WHETHER YOU WANT to kiss on a castaway island or tangle in a Tanzanian treehouse, the world's most seductive bolt holes are guaranteed to put you in the mood for love.
Sauciest, by far, has to be London's Portobello Hotel, favoured by rock stars such as Alice Cooper, Van Morrison and Tina Turner, and the place where Kate Moss and Johnny Depp are said to have bathed in bubbly (that's Bollinger not Badedas). Located in the heart of Notting Hill, rooms range from the flagrantly funky to the simply sexy, and include two moodily dark Moroccan chambers, and a four-poster room that boasts a giant Elizabethan bed complete with steps to help you clamber in. The 'waterworks' room features a Victorian bathing machine on its own little island, behind a round bed. Although there's no restaurant at the hotel, guests can visit sister establishment, Julie's, a raffish eatery patronised by the likes of Sean Connery and Madonna. It's known for its gothic-bohemian style and seedy sitting room, referred to by Londoners as the 'snog pit'. (Moroccan rooms $2,824; four-poster room $3,883; waterworks room $3,883. 22 Stanley Gardens, London, W11, tel: [44] 20 7727 2777;
www.portobello-hotel.co.uk)
Lovers who fancy a smouldering location might like Mahakua-Hacienda de San Antonio in Mexico. Nestled in the foothills of a smoking volcano (about 200km from Guadalajara), the strawberry-pink hacienda is on a 2,023-hectare working ranch, complete with glassy lagoons, coffee plantation and a neo-Roman aqueduct. Mahakua is Mexico's first Amanresort - an airy, suite-only retreat where you can get a massage beside a crackling log fire, and where you're always within earshot of running water, thanks to the fountain-filled gardens. The service is stupendous: salsa snacks materialise at your elbow, poolside, and dinner is served at a private table set up in a different location each night. Huge candles light the scene, a brace of waiters helps you through the menu, and ponchos are thoughtfully placed on the back of your chair should the night air turn nippy. (Suites $7,380-$13,206. Municipio de Comala, CP 28450, Colima, Mexico, tel: [52] 312 313 4411;
www.mahakua.com)
If you want your relationship to reach new heights, Lake Manyara Tree Lodge in Tanzania is the place to go. It features 10 rooms cradled in the boughs of ancient mahogany trees. The lodge is situated on the edge of the Great Rift Valley, and overlooks watering holes alive with elephants, zebra and the park's fabled tree-climbing lions (don't worry, they like only 17 of the trees in the area, so you should be safe in yours). Each leafy lair features neutral colours, contemporary furniture and native art. Plus there's a personal butler, treetop showers, and private decks with vast swinging loungers. Ernest Hemingway was inspired to write Green Hills Of Africa after staying at Manyara, and it doesn't take long before guests empathise with his inspiration. (Treehouses $2,758-$3,845. Contact CC Africa on [27] 11 809 4300;
www.ccafrica.com)
Famously louche, the Hotel Costes in Paris was designed by Jacques Garcia, whose ethos of 'all things in excess' has been fully embraced. From the candlelit lobby to the lipstick-red sofas, this place oozes sensuality - and that's before you reach the cosily intimate bedrooms where the heavy curtains, seductive beds and gilt detailing are reminiscent of Josephine Bonaparte's boudoir. Exquisite languor aside, there's also a fearfully expensive bar where le tout Paris gathers to see and be seen (the celeb quotient is high), and some seriously stylish shopping slap-bang on your doorstep. Sex and the city - who could ask for anything more? (Rooms $4,368-$10,930. 239 rue St-Honore, 1st arrondissement, Paris, 75001, tel: [33] 1 4244 5000; www. hotelcostes.com)
Mnemba Island Lodge, on a pristine African atoll off the coast of Zanzibar, is rated by Conde Nast Traveller magazine as one of the three most romantic hotels in the world. Each of the 10 secluded cottages spills onto a heart-shaped swathe of sand, and comes with bleached-wood furnishings and bathroom painted turquoise to match the Indian Ocean. Although the coral reef encircling the island is guaranteed to keep divers goggle-eyed for hours, the languorous pace is perfect for the drop-and-flop crowd. Dinner is served on the beach, and baskets filled with lobsters and tropical fruit are brought in under sail on a traditional ngalawa outrigger. (Cottages $3,845- $4,855. Contact CC Africa on [27] 11 809 4300;
www.ccafrica.com)