The Best Valentine's Stays

For the first time in its 147 year history St. Pancras Renaissance is opening up its show-stopping staircase and turning it into London's most romantic restaurant. Located in the heart of the hotel, the gold leaf and hand stencilled staircase is jaw droppingly beautiful, hosting everyone from Victorian royalty to The Spice Girls - yes, it was THE staircase in THAT video. The special supper seats eight and is served under the 'stars' - featured in the astronomical detailing. It starts with a private champagne and canape reception followed by a romantic candle-lit four-course candlelight dinner. Each course, including Devon crab cakes and slow-cooked beef cheek with all the trimmings, comes perfectly paired with wine selected by the sommelier. Vegetarian and vegan options are also available at the dinner which will set you back £155 per person. Book in for a private sitting for an additional £594 and you'll be treated to opera performances on the staircase for a spine tingling end to your evening.

Abandon your inhibitions and book into a suite at Blakes Hotel where 'Behind Closed Doors' sees the luxury South Kensington hotel partner with lingerie and lifestyle brand Kiki De Montparnasse. Silk pyjamas and a hand embroidered eyemask - inspired by the neon sign at subterranean bar, Blakes Below - are laid out in your suite by the king-sized bed. A scented lotus candle with natural wax that melts into a warm massage oil helps create a sensual atmosphere while a leather hand-braided whip and a double-sided tickler turn up the kink. All this luxury doesn't come cheap - with prices from £5,000 - but that does include gold engraved handcuffs, Champagne, unlimited room service and breakfast, lunch and dinner in your room.

In our book, Claridge's takes the crown as the most romantic hotel in London. Steeped in Art Deco design and located in the heart of Mayfair, it's perfectly placed for the shops of Bond Street, art at the RA and a romantic stroll around leafy Hyde Park. With the recent addition of new restaurant Davies and Brook, it's in the spotlight again - as if it ever went away. When style is this timeless, you don't need to come up with gimmicks.

If you're bored of staying in faceless international hotels, then you should try this quirky Soho gem where no two rooms are the same. Georgian panelling, cavernous fireplaces and gothic screens make entering Hazlitt's feel like you're stepping into the 18th century, though this is a past with internet access, air-conditioning and well-equipped bathrooms. A strange and beautiful place that is particularly popular with writers and artists - it even has its own library complete with two signed first editions of Harry Potter from Hazlitt's regular JK Rowling and first editions of Charles Dickens novels. If you're charmed by Hazlitt's, visit equally seductive sister hotels The Rookery in Clerkenwell and Batty Langley's in Spitalfields.

Filled with old fashioned touches like wood panelling, old paintings, stone flagged floors, claw foot baths and open fires, The Rookery has plenty of character. And all rooms are named after former residents. The homely atmosphere is further enhanced by the helpful, friendly service. Just two minutes' walk to Farringdon underground station, Clerkenwell's trendy bars and Smithfield Market offer plenty of attractions on the doorstep.

Batty Langley's is the newest venture from Peter McKay and Douglas Blain, the duo behind romantic, boutique hotels Hazlitt's in Soho and The Rookery in Clerkenwell. More than a decade in the making, the Spitalfields hotel is modelled on genuine antique furniture and fittings to match the Georgian period. Following the advice of the woman the hotel is named after, landscape designer and architect Batty Langley, the house is styled "in the most Grand Taste". Spacious ground floor rooms, including a parlour, tapestry room and library, are decorated with 3,500 books dotted around. One room has a huge marble bath, another a vast Victorian bathing machine complete with shower and body spray. Freestanding cast iron roll top baths, bathing machines and walk-in showers abound. Best summed up as a "return to Georgian life with the comforts of the 21st century".

The h Club, the hip private members' club, exhibition gallery and popular hangout for creative industry types, also has 15 bedrooms - available to both members and non-members. Rooms ranging from small to suites are designed by Russell Sage Studios and curated by fifteen emerging contemporary artists giving each a unique character. All come with rainforest showers, REN toiletries, Roberts radios, original artwork and a cocktail trolley service. With small rooms offering an affordable place to crash if you've missed the last tube home and suites expanding into adjoining rooms via interconnecting doors, there's something to suit all requirements, from rock stars to press junkets.

Celebrate Valentine's Day with a stay at luxury boutique hotel The Lalit London (from £329 per room) and you'll get to stay in the school where novelist Lawrence Durrell was once a pupil. Replacing classrooms with lessons in love, the romantic package includes a bottle of Prosecco in your room and a sumptuous five-course meal at pan-Indian restaurant Baluchi, accompanied by the discreet sounds of Jazz Duo. No need for a speedy exit the next morning. Enjoy a lie in thanks to a complimentary late check-out, before tucking into a full English breakfast for two. Book in for a night and the two of you will get to stay in one of the beautiful bedrooms, each different in design and decorated with bespoke Indian art.

Newly opened in 2019, The Biltmore, the first European property from Hilton's LXR brand, is collaborating with British perfume house Penhaligon's for Valentine's Day. The fragrant package includes dinner at The Betterment and a trip to Burlington Arcade where Penhaligon's will treat you to a personalised fragrance profile. Enjoy an olfactory journey to find your perfect perfume match and get a personalised engraved fragrance bottle. Back at the hotel, you can dine in style on a special Valentine's menu of Brixham crab and beef fillet at The Betterment, created by head chef Paul Walsh, finished by a rich red velvet cake with raspberry and rose petal sorbet. The Valentine's package is priced from £600 (based on two sharing) and is available from 14th until 16th February 2020.