Whilst dinner and roses are all well and good, we found ourselves wishing for rather more unique treats this Valentines Day.  From living like a Maharajah to spending the night in your very own igloo, here are five extraordinary romantic getaways that would probably make the cut. Just saying…

Bed down in an igloo under the world’s most spectacular lightshow

Make like an Eskimo – and your way to Lapland – for a night in your very own igloo.  At the Levi Igloos in Finland, small glass roofed pods for two are nestled amongst the trees and feature snug bedrooms and little kitchens, all with warm (and extremely necessary,) furnishings – it could well be -22 degrees outside. The star attraction, however, is what happens in the sky above you as you cozy in for the night. For, located on the edge of the Arctic Circle and under the sky responsible for the Northern Lights or Aurora Borealis, these modern igloos with their specially designed glass viewing roofs are also in fact front row seats to greatest lightshow on earth.

Find yourself shipwrecked above the city of London

A Room for London is unique in so many ways; it’s hard to list them. A boat like structure that seems to have been shipwrecked on the roof of London’s cultural Southbank centre, it has just one room and a design inspired by the riverboat that wound it’s way down the Congo in Joseph Conrad’s novel Heart of Darkness. Conceived as a place of refuge and reflection perched high above the hectic city below, visitors have to apply for a stay by ballot, and are permitted one night only. Once inside, it’s all cozy cabin furnishings and with views that stretch from the Houses of Parliament to St Paul’s Cathedral and beyond.  One night, one amazing view, one totally unique experience.

Take to your very own Tower

Positioned on England’s dramatic Jurassic Coast, the cliff top Clavell Tower was built in the 1830’s and used by local coastguards as a lookout.  Now you can follow in the footsteps of Thomas Hardy, who used to take the coastguard’s daughter and his first love Eliza Nicholl here with a weekend perched on the edge of England. Renovated after it was decimated by fire in the 1930’s and reachable only by foot, it now features just one small room on each floor, all curled around a spiral staircase that leads to a sitting room at the very top complete with a roaring fire and quite possibly the best views in England.

 Dine like a Maharajah, or a King, or James Bond…

If it’s glamour, history, romance and drama you’re after, then the Lake Palace in Udaipur has them all in spades. Built by the Maharajah in the 1740’s as his summer palace, this ice cream castle of a building floats on Lake Pichola, accessible only by boat. With it’s opulent interiors, amazing lily pond filled courtyard, gilt and marble inlaid pavilions and hand painted motifs, the Lake Palace has played host to everyone from Jackie Kennedy to Queen Elizabeth and even James Bond in Octopussy. And if it’s good enough for them…

 Be a modern day Robinson Crusoe on the shores of Lake Malawi

Tucking up for the night on a driftwood four poster bed positioned on it’s own tiny rocky island under the huge, star-filled African skies on the shores of Lake Malawi has got to be about as romantic as it gets. Guests are taken to their remote Lake of Stars bed for sundowners and a specially prepared dinner before being left all alone in the wild for the night (well, nearly left alone – hotel staff are always close on hand to make sure this is solitude with a heavy slice of luxury.) We’re talking is Robinson Crusoe style living, with a bit more romance and hotel service. What on earth is there not to like.