World's Most Romantic Hotels 2011

Whatever your vision for a romantic getaway, one of the world’s most romantic hotels will fit the bill.

What’s more romantic than staying at a former 19th-century monastery with vibrant sofas, bleached wood floors, and a bamboo garden that doubles as an echo chamber? How about setting this hotel, the Centurion Plaza, among the canals of romantic Venice.

Fortunately, the days of the heart-shaped hot tub are over. Today, the features that define the world’s most romantic hotels are much more understated. Of course, no matter what the aesthetic of the hotel might be, a classic romantic location—Venice, Napa, Bali, or New York—will always add to the magic.

And while everyone has their own definition of romance, some trends have emerged. One of them: cold is cool. Hotel Kakslauttanen & Igloo Village—hidden away in Finland’s Lapland wilderness—has created a personalized approach to the ice-hotel concept. Year-round, you’ll find 20 domed “igloos” made out of thermal glass—perfect for stargazing from your underground room. But if you go between December and April, you can stay in a real igloo, built from actual snow and outfitted with fluffy down sleeping bags. Plus, you’ll have a first-row seat for the multihued laser show that is the northern lights (Eskimo-kissing optional).

Closer to home, you’ll find the perfect setting for a seaside stroll. At Big Sur’s Glen Oaks, a brisk hike to secret Pfeiffer Beach will deposit you in soft purple (yes, purple) sand. Back at the hotel, the natural theme continues—cottages sit between the river and the redwood trees, each outfitted with cast-iron stoves and showers built for two.

And what’s sexier than James Bond? Jamaica’s GoldenEye—the cliff-top retreat once owned by Bond creator Ian Fleming—brings a celebrity twist to the romantic experience. Couples love to book Fleming’s original three-bedroom villa, which still features the writer’s Jamaican red bulletwood desk. It’s the perfect place to write a love letter to your mate, or maybe the next great spy novel.

We all know there are as many ways to define romance as there are humans, but this list of the world’s most romantic hotels has something for (almost) everyone.

Four hand-hewn wooden pavilions stretch along the sand dunes on quiet St. Kitts. Although it’s part of Christophe Harbour—ultimately destined to become a 2,500-acre development with a 300-acre marina and an 18-hole, Tom Fazio–designed golf course—for now, this feels like a true hideaway, complete with private plunge pools and direct-from-your-patio access to the ocean.

Top Table: Beach House, the hotel’s restaurant, is the best on the island, specializing in seafood from the Basseterre market (we recommend the wahoo tartare). Doubles from $550.

It’s a 100-mile drive from Missoula International Airport to this 6,600-acre spread, but the posh high-mountain pampering is worth it. Ponds are full of trout, cabins come with well-stocked wine fridges and claw-foot tubs, and spa treatments are tailor-made for two.

Cabin to Book: Built from fallen wood found on site, the secluded Trapper Tent has its own hot tub, gas fireplace, and etched-glass windows overlooking Rock Creek. From $900 per person, including meals and most activities.

Out on South Africa’s Kalahari plains, the fiery sunsets alone are enough to make visitors giddy. After a day tracking cheetahs and black rhinos on game drives in the largest private nature reserve in South Africa, there’s no better place for you to rejuvenate and reacquaint yourself with your mate.

Dine Alfresco: Dine on five-star Pan-African cuisine under the Kalahari’s bright nighttime sky before retiring to your spacious thatched-roof legae.

American expat Jayne Gunderson and her husband, Fernando Lleida Arcas, who comes from a distinguished line of Spanish hoteliers, turned a 12-acre olive and citrus farm into a venue for weddings, then opened 21 rooms for overnight guests. Interiors combine mementos from the couple’s travels—French antique desks, Kenyan objets d’art—with furnishings handcrafted by Toledan artisans.

Rendezvous Spot: The 200-year-old oak tree, overlooking Toledo and the historic estates along the banks of the Tagus River. Doubles from $200.

Jet-set bohemians and creative types have flocked to GoldenEye since the mid 20th century, when it was the cliff-top retreat of Ian Fleming, who wrote 14 of his James Bond novels here. Fresh from a two-year overhaul courtesy of its current owner, Island Records founder Chris Blackwell, the property has morphed from private villa rental to full-fledged 22-room hotel. But thanks to Blackwell’s irrepressible, highly personal touch, the mood remains the same: a tropical playground for well-traveled expats from some latter-day Noël Coward play. Amid gardens of banyan and mango trees, the new waterfront cottages have ultramodern amenities (kitchen appliances by Renzo Piano) and design flourishes from Blackwell’s stylish friends (including Barbara Hulanicki of Biba and Pink Sands fame). Fleming’s original three-bedroom villa is available for booking and still features the writer’s own desk, carved out of Jamaican red bulletwood and surrounded by louvered windows looking out to the sea. Doubles from $536.

A simple cottage built from golden tuff stone was recently converted into this waterfront enclave on Sicily’s rugged, picturesque Favignana Island, a summer destination for Italians in the know. The intimate hotel—just five guest rooms, a breakfast room, and a central living area awash in soothing seaside colors—is furnished in chic Euro fashion (bold Ingo Maurer light fixtures and canopied beds with Bellora linens). Contemplate the turquoise Mediterranean from a teak table at the adjoining beach club, then take to the waters on one of the hotel’s two boats.

Best Spot to Soak All Day: Room No. 4’s freestanding bathtub, perfectly positioned in front of the window to catch the ocean breeze. Doubles from $260.

Ensconced in the heart of the medina, this riad underwent a 3 1/2-year restoration that enhanced its existing features—mosaic-adorned walls and floors in Fez’s signature shade of vibrant blue—with copper work, embroidery, and calligraphy from some of the most skilled artisans in town.

Prime Lookout: Misriah 2, accessed by a mosaicked staircase, is the only room with a rooftop terrace and expansive views of the medina. Great Value Doubles from $175.

The 12-acre hacienda, set amid the rolling hills and volcanoes of Ecuador’s northern highlands, leaves no romantic stone unturned, from the extensive gardens (commanded by an army of peacocks) to the in-house spa.

Place to Lounge: Each of the tiled rooms has a fireplace, where your butler can light a fire while you finish dessert.

Staying here feels like cruising on an ocean liner. The glamorous hotel juts out over Victoria Harbour; turn off the lights in your room (two-thirds of them have views of the water), and the city provides sensual backlighting. Or take a swim in the granite pool—it’s as if you’re floating off into the sea.

Tip-Top Service: Butlers are on hand 24 hours a day to satisfy every whim, whether it’s chauffeuring you around town in a Mercedes or scattering a thousand rose petals over your suite.

Just off California’s most dramatic stretch of coast, this recently expanded cluster of cabins and lodge rooms was made for sybaritic nature lovers. The setting sweeps from redwood-studded hills to the banks of the Big Sur River, and sustainable touches such as bamboo floors and organic cottons stay true to the region’s eco-minded ethos.

Bracing Seaside Stroll: Head 4 1/2 miles to hidden Pfeiffer Beach, where the surf crashes against jagged rock formations along purple (yes, purple) sand. Great Value Doubles from $155.

Situated on 23,000 acres of a former pineapple plantation, the Kapalua Resort offers quick access to both the reefs of Kapalua Bay and rainforest preserves. After extensive renovations, the chintz curtains and library fireplace are gone, replaced by kukui tree–patterned rugs covering dark Brazilian ironwood floors and wrought-iron lanais. And what could be more romantic than the Pacific Ocean view from your room?

Whale Wonders: Join a whale-watching excursion, offered from December through April, to get up close and personal with humpbacks.

This oasis, set on a 140-acre peninsula of Virgin Gorda, is so secluded you have to take a boat or helicopter to get here. After being whisked to one of the ocean-view suites—each of which comes with an outdoor shower and a pair of bicycles—head to Deep Bay, where a trove of catamarans and kayaks awaits. Go for a ride along the coastline, and call one of the coves your own for the day.

Relax: Book the signature Island Cooler treatment at the spa: a revitalizing salt scrub, soothing aloe body wrap, and massage.

On this westernmost European archipelago, an abandoned 18th-century village of tumbledown stone cottages was renovated into a folksy rural getaway—lace curtains; iron beds with homemade quilts—against a jaw-dropping landscape. Basalt paths lead to waterfalls and deep calderas known as the Seven Lakes, and the greenness of the surrounding valley resembles J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth.

Best Place for a Picnic: At one of the outdoor tables high above the Atlantic, with a loaf of bread and a wedge of cheese from the dairy in the nearby town of Fajãzinha. Great Value Doubles from $80.

Ancient eucalyptus trees flank a long and stately drive leading to the family-run estancia, 15 minutes outside Salta in Argentina’s subtropical northwest. Four new guest quarters (three of them suites) recently joined the 10 existing rooms, all furnished with exquisite taste by co-owner Stéphanie Fenestraz: embroidered sheets; cowhide rugs; antique slipper chairs and love seats covered in white linen and draped with indigenous textiles. The sweet-smelling jasmine shrubs that give the property its name are joined by vegetable gardens and a fruit orchard.

Place to Lounge: The sofas around the huge open hearth in the new La Table de House of Jasmines restaurant, which specializes in hearty regional cuisine—from locro stew to meat-filled empanadas. Great Value Doubles from $230.

Live the life of a refined beach bum at this wellness-focused Baja Peninsula resort, owned by an American former CEO who traded the corporate world for a simpler life by the surf. Most of the 27 suites face the water, and shaded daybeds, swimming pools, and mangrove trees dot the grounds. Guests get complimentary use of surfboards, boogie boards, and bicycles for cavorting on land or sea.

Morning Jolt: A smoothie of locally made yogurt and tropical fruit is a delicious refresher after a 9 a.m. yoga class in the oceanfront pavilion. Great Value Doubles from $200, including breakfast and daily yoga classes.

A sense of mystery and magic pervades this secluded retreat on a southern Japanese island covered in old-growth cedars. The 28 airy suites and villas have teak furniture and rattan lamps fashioned by Balinese craftsmen, but interiors are decidedly Japanese, with sliding screens and delicate porcelain cups from Kyoto.

Dinner for Two: Chef Chiharu Takei can craft personalized meals from locally sourced ingredients: a risotto of Asahi crab and bamboo shoots, for example, followed by grilled Nakayama sirloin in a yuzu-and-pepper sauce. Doubles from $515.

A quick seaplane ride from the capital of Male lands you on a private island ringed by white sand, coconut palms, and a reef that harbors schools of tropical fish. Ask for an overwater villa, then dine at one of the world’s only underwater restaurants while gazing out at the ocean floor.

Into the Deep: A dive master leads expeditions to search for gentle whale sharks in parts of the Indian Ocean beyond the Baa Atoll. Doubles from $1,170.

The rush of midtown Manhattan becomes a hazy, glamorous blur from inside this cocoon of a hotel, a stellar example of streamlined maximalism (rosewood and marble flown in from Milan; walk-in closets big enough for a family of four). Part of a 60-story tower, the hotel features uniquely faceted windows angled downward for almost dizzying views of New York glittering at your feet.

Hot and Cold: The Auriga spa is perfect for couples; relax in between treatments at the Aqua Lounge, which has an otherworldly hammam and a “chill room” with a trough of herb-infused ice. Doubles from $595.

The latest from developer Sam Nazarian of SLS Hotels, the 57-room Redbury gives guests preferred access and car service to its buzzy sister properties—including XIV restaurant and the Colony nightclub. The splashy décor was masterminded by the hotel’s creative director, fashion photographer Matthew Rolston.

Signature Scent: The Redbury’s own fragrance, a rich plumeria with Oriental notes, wafts through the building—and the valet-parking station. Doubles from $299.

It’s a canal-side palazzo with a twist: Each of the 50 rooms in the 19th-century monastery turned merchant’s residence—located on one of the best spots on the Grand Canal—forsakes traditional grandeur for a design-forward sensibility, thanks to bleached-wood floors and sinuous, vibrantly hued sofas.

Best for Secret Serenades: The echoing arcade in the courtyard, centered around an ancient well and a bamboo garden. Doubles from $286.

The creative energy is palpable at this boho 40-room boutique hotel, once home to the Communist Party archives and now the most fashionable address in the arty Mitte district.

Coziest Quarters: While certainly not the largest, the attic rooms—with fire-engine red bed frames and rain showers—have a quirky La Bohème feel.Great Value Doubles from $130.

Capitalizing on the city’s evocative history, owner Narelle McMurtrie converted two rows of Chinese shop houses into 10 suites that call to mind early-20th-century Asia. Antique doors inset with colored glass, latticed wood dividers, and a reading room in a former coffee roastery, along with the sounds of trishaws pedaling by, add era-appropriate ambience.

Movie Night: Asian films are projected each evening in the courtyard of the hotel’s Kopi Cine Café. Great Value Doubles from $128.

Deep in the South Australian outback, 4 1/2 hours from Adelaide, Arkaba Station—a 19th-century sheep ranch turned luxury lodge—feels remote enough for most. But for an even more thorough immersion in the landscape, the 1856 homestead’s walking safaris may just be the ultimate means of getting away from it all. Guides Kat Mee and Brendon Bevan lead groups of up to eight on a four-day, 30-mile route through Flinders Ranges National Park, known for its centuries-old river red gum trees and hills covered in pompon-like golden wattle. (Your bags await each evening at camp, along with a three-course dinner and a hot outdoor shower.) Plush beds and feather duvets on open-air wooden platforms ensure a good night’s rest, although the wilderness doesn’t lack for background noise: Listen for the call of kookaburras and magpies at dawn and dusk, a kind of outback melody.

Star Struck: The constellations never seemed so bright; ask your guide to point out the Southern Cross and Scorpio, which shimmer across a huge swath of sky. From $1,950 per person for a four-day tour, all-inclusive.

In the vast Lapland wilderness, towering pines loom above 40 fireplace-equipped log cabins and 20 domed “igloos” of thermal glass. From December through April, you can also stay in one of eight real igloos built from snow and equipped with down sleeping bags. The real draw is the almost surreal setting from which to watch the northern lights—currently on the rise until this cycle’s peak in 2015.

Elopement Alert: The seasonal snow chapel provides a fairy-tale mood for a winter wedding (Finnish ceremony and wedding cake optional). Great Value Doubles from $185.

A façade decorated with eucalyptus branches marks the entrance to Inkaterra’s newest property, a more affordable alternative to the group’s Machu Picchu Pueblo Hotel. It’s an ideal getaway for couples whose idea of romance is a high-altitude trek: the stripped-down yet comfortable rooms don’t distract from the beauty just beyond your door, and the breakfast buffet is loaded with hiker-friendly fare.

Alfresco Bath Time: At night, head for the natural hot spring ringed by tiny candles. Great Value Doubles from $200.

Channel a modern-day maharajah in one of 40 futuristic tented cubes at this cutting-edge Rajasthani compound. Each canvas-walled structure comes with wrought-iron lanterns, an oversize four-poster bed, and an open-air pavilion, with the awe-inspiring Amber Fort as backdrop.

Mood Lighting: Paper-thin latticework curtains act as alluring filters for the sun’s rays. Doubles from $360.

On a hill in a private reserve within the Maji Moto Group Ranch, owned by the local Masai people, this eco-lodge was designed by Anthony Russell, the architect-conservationist behind the award-winning Shompole. The curvaceous thatched-roof structure, built to blend in with the undulating landscape, houses seven guest cottages with whitewashed walls, exposed beams, and polished flagstone floors.

Amazing Race: The lodge borders the area’s wildebeest migration route. Get a front-row seat on your veranda, or book a helicopter ride for a bird’s-eye view of the action. Doubles from $1,370, all-inclusive.

Deep in the tangled green of Mexico’s western highlands, a 19th-century casa grande opens onto an organic farm, a coffee plantation, and a formal garden inspired by the one at Spain’s Alhambra palace. Since the hacienda was restored in the early ’90s and acquired by Amanresorts, its antiques-filled suites nearly outshine their enchanted 5,000-acre setting.

Mood Lighting: Dinner is presented in one of the hotel’s secret nooks or alfresco, where candles and stars provide the only light.

Although it became a hotel not too long ago, Glendorn hasn’t changed much since the oil-rich Dorn family vacationed in their 1929 redwood lodge. And with the scarcity of other guests on the 1,280-acre property, the two of you can be lords of this northern Pennsylvania manor. Cozy up to the stone fireplace in the Great Hall, and enjoy mulled wine. Whether you check into one of the lodge’s rooms or one of the rustic cabins, nothing but the gently rolling brook outside your window will disturb the peace.

Get Active: Snowshoe off the porch into the Allegheny Forest, or shoot skeet at dawn with the rifle master.

Opened in 1932, this classic hotel in the upscale Recoleta neighborhood defines Buenos Aires’s European-aspiring swish hotel tradition. Up the romantic ante at afternoon tea in the L’Orangerie restaurant, where Argentina’s obsession with delicate sweets will be on full display. Pair the Alvear Blend—a mélange of black grains, almonds, Mediterranean citrus, and rose petals—with a slice of signature decadent dulce de leche Alvear Cake.

Superb Service: Each guest is assigned a bilingual butler who will do everything from unpacking and pressing clothes to drawing a bath before bedtime.

At Manhattan’s most aristocratic grand hotel, it seems, the Gilded Age never ended. Diplomats, presidents, and Hollywood actresses continue to duck in and out of the famous side entrance. No place in New York has inspired more forbidden love—rumor has it that Marilyn couldn’t resist visiting her presidential paramour in his luxe suite.

Uptown Nightlife: For an intimate night out, don’t miss cocktails at Bemelmans (with murals by the author of the Madeline children’s books) and cabaret at Café Carlyle.

In a city whose romantic allure has long been predicated on the splendor of its views, the Four Seasons offers endless possibilities. Many guest rooms feature floor-to-ceiling windows that provide sight lines all the way to Chinatown and sparkling San Francisco Bay.

Get Active: Should you feel the need to leave your room, enroll in the candlelight stretch class at the attached Sports Club/LA.