A night out wearing L plates and getting drunk just isn't enough when it comes to planning a hen do – so ditch a night out at your local or old favourites like Dublin, and start booking something more stylish, from spas and shopping to discount Venetian Palazzo from £99 per room, including a bottle of prosecco and tickets to the casino, art deco style in Budapest from £52, and rooms at a chic hotel on New York's Madison Avenue for £109, you can glam up without going into debt. The offers are only available to members, so you need to register and wait for an opening on the membership list. But MyDaily readers can skip the queue at www.travesse.com/launch.
Dubbed Europe's leading city break destination at the World Travel Awards, Lisbon is the perfect getaway for a group of hens – you can party all night in style, there's shopping galore, plus you're not far from the beach. And that's before you've even thought about sightseeing and the famous pasteis de nata custard tarts.
Stay at the Tivoli Lisboa, which is home to The Sky Bar, one of the most popular haunts for the city's elite. You can also feast at the top level Terraco restaurant before hitting the town. The bars and clubs of Bairro Alto don't get started until late or head to the bar-filled docks for more clubs, including Lux. Rooms cost from around £125.
They may be a favourite with businessmen, but if you're looking for a budget base to explore Europe's top cities, it's hard to beat Citadines apartments. There's destinations all over Europe, including party hotspot Barcelona, as well as Paris's left bank and London, and best of all there's room to spread out, cooking facilities and the kind of housekeeping services you'd get in a hotel.
Check out the one bed apartments, which sleep four. The Ramblas Barcelona is right in the heart of the Spanish city, and costs around £210 per night, or £52.50 per person, while the Trafalgar Square apartments in London cost £224 per night, or £258 for an apartment sleeping six. Even pricy Paris comes in at around £265 per night for the Trocadero apartments, not far from the Eiffel Tower or the shops of the Champs Elysees.
Take your cue from the most famous couple to get engaged, and give your hen do a bit of royal style with a weekend near Windsor. On the banks of the river, the Runnymede-on-Thames has just had a makeover so you can enjoy the glam new outdoor swimming pool, two new restaurants and you can rent the hotel's boats as well.
But the big selling factor is the spa, which now has a new private spa suite with room for up to four friends – while one is having a facial, another could be blissed out by a hot stone massage, a third could be having a pedicure, all to the soundtrack o your favourite playlist. They've also got girly TV, including Sex and the City and Gossip Girl to entertain you as you pamper.
The Aquitaine suite group packages cost from £120 for a minimum of four people, or you can arrange bespoke treatments. Or the Crystals and champagne package costs £189 per person, based on two guests sharing a twin or double room, and includes full use of the spa facilities (but not the Aquitaine suite), dinner by the river with a glass of champagne, a crystal facial and late checkout.
When you've got a big group, booking a villa or cottage can work out as the cheapest way to get away. But if you're thinking of damp old farmhouses in the middle of nowhere, you'll be in for a nice surprise. Villa Belforte, from HomeAway Holiday-Rentals is a restored Tuscan villa with its own private spa with heated indoor pool and chromotherapy shower, as well as an 11th century tower in the garden.
There's authentic furniture, a panoramic terrace to eat on, and you're close to the picturesque village of Belforte with its medieval walls. The villa sleeps eight and has three bathrooms. Priced from £1,579 per week, it works out at just £28 per person per night.
If you want more than a few bottles of wine and some party games, how about a hen do with activities laid on. At Hawke's Point luxury apartments in St Ives, the concierge service can arrange surfing at Carbis Bay, a cooking demo by a professional chef in your own kitchen, yoga and excursions.
If that's all a bit too energetic, you can chill out in front of the 37in flatscreen TV, listen to your favourite songs thanks to the iPod docking station and Bose digital radio, and there's a Nintendo Wii as well – all safe in the knowledge you can order your food shopping in advance, so you needn't waste time in the supermarket. Or you could just stare out at the sea. Prices start from £395 for an apartment sleeping four for a three night stay (Friday to Monday) before April 6, 2011 – less than £33 per person per night.