Whether you’re looking for something a little bit kinky (sex toys delivered to your door anybody?) or you want to keep it classic with moonlit walks and couples’ massages, we’ve rounded up the best budget stays with that little something extra. Forget those excuses fellas – roses and Champagne will be just a room service call away. And for all the ladies out there, you can kick last year’s corner shop chocolates to the curb. This year it’s going to be big.
Palazzo Seneca, Italy:
Be treated like royalty in this romantic16th-century castle nestled in the lush valley of Norcia in Umbria. This is the land of luxury food and magical vistas. In the hills behind the hotel, pigs go hunting for the most expensive truffles in the world and olive groves dot the cliffs, which are showered in golden light as the sun sets. Palazzo Seneca,with its hand-carved four-poster beds, private rose-covered balconies and sweeping verandas, will bring out the Casanova in you, so be prepared for things to get soppy. All this will be helped along by the three-course candlelit dinner at the award-winning restaurant, which is included in the Valentine’s Package. Also included is a treatment for two in the hotel’s Turkish baths. The spa also has a hydro-massage whirlpool and aromatherapy rooms. All sounding a bit much? Let’s not forget the ‘special surprise’ the owners promise those on a romantic getaway… to be revealed upon arrival. Norcia is a gastronomic heaven with some of the best food Italy has to offer, so market-strolling beneath the craggy vine-covered cliffs will guarantee some tasty treats. You can also learn to make pasta by hand with the restaurant’s head chef, or you can opt to go on a truffle-hunting trip with sniffer pigs who know their gourmet from their goulash. Double rooms start at £124 a night. The Valentine’s Package costs £274 per person for two nights. Find out more here.
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MyHotel Brighton, UK:
Erotic delights are delivered right to your room at this boutique hotel. For £145 a night you can enjoy a lot more than a luxury romp – sorry, we mean room – with kinky extras included. We’re talking a hamper with a vibrator, massage oil, satin blindfolds and 25 sexy assignments that will keep you busy all night long. And the good people at the hotel have even thrown in an energy-boosting breakfast for free. We think you’ll need it. Find out more here.
Les Roches, France:
With panoramic views of Burgundy’s wine country, this castle hotel offers secluded luxury and plenty of grape nectar to get your juices flowing. The rooms, which go for £115 a night, are large with marble fireplaces and private balconies. During the day you can warm up with wine tasting in the vineyards and at night you can settle down for a candlelit dinner at the gourmet restaurant or stroll through the gardens under the stars. Sigh. Find out more here.
Belamane, Morrocco:
There is no city more seductive than Marrakesh, where exotic spices waft through the night skies and sumptuous fabrics sway in the warm breeze.This hotel has opulent suites with walk-in baths, a rooftop hanging garden and a luxurious courtyard pool. There’s also a spa with traditional hammam treatments and couples’ massages. And in the evening you can enjoy a romantic cocktail in the bar under a majestic arched ceiling. Rooms begin at just £75 a night. Find out more here.
Seven hotel, Paris:
You’ll reach new heights on the illuminated floating beds at this hotel – seriously, the beds are built to create the illusion that they’re levitating (we’ll leave it to you to work out how) and rooms also have floating tubs separated from the king-size only by a glass screen. Seven Hotel may not be in the best area of Paris, but its alluring fibre optic decor and suggestively themed boudoirs designed to make your imagination go wild will more than make up for it. Rooms start at £124 a night. Find out more here.