For many men organising a romantic getaway is something they hope to do for their girlfriend or wife at least once. Unfortunately males become easily daunted when the good intentions become plans and the details of planning a trip arise. How to travel? What luxury hotel to choose? Where to go? When to go?

These are questions that must be thoughtfully answered if the getaway is to go off without a hitch. This makes detailed planning the primary concern, spontaneity may be romantic but turning up to a luxury hotel and finding no free rooms is not.

Location should be considered most carefully of all, a place that has shared memories or somewhere you have always planned to go together is a good starting point. Paris may always be the preferred place to go for a romantic getaway but remember for those on a budget three nights in a luxury hotel in Paris will consume the best part of your budget and leave little for dining out and enjoying yourselves outside the hotel.

That is not to say that a luxury hotel is a necessity, just as much romance can be had staying somewhere cheaper and leaves more money to be spent on indulgencies such as champagne and fine dining. But checking into a magnificent hotel foyer always starts a trip off nicely as the 'wow factor' is something worth pursuing at all costs.

A luxury hotel room will also help in producing the 'wow factor', getting the right room is essential. Ideally something large with a king size bed will create that feeling of luxury, decor and of course a large bathroom will add to this. For a romantic getaway who would not want to live in the lap of luxury? Even if it is just for one weekend.

Travel and the amount of time spent away are also important aspects. You do not want to fly half way around the world to stay in a luxury hotel for two nights, this could not be less romantic as both of you will spend most of the time sleeping off the effects of the flight. If travelling far abroad a general rule would be to lengthen the romantic getaway to accommodate the time spent recovering from flights.

Staying closer to home for nabbing a quick romantic getaway is a better plan of action, with short haul flights being as cheap as they are at the moment, who could resist jumping on the plane to Prague or Budapest for a romantic break?

Since the opening of the new St Pancras International the continent could not be closer, both Brussels and Paris are now reachable in less than two and a half hours making either city the perfect place for nipping away for a weekend of romance. For those trying to save a little Brussels is recommended as the city has many luxury hotels at reasonable prices.

That is not to say that you must go abroad to find a decent luxury hotel from which to plan your romantic getaway. Whether choosing to have a break in the beautiful British countryside or in one of the many vibrant cities the selection in terms of luxury hotels is vast.

A trip within Britain a real possibility for those wishing to get away from it all, remember when planning the trip to be thorough, phone ahead of time and inform the luxury hotel that you are planning a romantic getaway, many will make special arrangements and requests for flower petals on the bed and chilled champagne on arrival will usually be heeded.

Remember it is the small touches that will make the biggest impact and choosing the right luxury hotel that will provide that extra service is vital.