & Spa Barcelona has teamed up with Aloft Health Boutique, a new wellness space concept in Barcelona, to create a new Majestic Experience called ‘Eat Well, Feel Well’. Combining a luxury retreat with preventative medicine and healthy lifestyle methods, the new package offers guests a holiday that will regenerate their body and enrich their mind. Starting with a full diagnosis by Aloft Health Boutique, the results will be analysed and a customised diet, in line with the Restaurant SOLC’s locally-sourced menu, will be created by an experienced doctor, providing you with the kickstart to a wholesome lifestyle.
6. Healing Goodness
While January might be out the way, and with it some of your New Year resolutions, the Four Seasons Hotel New York Downtown will help keep you on the right health track, with The Spa welcoming Mama Medicine as its new Resident Healer. An expert in ancient multi-sensory medicine readings, Deborah Hanekamp, also known as ‘fashion’s favourite healer’, integrates more than 17 years of experience and wisdom in the healing arts. Her medicine readings blend ancient knowledge across a variety of traditions, and involve a combination of conversation, an aura reading and a healing ritual, alongside crystal singing bowls, song and scents. With a vision to empower people to become their own healers, this is mindful, mental and spiritual maintenance at its best.
www.fourseasons.com
7. Outward Bound Adventures
Cape Town is a city that screams green living and outdoor pursuits, so capitalise on its summer with One&Only Cape Town’s Adventure Package. The special offer includes a two-hour guided hike up Lion’s Head, a 60-minute water adventure of Stand-Up Paddle Boarding or kayaking, a mixology masterclass, complimentary breakfast, and use of the hotel’s spa, fitness centre and KidsOnly Club. Be daring, be curious, be alive.
8. Africa’s Untamed Heart
Gran Meliá Arushá, in Tanzania’s untamed northern safari region, is a bucolic oasis set out on 18 acres of beautiful, landscaped coffee and tea plantations, where mornings are spent experiencing once-in-a-lifetime wildlife adventures, and afternoons are idled away amid the turquoise waters of its heated infinity pool. With spectacular views of Mount Meru in the distance, and palm trees ringing the resort, tranquillity is felt throughout. World-renowned chef Sanjeev Kapoor is at the helm, masterfully blending African, Indian, Peruvian and Spanish cuisines across four eateries, and the spa is on hand, with its African-focused treatments, to help you unwind all the more. Bed down in the 239-square-metre Red Level Presidential Suite for world-class luxury with a touch of African hospitality, but make sure you book directly through www.melia.com to ensure you bag the best possible rates, for your out-of-this-world African adventure this year.
9. Maldivian Memories
Few places on earth are as seamlessly romantic as the Maldives, with The Westin Maldives Miriandhoo Resort securing top billing. Its Ultimate Romance package welcomes guests with a chilled bottle of bubbly on arrival, and offers a beautiful breakfast at Island Kitchen, a three-course private dinner with grape-pairing, a 60-minute couples’ treatment and snorkelling around the resort’s stunning coral reef to see the exotic fauna of Baa Atoll. You can also hop into a kayak for a relaxing sightseeing adventure at sea, around the island, with some of the Maldives’ most scenic views, helping you to make your Valentine’s Day one to remember...