Couples retreat: all paired off

Like a sort of extended dinner party, breaks with your friends-in-couples are perhaps the easiest of the lot. There are no children to look after. Everyone is a grown-up, with blessedly few demands and disposable income to splash out on decent accommodation, whether that is a house in the country or a cool Airbnb in a European city.

Pick one that will delight when you arrive, whether that’s the games room or steps down to the beach. And make sure bedrooms are all desirable – nothing breeds resentment faster than spending a sleepless night in a bunk while others slumber deeply in their emperor bed. Hotels can also work well for groups of couples – particularly for those who want a break from cooking and tidying, or for restless types who need laid-on entertainment (see panel, right).

HOME

In North Berwick, Leuchie Walled Garden is a stunning modernist glass and timber house set in five acres, which has just launched as a holiday rental. It was designed in the 1960s by Sir James Dunbar-Nasmith for the Dalrymple family, who wanted a more liveable alternative to their stately home, and it’s filled with their grand trappings: antique furniture, rococo sconces, grand piano, oil portraits of ancestors. There are two games rooms, snooker, table tennis, tennis court, golf pitching range, croquet, boules and a firepit; and six lovely bedrooms, five of them accessible.

Three nights from £3,740, sleeping 12 and two dogs (leuchiewalledgarden.com).

AWAY

Villa rental company Luxury Travel Book has added the most gorgeous restored finca, Can Felanitx, to its collection in Mallorca. The green-shuttered ochre-stone house is set in gardens of fig, orange and pomegranate trees, with a pool, covered dining terrace and barbecue. Inside are five bedrooms, all natural interiors, and historic features complemented by mod cons from the likes of Bose, Sonos and Apple.

From £4,247 per week, sleeping 10 (theluxurytravelbook.com).