Valentine’s Day 2023: 7 sexy hotels in the world

Each resort has a distinct area on the larger property where guests can use the different pools, bars, and restaurants between all three. Apart from being the first word in eco-luxury, Nayara Tented Camp is a sanctuary for sloths created out of the reforestation of hundreds of native trees to grow alongside habitats for native frogs, birds, and armadillos.

The glamorous canvas-shrouded, multi-room tents will recall the most luxurious African safari camps; in fact, designers from Africa were brought over to help with the engineering. Inside the tents, you will find lush interiors, clawfoot tubs, and outdoor showers. The showstopper, however, is the terraces with built-in, hot spring-fed pools that project over the lush canopy below and face the majestic Arenal volcano. 

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This list would not be complete without a hotel in the original city of love, Paris. And what is a more suggestive address than one Maison Souqet in Montmartre, which was once a maison close (upscale brothel) frequented by well-to-do pleasure seekers in the early 1900s?

Today celebrity French designer Jacques Garcia has reimagined the space in a magnificent Belle Époque style infused with bohemian opulence and oriental elegance. Deep red hues adorn the interiors, decorated with the finest silk, gold gilt, Venetian glass, and sculpted wood.

Carefully curated 19th-century furniture, original chinoiserie objects, and flickering scented candles of rose, tobacco, and jasmine crafted by an artisan candle-maker in Lyon complete the tableau.

Rooms and suites number only 20 and are each named after a famous courtesan. They are designed in one of five styles: Indian, Chinese, Japanese, 18th-century, or Napoleon III.

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Reportedly Naomi Campbell’s favourite hotel, this tiny but luxuriously exclusive resort of just 12 cottages, is barefoot luxury at its finest and most relaxed.

Set atop and aside the limestone cliffs of Negril, the idyllic setting encourages languorous days of leisure where you wake up and fall asleep to the crashing of waves on the rocks below.

The stone cottages are charmingly home-spun but with refined facilities and feature thatched roofs, vaulted ceilings, handcrafted wood furnishings, and bright batik prints.

Choose from one- and two-bedroom stone cottages to suites and a splurge-worthy four-bedroom villa, aptly named Clandestino nestled in the jungle. 

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A favourite of celebrities like Hailey and Justin Bieber as well as Kylie and Kendall Jenner when they want to escape from the world, the Amangiri is a modernist luxury enclave in a wild and wind-carved Utah landscape.

An Adrian Zecha-inspired design in collaboration with architects Rick Joy, Marwan Al-Sayed, and Wendell Burnette, this sleek sandstone is a hideaway at the heart of Navajo country, equipped with an incredible spa, excellent restaurant, and the famously indulgent Aman service. Its pool is particularly spectacular, wrapping around a natural rock escarpment that juxtaposes and emphasises the landscape's essential elements: water, rock, and sky.

This 34-room resort offers an array of minimalist suites or one of the canvas-roofed pavilions at Camp Sarika, a tented retreat set apart from the main hotel.

Whichever room you choose, guests will be able to appreciate the raw natural beauty of the surrounding mesas and the region’s mesmerising light play throughout the day.

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There's a reason why the Maldives is the top honeymoon destination for couples worldwide. A one-of-a-kind destination featuring soft white-sand beaches and turquoise waters, and a feeling of being detached from the mundane world as you hop on your seaplane to the cocooning comfort of your resort.

For the ultimate romance and a feeling like you're the last couple on earth, stay at Kudadoo, an adults-only luxury resort. This winning combination of soul-soothing Japanese design, eco-friendly architecture and all-inclusive ultra-luxury can be found on a dreamy private island amid crystal clear waters.

Offering only 15 villas, each extends over the coral-rich ocean and has its own infinity pool and airy interiors that embrace the outdoors.

When you wish to venture from the room, there’s a seafood-specialist restaurant, a champagne-stocked bar, and a salt-cave-toting spa, although the policy here is, ‘anything, anytime, anywhere’. Your round-the-clock butler will make it happen, whether it’s a tailor-made tasting menu or a scuba excursion at sunrise.

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Tucked away in Arashiyama on the outskirts of Kyoto, Hoshinoya Kyoto is a hotel so in tune with its natural surroundings that it’s hard to know where the accommodation begins and nature ends.

From the get-go, guests must be willing to fully immerse themselves in nature to reach the hotel, which is a 15-minute boat ride down the Oi river accompanied by flocks of kingfishers and surrounded by stunning forest.

The hotel comprises a network of century-old traditional Japanese buildings updated by architect Rie Azuma set amongst Japanese gardens, meandering stone pathways, and towering forest trees.

Instead of rooms, the property offers 25 pavilions, each unique, secluded, expertly crafted, and carefully positioned along steep banks above the river to maximise the natural setting. 

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Lake Como, which gained superstar cachet when George Clooney made it his home, has long been a popular retreat for the wealthy since Roman times for its glorious sunshine and gentle pleasures. Hotels here are typically in historic villas decorated with classical furnishings, except the super stylish Il Sereno.

Designed by superstar designer Patricia Urquiola, the property has a contemporary facade inspired by local architect Giuseppe Terragni’s Rationalist structures. Exteriors and interiors were built using natural materials, including stone, wood and copper, with a palette of colours and materials nodding to its lake surroundings. 

Opt for the ultimate in privacy for the Signature Penthouse, which was launched late last year. A one-bedroom suite with breathtaking floor-to-ceiling views of the lake and mountains, a living and dining area, a lake-facing garden and a terrace, the space celebrates Italian design with a material-rich palette of Venetian Terrazzo floors, Canaletto Walnut ceilings and Ceppo di Gre walls.

Urquiola herself selected the contemporary pieces comprising of her Love Me Tender sofa for Moroso and L60 bed for Cassina as well as icons of Italian design, such as Gio Ponti chairs and an Infinito bookcase by Franco Albini and Franca Helg.

Suppose you make it out of this idyllic penthouse, distractions are as sexy, ranging from exploring the lake by boat in the hotel’s sleek, vintage-inspired warm-wood vessels, or having a meal at Michelin chef Andrea Berton’s restaurant for an alfresco dinner of lake-caught fish and other regional bounty.

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