Fresh for Valentine's Day 2015, boutique hotel expert Mr & Mrs Smith has handpicked a hotlist of hotels with a story to tell.

Each of the 20 hotels has witnessed fan-fluttering adorations, sheet-rumpling dalliances and more fairytale weddings than Dame Barbara Cartland's back catalogue. Go to mrandmrssmith.com/love-lust-and-liaisons for the full list.

HISTORIC ROMANCE: Hotels that have inflamed passions for generations…

Villa Cora, Florence

Built at the end of the1860s by Baron Gustave Oppenheim in honour of his young bride, Villa Cora hotel is opulent but not over-blinged. Flawless service, ornate frescoes and abundant rose motifs show that the Baron's love of embellishment almost equalled that for his spouse. Unfortunately, he later attempted to set fire to the Villa when he suspected his wife was unfaithful, but hey, let's not dwell…

Rooms from £220 a night

Les Dames du Panthéon, Paris 

Free thinkers and strident dames such as writers Margherite Duras and George Sand are the ladies that light up the colourful interiors of this boutique bolthole in the Latin quarter. Each floor of Les Dames du Panthéon pays tribute to its muse with hints of heroines' colourful dalliances: vintage boxing gloves hang in one of the Edith Piaf rooms, a bittersweet tribute to boxer Marcel Cerdan, the great love of her life.

Rooms from £148 a night

SCANDALOUS STAYS: Hotels that have set tongues wagging…

Cliveden, Berkshire

For some historic sauce head to Cliveden, Berkshire, where political scandal the Profumo affair played out in the 1960s. The fateful meeting of politico John Profumo and 19-year-old model Christine Keeler changed the course of British politics, and that secret-garden-set outdoor pool still tempts us to go skinny-dipping.

Rooms from £415 a night

The Standard, High Line, New York City

While the hottest hotels tout discretion as a given, it's not always easy to keep the paparazzi at bay. The humble elevator in supercool André Balazs hotel The Standard High Line, gathered column inches galore when it hosted a ruckus between Solange Knowles, Jay Z and Beyoncé. We don't recommend a full-on, in-between-floor fight, but there's always the chance that a playful spat will spice up a stay, particularly in a hotel room that boasts floor-to-ceiling glass walls suited to extreme exhibitionists...

Rooms from £205 a night

A-LIST TRYSTS: Hotels that have set the paparazzi snapping

La Mamounia, Marrakech

Many a celebrity has passed through the doors of this decadent den – even Winston Churchill's name has graced its guest list. Proving that La Mamounia's Ottoman-style opulence suits all manner of movers and shakers, Poppy Delevigne held her second wedding ceremony here last year – a more riotously coloured and star-studded affair than her London bash.

Rooms from £315 a night

The Portobello Hotel, London

The genteel façade of The Portobello Hotel – which sits in a quiet Notting Hill street – gives it a 'butter wouldn't melt' look, but behind the rooms' locked doors there's been many a rock and roll antic. It was here that Johnny Depp and Kate Moss filled Room 16's bath tub with champagne, only for the cleaning lady to pull the plug, and even after its refined revamp, there's still the chance for a little debauchery.

Rooms from £145 a night

The full list of 20 hotels that tell a tale of true romance includes:

Historic Romance:

• Villa Cora, Florence

• Riad Siwan, Marrakech

• Palazzo Victoria, Verona

• Blakes Hotel, London

• Varsity Hotel & Spa, Cambridge

• Les Dames du Panthéon, Paris

• Casacau, Rome

Scandalous Stays:

• The Portobello Hotel, London

• Cliveden, Berkshire

• Principe Forte dei Marmi, Tuscany

• Hotel Endsleigh, Devon

• The NoMad Hotel, NYC

• The Standard, High Line, NYC

A-List Trysts:

• Stoke Park, Buckinghamshire

• The Crown, Buckinghamshire

• Borgo Egnazia, Puglia

• Barnsley House, Somerset

• L'Hôtel, Paris

• La Mamounia, Marrakech

• Berns Hotel, Stockholm

For more Smith-inspired stories head to Mrandmrssmith.com/love-lust-and-liaisons 

ENDS

Mr & Mrs Smith is an award-winning hotel website and booking service specialising in the world's most inspiring boutique hotels. Founded in 2003, Mr & Mrs Smith maintains a hand-picked and anonymously reviewed collection of 1,000 of the world's most stylish stays at mrandmrssmith.com.  Book online or through the Travel Team for money back on every booking, a price match guarantee and a Smith extra on arrival.

For more information contact Mr & Mrs Smith's PR manager at elizabeth.rhodes@smithhotels.com / 020 3752 2927