Here are some top ideas for an ultra‐luxurious hen or stag party ‐‐ from learning to play polo to gambling in Las Vegas.
On course
Pick a top golf course like Valderrama, Gleneagles or La Manga, and organise your own Masters Championship. No need to carry your clubs here, just make sure you’ve got plenty of drinks stashed away in the buggy. Award a prize to the worst plus‐fours.
Chez santa
Christmas comes but once a year, but you can head to Lapland at any time in winter to hole up with your mates in a log cabin, complete with roaring fires. Dress up warm and enjoy a dog‐sled race across the snow or try some ice fishing and catch a big one for your supper. And to ward off the cold, you’d be well advised to neck the occasional hot toddy or schnapps.
High tea
Spoil yourselves with afternoon tea at London’s Ritz or the Lanesborough Hotel. This is a particularly good choice for brides who have a mixture of older and younger hens in their group ‐‐ tea and fancy cakes in one of the capital’s swankiest hotels will please hens of all ages.
Tequila, tequila!
Splash out like Christina Aguliera and fly a select group of friends out to a glamour Mexican resort. The pop diva spent a wild weekend in the plush Palmilla resort in Cabo San Lucas, soaking up the sun round the pool during the day and hitting the clubs in a fake veil, glittery tiara and white garter at night.
Home entertainment
Do you like pop music, but always find concerts a bit hectic? Then put up a stag/hen marquee in your back garden and let the band come to you. There are some great tribute bands and one‐hit wonders which can be a lot cheaper than you might expect. Make it a themed night, and get all your guests to dress up.
Celebrity sleepover
When Zoe Ball held her joint hen night with Sara Cox, the pair invited their closest friends to a big night at London’s stylish Portobello Hotel. They hired a suite, dressed up in party frocks and pampered themselves. If your budget doesn’t stretch to a five‐star hotel, you could organise an old‐fashioned sleepover at yours, for a night of pampering and girlie video watching.
On the piste
Low‐cost flights mean that a weekend’s skiing in France or Switzerland are an easy option. Take an early‐morning flight and you can be sipping glühwein on the slopes by midday.
Horsey set
Arrange an aristocratic stag/hen do and play at being royalty for the day. Conquer your fears and enrol for polo lessons with a big group of mates. After a few hours in the saddle, you should be ready to split into two teams and have a proper match. Follow this up with a few hours’ grouse‐shooting on the moors with a hip‐flask by your side, then move onto the G&Ts and quaff the night away.
La vie en rose
Hire a small plane and pilot and fly to Le Touquet on the northern coast of France for a five‐course lunch with desserts, cheese board, brandies, cigars and petits fours. No matter how good French restaurants in the UK are, you just can’t beat the real thing.
Safe bet
For the ultimate glamorous weekend of gambling, fly out to Las Vegas on Friday afternoon. It doesn’t matter what time you arrive ‐‐ Vegas is a 24‐hour city. Take in a show, shop in the fabulous malls, or relax around the pool between bouts of sophisticated roulette.
All aboard
Charter a yacht with a skipper and chef for a few days cruising around the Med. Remember that bling is the name of the game on the Riviera, so put out all the stops when you swan into harbour for cocktail hour.
Kings (and queens) of Siam
For an extended stag/hen weekend, fly to Thailand and get your wedding outfits made up on the double in Thai silk (just think of how much money you’ll save!) While the tailor is doing his stuff, you’ll be getting a pre‐wedding tan on Pattaya Beach or hitting the shops in Bangkok.
