Tue 11 March, 2014 Travel SupplemenT SPRING Spring is in the air and wanderlust is hitting with full force. Dig out your passport and pack your bags: it's time to take to the skies. Hop a plane to a soul food capital, party on a private island or get arty. Not your thing? Try a surfing hotspot, a visit to a vineyard, or make a weekend of it and nip over to Dorset for a Soho-style getaway. Bon voyage! EAT: NASHVILLE Nashville's on the up. The soul food haven has a new wave of chefs putting the city on the foodie map. Pinewood Social, the latest opening from brothers Max and Benjamin Goldberg (the guys behind The Catbird Seat), melds an haute southern menu with a hipster country club vibe (it's housed in a former trolley barn). Rest your head at the newly opened 404 Hotel (five rooms, 21-foot ceilings), and visit the Kitchen, the adjoing restaurant in a storage container helmed by chef Matt Bolus. Expect a food coma induced by skillet cornbread, fried chicken and mac and cheese. Pinewood Social, 33 Peabody Street, Nashville 404 Hotel, 404 12th Avenue S, Nashville, rooms from £165, opens March 14 WEEKENDER: DORSET Now for something closer to home. Dorset's getting a high-octane opening this spring with The Seaside Boarding House, the first hotel venture from The Groucho Club alumni Mary-Lou Sturridge and Tony Mackintosh. Set on a cliff at Burton Bradstock, the Victorian villa boasts seven rooms, a restaurant focused on seasonal produce (Mark Hix is on the board of advisors so we expect good things), a bar and a ballroom. Though the Boarding House doesn't have a membership scheme, it's inevitably got a hint of hedonism…this is one hotel where getting a drink in the early hours won't be a problem. The Seaside Boarding House, Cliff Road, Burton Bradstock, Dorset, DT6 4RB, opens this summer PARTY: JOSÉ IGNACIO Ain't no party like a beachside party. If you've ticked Tulum off your list and don't feel like braving Rio during the World Cup, head to José Ignacio. Hotel dream team Alex and Carrie Vik put the Uruguayan fishing village on the map with their boutique boltholes. Bahia Vik, their latest opening, is all about luxe beachfront bungalows with a modernist twist. Check in and head to La Caracola, a private club on an island accessible only by boat. With private beach tents, seafood dishes whipped up by the famous La huella team, free-flowing clerico and space for only 30 people, it's a guest list worth getting your name on. Bahia Vik, soft opening in April, email info@vikretreats.com for further information La Caracola, Punta del Este, José Ignacio, email reservas@paradorlacaracola.com to get on the guest list WINE COUNTRY: PORTUGAL Here's one for the vino fans. Wine makers Quinta de Lemos have gone beyond the vineyard with the opening of De Lemos Guesthouse in Passos do Silgueiros. Designed by architecture giants Carvalho Araújo, the innovative glass and concrete structure mirrors the lines of the rocky landscape, with the rooftop doubling as a viewing deck of the vineyards. The family-run De Lemos houses three guest rooms, and (as you'd expect) is all about wine drinking, with an extensive wine cellar and a dining room, too. Somebody pour us a drink already. De Lemos Guesthouse, Passos do Silgueiros, Silgueiros, email info@quintadelemos.com for further information ART: BOGOTÁ Bogotá's getting a lot of buzz. An explosion of galleries has contributed to its up and coming art scene: check out Nueveochenta which showcases contemporary Latin American artists like Mateo López and Gabriel Sierra in a 1950s building; La Central, a massive white cube that houses edgier works over three stories; or Museo Botero for more traditional fare. Book into sleek design hotel B.O.G, with a subterranean spa, bustling rooftop bar, and La Leo, a restaurant helmed by renowned chef Leonor Espinosa. With Avianca launching direct flights from London to Bogotá, it's now a lot easier to get there – plus, W Bogotá is opening in September. B.O.G. Hotel, Carrera 11, 86 - 74, Bogotá, rooms from £166 ECO: TANZANIA Sun, safari and sand…what more can you ask for? Tanzania's got it all, and everybody knows it: the African nation is packed with tourists. Escape the hustle in the lesser-known Mafia Island, part of an archipelago of coral and sandstone islands. Snorkel all day, then sleep at Pole Pole, an eco lodge that's a desert island dream of thatched huts and coconut trees. For those with money to burn, Manta Resort's new underwater room is close by, too. Pole Pole, Mafia Island, Tanzania, rooms from £300 SURF: SRI LANKA Hawaii, Australia…Sri Lanka? An unsung surfing hotspot, Sri Lanka's south coast has the lot: beginner's breaks at Weligama or Kabalana and bigger waves at Rams Right or Madiya. Stay at Kahanda Kanda, a chic, colonial boutique hotel with eight guest suites decked out by interior designer George Cooper. Keep an eye out for Soul and Surf, which pops up with surf and yoga retreats during the year, too. Kahanda Kanda, Habaraduwa Dikkumbura Road, Angulugaha, Galle, rooms from £220 VISIT: ART BASEL HONG KONG Get your art on in Hong Kong. The Art Basel juggernaut is rolling into town for its second year, and as always, it's about much more than the art (though there's plenty of that, with more than 50% of the galleries on show hailing from Asia and the Asia-Pacific region). Once you've had your fill of art (don't miss the inaugural film programme, curated by Laboratory Art Beijing founder Li Zhenhua), head to Michelin-starred chef Fung's new venture, Mott 32, for traditional Chinese fare with a twist, or get on the list and grab a drink at Stockton, a bar hidden down an alleyway with a focus on whiskey. Mott 32, Standard Chartered Building, 4 Des Voeux Road, Central, Hong Kong Stockton, 32 Wyndham Street, Central, Hong Kong UJ HOTEL REVIEW: QT SYDNEY Lights, camera, action In a sentence: Sydney gets a design driven hotel About: Merging two of Sydney's grandest and iconic buildings, this hotel lives and breathes its former art deco glory with added theatrics and Hollywood fervour (thanks in part to its owners, Australia's largest cinema chain). The 200-room hotel bursts with personality[s] – no doubt following in the footsteps of the Schrager and Ace business model.   Click here for the complete review LINK TO THIS FEATURE: Travel by NN & CS OTHER DESERT CITIES THE OLD VIC Sponsored listing Pulitzer Prize finalist and creator of hit TV series, Brothers & Sisters and contributor on The West Wing, Jon Robin Baitz has taken America by storm with his Broadway debut. Other Desert Cities, an acidly witty and deeply affecting tour de force, melds the political and personal with electrifying results. Nominated for five Tony Awards, the award-winning play now makes it UK premiere at The Old Vic with Lindsay Posner (Noises Off and The Winslow Boy) returning to direct the stellar cast, Sinéad Cusack, Peter Egan, Clare Higgins, Daniel Lapaine and Martha Plimpton. Other Desert Cities , Tickets from £10-£53, March 13 –May 24 2014 To book tickets or for more information, call the box office on 0844 871 7628 or visit www.oldvictheatre.com FOLLOW US! Facebook | Twitter | Instagram See what we've been snapping this week on Instagram! LIKE SHARE FORWARD PREVIOUS EDITION (c) 2014 Urban Junkies. All rights reserved. Reproductions of any portion of this website only with our express permission. Urban Junkies is a free daily mailer. All listings and features are editorial: We do not receive any payment from venues, artists or promoters. Every effort has been made to ensure accuracy of information listed but we cannot accept responsibility for errors or omissions.