The anatomy of a perfect honeymoon hotel: what to look for and what to avoid

“If you have love, you don’t need anything else,” wrote J M Barrie. An eternal truth; and yet a century on, in a world where so many of us have already been everywhere and done everything, there is huge pressure on the honeymoon to be perfect, a no-expense-spared trip of a lifetime. It doesn’t need to be. Cutting loose from the world for a while is enough, either in a place you love or somewhere new to discover together.

Choose a place to suit both your souls, where you’ll be happy for a week or two, particularly in a world where travel may still be complicated. Certain hotels, whether it’s a game-changer or a grande dame, have the X-factor – that inimitable quality that makes them magical, sets them apart from all the others, which has nothing to do with price. 

That magic is different for everyone. It might be the art on the walls, or the stories buried within them; it might be a vibe, a setting, or a place where you can sleep deeply and awake feeling like gods. Or perhaps it’s just that feeling that you’re home, only better. 

Location

Great hotels are not simply set in great locations, but shaped by them. The location should run right through it: in the view, of course, but also in the food, the philosophy, the architecture and design.  Choose a setting that moves you, whether ocean or mountains, an empty wilderness or a city with hidden depths. Certain landscapes are imbued with a romance that can tip postnuptial happiness into vertigo: Impressionistic Provence or Tuscany’s gilded hills; the timeless dolce vita of Italy’s Lakes or Riviera. 

Islands cannot fail, with their inherent romance that comes from being cut off from the rest of the world. Go-slow Mediterranean islands, steeped in history, are bewitching for lovers: Ischia, Formentera, Hydra, Sicily, Corsica, with fingernail coves scented by wildflowers.

Then there are those private palm-fringed paradises, such as North Island Seychelles and Maldives original Gili Lankanfushi, Indonesia’s Bawah Reserve, or The Brando, adrift in the South Pacific. For wilder spirits, some craggy outpost, from sensational Islas Secas on Panama’s Pacific coast to Eilean Shona in Scotland.