by Telegraph Travel, The Daily Telegraph, January 13, 2017
Which cities have the most romantic hotels? Our destination experts make a case for their favourite locations and where to stay when there.
Venice
In a city so unremittingly romantic as Venice, accommodation to match the mood is essential. George Clooney opted for the opulent Aman Grand Canal – for his fairytale wedding in 2014. There's more intimate pampering to be had in the shadow of the Salute at Ca' Maria Adele, and at Locanda Orseolo, tucked away behind piazza San Marco. For the joy of strolling in your own secluded Venetian garden, opt for Palazzo Abadessa or Oltre il Giardino – this last in the midst of vines on the island of Mazzorbo.
Ca Maria Adele Venice, Veneto, Italy
8 Telegraph expert rating
Ca Maria Adele takes Venetian style to gothic extreme in five statement concept rooms. An additional five deluxe rooms and two top-floor suites are equally plush, and the air of warm, welcoming urbanity in this very grown-up hotel by the church of the Salute extends into Palazzetto 113 next door. Read expert review From £227per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com.
The Gritti Palace Venice, Veneto, Italy
10 Telegraph expert rating
On the most eye-catching stretch of the Grand Canal, looking across the water to Santa Maria della Salute. The Gritti Palace occupies a palace that dates from 1475 but a 15-month resoration restored all of the hotel’s hundreds of precious paintings and other artefacts. Read expert review From £435per night Check availability Rates provided byBooking.comTop 10: romantic Venice hotels Marrakech.
Marrakech’s Pink City has enchanted travellers for more than a millennium, with its nightly chorus of chefs in the Djemaa el-Fna and a daily round of potion-sellers offering cures for anything from rheumatism to heartbreak. This theatrical bent, plus the city’s legendary reputation for hospitality, have made it a favourite with romancing couples. Many choose to stay in the Medina’s exotic mudbrick riads, while others opt for the glamour of vintage Deco hotels and the seclusion of Palmeraie hideaways.
Royal Mansour Marrakech Marrakech, Morocco
9 Telegraph expert rating
The Royal Mansour is a magnificent hotel conceived as a mini-medina with 53 two-storey villas set in manicured gardens dotted with lily ponds and fountains. This architectural masterpiece adorned with the finest zellij, carved cedarwood, stained glass, dripping stuccowork, beaten bronze and inlaid marquetry. Read expert review From £1,025per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com.
Jnane Tamsna Marrakech, Morocco
8 Telegraph expert rating
Moorish arches frame views of botanist Gary Martin's organic gardens, and shed light on co-owner Meryanne Loum-Martin's extensive contemporary African art collection at Jnane Tamsa. Chiselled good looks in cream stucco and dark wood provide glamour without the gilt. Read expert review From £126per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com.
The romance of gazing over grey zinc rooftops tailing into the distance, of discovering hidden terraces, gardens and unexpected views or layers of history all make Paris the perfect Valentine's destination. True there are plenty of large Paris hotels laying on every conceivable luxury, from chocolate wraps and rose-filled baths to Champagne bubbling from every direction, but true romance often comes from the personality of Paris's small hotels, of the character oozing out of old beams or stone fireplaces, and the intimacy and welcome of places with just a few rooms.
Shangri-La Hotel, Paris Paris, France
8 Telegraph expert rating
Originally the private mansion of Roland Bonaparte, eccentric botanist and great-nephew of Napoleon, the 101 suites and bedrooms at the Shangri-La Paris evoke a grand classical lifestyle, some with balconies from which you can almost touch the Eiffel Tower across the river. Read expert review From £617per nightCheck availability Rates provided byBooking.com.
Hotel des Grands Hommes Paris, France
8 Telegraph expert rating
As the place where the surrealist André Breton wrote Les Champs Magnétiques in 1919, this lovely Latin Quarter boutique hotel offers classical busts behind reception while the bedrooms play on Neo-Classical-style wall coverings and Empire sofas. At the Hotel des Grand Hommes you also have the Panthéon right outside the door. Read expert review From £101per night Check availability Rates provided byBooking.com.
Romance comes in many different guises. In London, it’s not just about views, paramount in a place like Paris or Venice, but other, often unexpected elements as well: bedrooms reached by a rare marble staircase; the surprise of an open fire or old beams and creaky floorboards amongst the soaring towers of The City; the feeling of being cocooned in a time warp, with a notepad by the bed that says ‘dial 0 for anything’; the recipe and ingredients for a perfect champagne cocktail from the mini-bar; a ravishing Belle Epoque restaurant; a Victorian bathing machine in your bedroom; or swathes of marble in your cutting edge bathroom; discreet, impeccable service.
Rosewood London Holborn, London, England
9 Telegraph expert rating
This purpose-built flamboyant Belle Epoque Edwardian building has rare and lovely marble panels and pillars, Cuban mahogany and French walnut fittings. Bedrooms, designed by Tony Chi, are suave and sophisticated with a subtly homely feel and lovely marble bathrooms. Scarfes Bar has become a popular meeting place for Londoners. Read expert review From £374per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
The Rookery The City, London, England
8 Telegraph expert rating
A grown-up boutique hotel on a quiet Smithfield lane, with 33 quirky rooms decked out in 18th-century colours, with antiques, glowing wood and modernised mad plumbing. There’s an Honesty Bar downstairs – and even a tiny garden terrace for the summer. Read expert review From £149per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com.
Few cities can offer the grandeur - the great play of history, drama and infinite variety - on so intimate and accessible a stage as Edinburgh. Festivals, food, the arts; shopping, street parties and even the great outdoors; all are, literally, right at your feet. Whether you lean to rich and riotous gothic fantasy, gorgeously gracious New Town elegance or sparkling, sexy boutique chic, there’s a perfect place to stay for romantics of every persuasion.
The Witchery by the Castle Edinburgh, Scotland
9 Telegraph expert rating
This extraordinary collection of fantasy suites near Edinburgh Castle is the ultimate romantic hideaway: sumptuous, indulgent, and slightly (delightfully) mad. Expect four-poster beds and generous breakfast hampers. The Witchery by the Castle is an outrageous riposte to modern minimalism. Read expert review From £235per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com.
Nira Caledonia Edinburgh, Scotland
8 Telegraph expert rating
If a hotel can be the soul of discretion, this quietly confident hotel is it — this place is for those who want luxury that whispers, rather than shouts. Service is efficient, there are suites with hot tubs, and the delicious steak restaurant is rigorously committed to locally-sourced produce. Read expert review From £98per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com.
The city that gave birth to the Renaissance rhymes with romance in so many ways. The young at heart might join the local courting couples at the scenic viewpoint of Piazzale Michelangelo, or perch on an Arno riverside parapet gazing at the Ponte Vecchio. But even an al fresco table at a traditional osteria, a bottle of Chianti and the right company will make you feel like Botticelli's Venus in this most elegant, cultured and gallant of cities.
Villa La Massa Florence, Tuscany, Italy
8 Telegraph expert rating
There was a time when Grand Tourists chose to stay not in the centre of Florence but in opulent villas in the green belt around the city. This 16th-century Medici villa on a bucolic stretch of the Arno, open from March until the end of October, still breathes the spirit of this age of elegant, unhurried travel. Read expert review From £396per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com.
Villa Cora Florence, Tuscany, Italy
9 Telegraph expert rating
It’s easy to understand why this relatively new arrival on the Florence high-end hotel scene has been such a hit since it opened. Meticulously restored, Villa Cora centres on an eclectic late-19th century villa that feels like a Tuscan film-set fantasy, yet facilities and service are those of a modern luxury hotel. Read expert review From £286per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com.
Paris in the spring they say, but when it comes to romance nothing beats a top-hatted bellhop to help you with your shopping, the tinkle of jazz piano from a lobby bar, or the still, silent view of the Empire State Building from the foot of a king bed. Part of the romance of New York is that it feels just like it looks in the movies; these hotels are some of the best seats.
The Carlyle New York, United States
8 Telegraph expert rating
The Carlyle has been a favourite of everyone from Jackie O to Lady Di. A handsome, 35-storey 1930s Beaux Arts building with 188 Art Deco-styled rooms and suites, grab a cocktail at low-lit Bemelmans Bar off the lobby, or catch a show at supper club Café Carlyle, where Woody Allen plays clarinet every Monday night. Read expert review From £466per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com.
Soho Grand Hotel New York, United States
9 Telegraph expert rating
From the vaulted ceilings, towering columns, and velvet drapes of the high-ceiling Salon lobby at the Soho Grand, to the chic guest rooms and happening nightlife in the Grand Bar and Club Room restaurant, this is an elegant merging of Old World charm and contemporary style. Read expert review From £171per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com.
Bath's USP as a romantic destination is Thermae Bath Spa – in the naturally warm spring waters that feed its indoor and outdoor pools, you can indulge in a long soak with your loved one. Other enticements include plenty of cosseting hotels and b&bs and cosy cafés, pubs and cocktail bars. The elegant Georgian streets and crescents are perfect for hand-in-hand strolls, as is the countryside right on Bath's hilly fringes, with its knock-out views across the city.
The Royal Crescent Bath, Somerset, England
8 Telegraph expert rating
This luxury hotel spreads over two townhouses in the centre of Bath's showpiece Georgian crescent, with a lovely garden and further buildings to the rear. The swanky Spa & Bath House, including a pool, is a big draw for many visitors. Read expert review From £251per night Check availability Rates provided byBooking.com.
The Bath Priory Bath, Somerset, England
8 Telegraph expert rating
The Bath Priory delivers the refined atmosphere and all the trappings of an upmarket country-house hotel, yet within walking distance of the city centre. Outstanding features include the lovely gardens and the food – the hotel has the only Michelin-starred restaurant in Bath. Read expert review From £140per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com.
Intimate, alluring, and with oodles of charm, Amsterdam has been wooing lovers for centuries. Curl up in the snug of a wood-panelled bar, cruise through canals in a sleek private salon boat, then dine languidly by candlelight with a view by Vermeer. Whether you’re sweeping up blooms bursting from the buckets of street-corner flower sellers, or cosied-up in your canal-side hotel, watching swans glide under fairy-lit bridges, you’ll find Amsterdam keeps its promises.
Seven One Seven Amsterdam, Netherlands
8 Telegraph expert rating
A sumptuous canal-house mansion with the ambience of a grand private home. Seven One Seven is the stuff dreams are made on, somewhere to go for that special occasion, or to give yourself a real treat. Eight palatial rooms come replete with period décor. Read expert review From £280per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com.
Hotel Estherea Amsterdam, Netherlands
9 Telegraph expert rating
Hotel Estheréa has an eccentric charm, created by décor that manages to be at once zany, plush, and warmly welcoming. Though large, it offers all the engaging hospitality of an old-fashioned, family-run hotel. The rooms are deliciously over-the-top, and the breakfast ranks with the best in town. Read expert review From £92per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com.
With its flamboyant Baroque churches, fountains and piazzas, its instinct for impromptu street theatre and its numerous citywide views from parks, hotel suites and restaurant tables, Rome seems made for romance. You may not be allowed to wade barefoot into the Trevi Fountain like Anita Ekberg in La Dolce Vita, but there are any number of other scenic backdrops for dalliance and declarations. And the mild weather also helps to stoke those amorous flames.
Hotel Palazzo Manfredi Rome, Italy
8 Telegraph expert rating
It makes no secret of its luxury cachet, this 16-room gem so close to the Colosseum that you can almost hear the lions roar. From the moment you step through the discreet door to be greeted like visiting royalty, the Manfredi dazzles with its tastefully glamorous décor and stunning views. Read expert review From £249per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com.
J.K. Place Roma Rome, Italy
9 Telegraph expert rating
One of Italy’s classiest townhouse hotels, J.K. Place has been much imitated, but few of the copies match the warm, suave, elegant original. The rooms derive much of their charm from the no-expenses-spared quality of the materials used, including antique fireplaces and original framed fashion-house sketches. Read expert review From £431per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com.
Prague's improbable bounty of gorgeous, cool or characterful rooms means that visitors are spoilt for choice at any time of year - and that romance won't require foregoing a mortgage payment. Historic rooms with raftered ceilings look out on gabled roofs in the Malá Strana district, where chimes from church bells drift up Baroque-era streets. Intimate dining rooms invite cocooning, but sleek designs also harmonise with frenetic nights of bar-hopping and art browsing around town.
Aria Hotel Prague Prague, Czech Republic
9 Telegraph expert rating
Not just music lovers, to be sure - but passionate arts and style seekers could hardly do better if it’s within the budget. Inside, designer Rocco Magnoli’s lush textiles, colours and classic hardwood furnishings flow like serenades to style. Read expert review From £198per nightCheck availabilityRates provided by Booking.com.
Appia Hotel Residences Prague, Czech Republic
8 Telegraph expert rating
The Appia hides in a tranquil corner, in the shadow of Prague castle. Old-fashioned but never haughty, the Appia offers a respite of romantic touches behind its old inn appearance. Only breakfast is served on site but the bar opens onto a gorgeous green terraced space. Read expert review From £76per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com.
Contributions by Anne Hanley, Douglas Rogers, Fiona Duncan, Fred Mawer, Lee Marshall, Linda Macdonald, Natasha Edwards, Paula Hardy and Will Tizard.
This article was written by Telegraph Travel experts from The Daily Telegraph and was legally licensed through the NewsCred publisher network.