Where to take your bae this Valentine’s day

Busy power couple? Newly single and putting off making plans? Struggling to find the perfect place to take your situationship that doesn’t come drenched in rose petals and heart-shaped balloons? There’s a whole host of reasons you might not have made your Valentine’s Day reservations yet (for me personally, it’s an impressive combination of all three), but don’t worry, because we’ve got the perfect last-minute bae-cation spot lined up for you.

NYX’s website states that spending a night at the Holborn Hotel, located right in the centre of the big smoke, is “just as exciting as going out”. Though you might think that depends on who you spend it with, the hotel promises to give you a good time, even if your date won’t. That’s because it’s got everything you’d want from a romantic getaway: a fully equipped spa, cloud-soft beds and a candlelit set menu to top it all off, paired with exuberant décor that’s better described as edgy and eccentric than cute and quaint. Makes sense for a hotel minutes away from the bright lights of the West End, right? The romantic facilities and urban interior means the hotel strikes the perfect balance between cool and cushty — exactly what last-minute getaway-goers and their guests are looking for. The in-the-know ones anyway.

Locking eyes with spray-painted mannequins-turned-lamps in the lobby, the last thing you might expect to find at the end of the hallway is a Greco-Roman wellness retreat, but, with NYX, we’ve learnt to expect the unexpected. Hidden in a dimly-lit basement, Rena Spa is both secret and sultry. Despite the pairs of eyes watching you from the graffiti-d columns, or the ominous big black cat painted on the back wall (it’s art, okay?), the oasis is a little slice of heaven, and it’s hard to believe that the hustle and bustle of Holborn high street is only up the stairs — especially after indulging in one of the hotel’s signature Ishga treatments, which use seaweed from the Hebridean islands to make you feel serene.

After spending the afternoon getting sweaty and working up an appetite (whether that be in the steam-room or, *wink wink*, the bedroom), there’s no better way to spend the evening than having a chinwag over a candlelit dinner. Just for Valentine’s week, NYX’s Midtown Bar & Grill is hosting an exclusive dining experience they’ve called ‘Just Us’, a luxurious three-course dinner with prosecco on arrival. There’s also a complimentary cocktail on offer if you fancy a naughty little nightcap to round things off.

Of course, in a city like the big smoke, there’s about a billion restaurants hosting Valentine’s events, so what makes Midtown so special? Apart from the delicious food (better tasted than talked about), guests are invited to hand in their phones to the ‘Cupid Concierge’, so you can connect with your loved one without being distracted by taking the perfect hand-hold-across-the-table picture to hard launch them on Instagram. That, or so you can avoid the faux pas of an ex trying to “Happy Valentine’s Day!” their way back into your life while you’re chewing on your steak. Choking hazard, or what?

After a long day of eating, drinking and relaxing at the spa (I’m getting sleepy just thinking about it), we all know there’s nothing better than a lie-down in cosy hotel sheets. Thankfully, the beds at NYX are some of the comfiest in the capital, practically made for watching a rom-com in a crisp bathrobe with an even crisper glass of champagne fresh from the Smeg mini-fridge. You don’t actually need to have the TV on, though — as with the hotel’s communal areas, the 213 rooms at NYX Holborn are embellished by artwork with attitude, set against lighting to get you in the mood (for observing art, obviously).

Finally, after spending the night indulging in the three S’s (spa, supper…), you’ll be pleased to find the hotel’s signature breakfast buffet, complete with an on-hand egg chef. Cracked eggs over cracked hearts this Valentine’s, please. And an egg-stra (last one, I promise) bonus — check-out isn’t until 11am. In the words of the ultimate Valentine’s Day sweetheart, Ryan Goslin’s Ken, “sublime”.