Chester
Flowers wilt and chocolates melt. Avoid clichés this Valentine’s Day and treat your loved one to a memorable break in one of England’s romantic cities.
Get locked in with your loved one in Oxford Castle, see an award-winning performance in London’s West End or travel through Wiltshire in classic Hollywood style with VisitEngland’s guide to the perfect present.
Love and Luxury
Have a weekend to remember in the medieval city of Chester with The Chester Green Bough Hotel. Enjoy a one or two nights all-inclusive ‘Love and Luxury’ break from £295 per room, where added extras include strawberries and chocolates, flowers, full English breakfast and a gourmet evening meal. Begin your evening with canapés and pre-dinner drinks in the lounge or, weather permitting, in the rooftop garden before heading to the hotel’s elegant Olive Tree Restaurant.
Combining stylish elegance, an intimate ambience and unparalleled service, this Victorian town house hotel is the perfect base for a romantic city break.
Vintage Valentine’s
Ancient landmarks, idyllic vistas and a thriving culture scene makes Salisbury a perfect location for a weekend break. From Salisbury Cathedral and Salisbury & South Wiltshire Museum in the city, to the surrounding landscapes and nearby UNESCO World Heritage Site, Stonehenge, Wiltshire combines city culture with rural escapism. This Valentine’s Day, Vintage Classics is offering visitors the opportunity to sightsee from the comfort of a classic car.
Choose from Jaguars, Spiders, and Stags, and hire your own fabulous vintage car for the day – guaranteed to get the pulse racing - followed by chilled Champagne, and a candlelit four-course dinner. Available from 9th - 16th February, prices range from £410 - £510 depending on the car.
Prisoners of Love
Image courtesy of doug.neiner, Flickr
Get locked in with your loved one this Valentine’s Day as Oxford Castle’s biggest attraction and The Big Bang restaurant team up to provide a captivating evening to remember. Oxford’s Big Bang Restaurant specialises in traditional favourites with a modern edge. Using locally sourced produce, this is an authentic taste of Oxford, mixed with the best of the city’s art and local live music. In true English eccentricity, the meal will be served in the intimate and unique surroundings of your very own custodial cell within the infamous Oxford Castle Prison.
Two dining slots are available - 7pm and 9pm - and prices start at £50 per couple.
Belle Époque
Oozing traditional Tudor charm, Stratford-upon-Avon is a picture-perfect backdrop to a romantic break. The town’s Macdonald Alveston Manor, just five minutes’ walk from the town centre and famous Royal Shakespeare Threatre, offers Valentine’s stays for just £70 per person per night. Quote VAL to qualify for the added-value package that includes accommodation in a classic double bedroom, full English breakfast, a four-course candlelit dinner, rose petals on the bed and use of the hotel’s vital leisure club during your stay.
Royally Romantic
Forget the New Year diet – Valentine’s Day is a time to indulge, and a dine and stay offer at the iconic and luxurious Royal Crescent in Bath is an experience you can’t turn down. Beyond its magnificent façade, this hotel is renowned for its charm, elegance and superb service. Skillfully converted coach houses in the landscaped gardens now accommodate the award-winning Dower House Restaurant and a luxury spa.
With the hotel’s indulgent Valentine’s Weekend package you will be met with roses, chocolates and a bottle of Ruinart Champagne in your room on arrival. You’ll also receive two 45-minute treatments as well as full use of the Spa, full English breakfast daily and a decadent six-course dinner on one evening, accompanied by a live pianist. Available Friday 15th – Sunday 17th February, this two night package costs from £810, based on a Classic Double room.
One for the English Gent
With Georgian mansions, Viking settlements, Gothic masterpieces and Victorian cobbled streets all squeezed within Roman walls, York is a popular location for couples. Middlethorpe Hall is a perfect William and Mary country house c.1699-1701 built from beautifully laid mellow red brick with panelled interiors built for Thomas Barlow, a prosperous master cutler who bought the Middlethorpe estate in 1698 as a bid to establish himself as a country gentleman.
Restore chivalry in the modern age by treating your loved one to a York Wrapped Up package, which runs until March. A two-night York Wrapped Up break includes breakfast and a free dinner for two, as well as a three day York pass for the price of two, to discover one of England’s best loved and most enchanting cities. Rooms cost from £95 - £440 per room per night.
A Show of Love
Image courtesy of Mr Andy Bird, Flickr
Love up your partner in London’s West End with a Midnight Tango or some Singin' in the Rain. London’s Hilton Hotels have teamed up with theatre breaks to ensure your Valentine’s stands out from the typical night in or dinner out. From classic romantics such as Mamma Mia or Les Miserables, to lighthearted shows like Wicked or The Lion King, visitor can choose either pre-made theatre break packages or mix and match their chosen hotels and shows, and even add rail tickets and entry to some of London's best attractions.
With over 47 theatres to choose from, and a database of some of the capital’s finest hotels, you’ll be guaranteed star-quality treatment, right in the heart of theatreland.
Take a Walk on the Wild Side
Image courtesy of Karen Roe, Flickr
Spoil the one you love this Valentine’s Day with a wildly different gift – a stay at ZSL Whipsnade Zoo’s Lookout Lodge. Gift vouchers on sale now from ZSL Whipsnade Zoo offer the chance to live out your very own Tarzan and Jane fantasy with an overnight stay in a lodge set at the heart of the Zoo, waking to wild animals and spectacular scenery.
You’ll be welcomed with a glass of bubbly and a mouth-watering barbeque opposite the tiger enclosure, and the following morning can have breakfast on the veranda accompanied by the sounds of the animals starting their day. End your experience with a private morning tour of the zoo. Available from March to October, the experience can be given as a Valentine’s gift in voucher form. An adult experience voucher, which is valid for two adults and is not date specific, costs £410.
For more romantic travel ideas in England visit www.visitengland.com/moreromantic
For great hotel deals in the UK click here to visit lowcostholidays.com
Where are you spending Valentine's Day? Tell us in the comments below or tweet us @FemaleFirst_UK
FemaleFirst