The Most Romantic Hotels

The Four Seasons Jimbaran Bay, Bali

When Elizabeth Gilbert, the author of Eat Pray Love returns to the island paradise where she rediscovered romance, she stays at The Four Seasons Jimbaran Bay. Dozens of thatched-roof villas in the style of traditional Balinese homes climb an oceanside hill opposite the most sacred mountain in Bali.

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Each villa offers ikat bed linens, an infinity-edge plunge pool, and its own cozy dining pavilion where the gracious local staff serves Balinese breakfast coffee and trays of tempting tropical fruit.

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Blakes Hotel, London

Not far from London’s Victoria and Albert design museum in South Kensington, Blakes is a veritable cabinet of curiosities in its own right thanks to designer Anouska Hempel.

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Luxury suites include the Venetian, with its Murano glass-jeweled bed swathed in rich fabrics, the Dorian Grey chambers fitted in soothing dove and taupe tones, and the Biedermeier Suite, which stars period antiques and a four-post bed. The Chinese Room and Blakes bar are equally lush, lit by candles and decorated in similarly deep hues.

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Chateau Marmont, Los Angeles

Samuel Goldwyn advised his starlets that the Chateau Marmont was the place to look for love. And no wonder: from the outside, the hotel looks like castle improbably planted on a steep slope above Sunset Boulevard. 

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Inside, owner Andre Balazs has furnished the glamorous lobby and rooms with flattering lighting and sumptuous seating – not to mention sweeping views of Los Angeles from the private balconies.

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The Crosby Street Hotel, New York City

Like a pinch of Knightsbridge wedged onto a quiet cobbled New York lane, the Crosby Street Hotel features a courteous staff and traditional English teatime in the hotel drawing room. London-based owners Tim and Kit Kemp (see their bold and beautiful townhouse in ELLE DECOR) built the place from the ground up, with light-filled guest rooms featuring oversized steel-framed factory windows.
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The interiors are an eclectic mix of vintage-inspired furnishings and wing chairs covered in cheerful fabric from Galbraith and Paul. The bathrooms themselves are handsomely outfitted in oak and stock aromatic handmade soaps by London’s Miller Harris. 

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Baudon De Mauny, Montpellier, France

The distinctive Baudon de Mauny hotel is a city chateau that has remained in the owner’s family for seven generations.

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Adding to the feeling of privilege and privacy, there are just five guest rooms—each named for its Cole and Sons wallpaper pattern—along with a single pied-a-terre apartment with two bedrooms. The owner’s wife, interior designer Nathalie Duroyon, enlivens the spacious rooms with a chic mix of modern furniture by the likes of Rietveld and Bertoia.

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Hacienda De San Antonio, Mexico

More than two hours into the tropical terrain beyond Guadalajara, the secluded Hacienda de San Antonio has been ingeniously reconstructed on ancient foundations.

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Large guest rooms conceived by New York-based designer Robert Couturier open to shaded courtyards brimming with leafy plants and exquisite folk art. Guests partake of fresh-caught seafood from the Pacific and an encyclopedic selection of exquisite artisanal tequilas. 

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The House Hotel Bosporus, Istanbul

The House Hotel's nearly all-white residence boasts panoramas of nearby Asian Istanbul from its many balconies and terraces. 

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The marble stairway and original plaster moldings inside were carefully preserved, while the De la Espada furnishings are sleek and custom-designed using natural walnut and neutral fabrics, all in deference to the spectacular setting. In the penthouse suite, the milk-white marble bathroom boasts a rainforest shower, a deep, oversized soaking tub, and lotions and potions from L’Occitane en Provence. 

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La Mamounia, Marrakesh, Morocco

Designer Jacques Garcia’s lavish reimagining of La Momounia’s 1920’s architecture is unabashedly sensual, featuring Arabesque keyhole doorways, traditional Moorish tilework, and Victorian velvets. 

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The new spa riffs on the pleasures of a traditional North African hammam and the on-site perfumery stocked with scents from French perfumer Serge Lutens serves as another source of sensory pleasure. 

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The Montage, Beverly Hills

The Montage’s interiors take cues from Spanish Colonial and Mediterranean styles, brining a worldly feel to a hotel with decidedly Beverly Hills-style amenities such as a beauty bar and children’s club.

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Suites are spacious but enveloping, thanks to sumptuous fabrics and an elegant color palette—not to mention the coziness of adjusting the lights, drapes, and temperature from one device. A final bonus – don’t miss the various getaways within the property. Both the Beverly Canon gardens and £10 bar make for picture-perfect backdrops for romantic evenings.

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The New York Palace, New York City

Modeled after Renaissance palazzos in 1882, Madison Avenue’s Villard Houses are arguably the grandest vestige of New York’s gilded age. 

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The high-rise hotel addition to the houses has picture windows with stunning views of St. Patrick’s gothic spires across the street, and inside, boasts thick carpets, mahogany bookshelves, and opulent crystal. Perhaps the most indulgent part of the Palace – especially for space-starved New Yorkers – are the suites’ opulent, marble bathrooms, featuring soaking tubs and Molten Brown accessories.

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