Top 10 places to ask: 'Will you marry me?'

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Asking someone to marry may be one of the most important questions of your life, and the right place can make it all the more memorable.

Boutique hotel travel specialists Mr & Mrs Smith (www.mrandmrssmith.com) have come up with a list of the top 10 hotels to propose. This list is not endorsed by Reuters.

1. Palazzo Barbarigo, Venice, Italy

This dramatic 18-room destination hotel adds a modern shot of plush velvet, saucy feather-trim and moody mirrored wall to polished parquet floors and period details. In the bedrooms, the theme continues with minibars in deco-style cocktail cabinets. Sigh over Grand Canal views in one of the lovely Junior Suites, which also have separate dressing and wardrobe areas. Then whisk your lover out of the door and straight onto the gondola you've arranged at the hotel's marble-clad waterside landing.

2. Noir D'ivoire, Marrakech, Morocco

At this ravishingly restored riad, the delight is in the detail: capacious beds and baths; real fires for winter nights; fresh oranges brought to your room each evening; squirreled-away bowls of nuts and dried fruit dotted around; giant swags of tasselled silk and linen; and artisan toiletries presented in glass vials with silver caps. Add on a hammam, boutique, candle-lit courtyard and excellent chef, and you've already got romance with a capital 'R'. If you really want to push the love boat out, check into one of the Royal Suites, which have private roof terraces with plunge pools.

3. Cayo Espanto, Ambergris Caye, Belize

Three miles of the coast of Belize, this palm-fronded private-island resort is ultra-exclusive. It's surprising, then, that it can also nurture such a laid-back and unpretentious air. Hidden among the palm trees on the Caribbean shore, its handful of luxurious villas offer a uniquely personalised level of service. Your every need is met by a houseman who'll do everything from fix you drinks to accompany you on excursions - it's like having your own genie. Casa Ventana is set out to sea on its own wooden pontoon. It may be the smallest of the resort's six villas, and lack the private pools of its neighbours, but who needs a pool when you've got the Caribbean on four sides?

4. Wilson Island, Great Barrier Reef, Australia

With just six luxury tents set beside the sea on a tiny tropical islet, Wilson Island may just be the most romantic campsite on earth. You can gaze straight out at the ocean from the comfort of your bed, taking in the empty beach strewn with coral, and spend days draped around each other in a hammock big enough for two. If you're planning to propose, you'll be looking for Isolation - the most private of the island's six luxurious beachfront tents.

5. Mollies, Auckland, New Zealand

Music, food and romance await at the elegantly attired Mollies, Auckland's bohemian boutique hotel famed for its sociable soirees. With classic-meets-arty interiors dotted with pianos, regular opera recitals, gourmet dining and a sensual spa, there's a fairy-tale feel about this glamorous harbourside getaway. Seclude yourselves away in Room 8, a New York-style loft with views over the water.