Leap into romance

SEND TO A FRIEND

4 FEBRUARY 2004
Caribbean sanctuary: Nevis
Once an 18th-century sugar plantation, the Montpelier Plantation Inn, hidden in lush tropical gardens on the enchanting little island of Nevis, is now owned by the American Hoffman family. Located on a hillside against the stunning backdrop of the Nevis Peak, it includes a converted sugar mill, in use until 1936, which has been transformed into an award-winning restaurant.

The Great House, with its library of antique books and mahogany bars, reflects the Inn's former glory. Guests now stay in 17 cottage-style rooms, many with four-poster beds, and each with its own private entrance and verandah. Chilling out is what Montpelier is about: floating in the mosaic-tiled pool, dozing in hammocks or heading to the private beach for a dip in the Caribbean followed by a long, lazy barbecue.

The island is well worth exploring — don't miss St John's Fig Tree Anglican Church, which displays Fanny Nisbet and Horatio Nelson's marriage certificate, dated 1789, where the couple wed after Fanny popped the question on the Montpelier estate. For Leap Year proposals, a champagne-bearing butler will take the prospective couple to the very spot where Fanny proposed. If the answer is yes, the bubbly — plus an extravagant dinner — are on the house.

The secret south: Seville, Spain
There's a reason Seville is the setting for Carmen, Figaro and Don Juan — the home of flamenco is seriously romantic. Its highlights — the Alcazar Palace and gardens plus the Cathedral, with its former minaret, the Giralda — give a cultural excuse for a romantic stroll.

To steep yourself in Seville's bewitching charm, hole up in Santa Cruz, the old quarter, where narrow white streets are fragranced with jasmine and orange blossom, take a ride in a horse-drawn carriage, sample its tapas bars and wander past wrought-iron gateways hiding shady, plant-filled courtyards. You'll be discovering a scene very different from the one the Barber of Seville sang about so eloquently.

Weekend winner: Nice, France
For lovers who like to live in the fast lane, Hotel Le Grimaldi in Nice has a formula to add a little va-va-voom to your Valentine or Leap Year weekend. Combining two nights accommodation with champagne and roses on arrival, the hotel's leap year special boasts a sparkling night out in neighbouring Monte Carlo with a tour of the Monaco Grand Prix circuit, the Casino and the Principality's old medieval town followed by dinner at a fashionable restaurant.

Your pied a terre in Nice isn't bad, either. The foremost townhouse hotel in the old town, the Belle Epoque-style Le Grimaldi is a two-minute stroll from the Promenade des Anglais, where tout le monde likes to strut its stuff.