Where to stay in Barcelona
Hotel Miramar
This hotel's new extension caused uproar in 2007 – the exposed steel work and sharp angles can be seen from some distance and weren't considered in keeping with the hotel's 1929 villa facade. But it works, "in the way that daring European architecture can often sit against more traditional buildings", says Kate Hughes in The Independent. Situated on the hill of Montjuic, the hotel offers "hypnotic views of the sea and city and an overwhelming sense of space".
What people say
The Miramar's position is "outstanding", says Hughes. It is surrounded by sights including the Montjuic I Llobera Botanical Gardens. However, while "the hotel claims that it's a ten-minute walk to the city centre... unless you're an Olympic athlete, it'll be at least 15".
The rooms
The hotel's 75 rooms mostly have views of either the city or the sea. So it's unlike other Barcelona hotels, "which can just about muster one tip of the Sagrada Familia if you stand on the bed".
The cost
A standard double room with a terrace costs from €132, with prices rising to €268 for a suite on a room only basis. Breakfast is an extra €27 per person. For more, go to www.hotelmiramarbarcelona.com, or call 00 34 93 281 16 00.
Chic & Basic Born
This is a stylish, modern hotel with an air of class despite the bargain-basement price tag. Located in Barcelona's El Born quarter, you've got history on your doorstep in the form of the Gothic Santa Maria del Mar church.
What people say
It's a "cheeky little number inhabiting a high- ceilinged, swirly staircased old building", says The Sunday Times Travel magazine. The interior "definitely divides the ranks: some guests adore the near-fetishistic obsession with lighting, which plays on surfaces, turning them neon/psychedelic; others recoil from the shiny fabrics and iridescent bead curtains in the hallways". All in all, this place is "camper than Christmas with Alan Carr".
The rooms
The hotel may be cheap, but it's more bargain than basic. Some rooms are small, but "they've not Scrooged on quality". The beds are "downy" and there are "statement showers" and free tea, coffee and water. The rooms are split into three categories XL, L and M. The XL rooms come with kingsize beds and more space, while L and M rooms both have queen-size beds.
The cost
Doubles cost from £81, including breakfast. To find out more visit www.chicandbasic.com, or call 00 34 93 295 4652.
What the travel writers are saying
When it comes to life's special landmarks it's important to get the surroundings right, says Matt Rudd in The Sunday Times.
For that first weekend away your choice "must be romantic but not stiflingly so," says Rudd. Hotel du Vin is "perfect for early courtship" as it is "unpretentious, sexy, informal, relatively unassuming". For a particularly special stay choose the Tunbridge Wells Hotel du Vin and get the suite overlooking the park. "It has a monsoon shower, a rolltop bath and an 8ft bed you're still young and gymnastic enough to enjoy."
By the time your fifth anniversary rolls around, "I'm going to assume you now have children". There are very few hotels that can do kids and romance, but The Grove in Hertfordshire is one of them. It has "beautiful grounds, friendly, understanding staff and restaurants where you aren't treated as if you have an especially virulent form of swine flu simply because you have a baby strapped to your chest".
And once you've made it through 25 years of marriage? "A class marriage deserves a class, long weekend" and Combe House Hotel in Devon is just the place. It's a "jaw-droppingly beautiful manor with no horrible add-on spa, no annoying golf course and no modern annexe of naff rooms". The "food is excellent" and romantic country walks abound.
Bruce Forsyth: My dream holiday
One of the most amazing hotels Bruce Forsyth has ever stayed in is the Grand Hotel a Villa Feltrinelli in Lake Garda, Italy. "The atmostphere is lovely as nobody bothers anyone", says Forsyth in The Daily Telegraph. When he asked what time breakfast was the waiter simply said, "Whatever time you want." But finding the hotel can be tricky: "the idea is to keep people out, not bring people in".
