Travel
Originally published on Wednesday, 24th November 2010
Travel Spy: December
UJ - Will Travel
UJ’s intrepid globe-trotters have been scanning the skies for the best tips and hottest destinations to guarantee you a holiday to remember. We’ve hooked up with insiders and experts to bring you the must-know now details for your next trip, industry gossip and the latest launches and recommendations.
Time Travel – December
Yucatán Peninsula
Forget short haul this winter – if you want to see some serious sunshine, you’ll need to put in the hours. So we’re recommending the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico, with resorts like Playa del Carmen and Cancun on offer (plus BA’s launched their new London-Cancun route this month from Gatwick), plus historical Mayan sites right down the Riviera. Hang in a hammock in laid-back luxury hacienda accommodation, explore the ruins of Chichén Itzá (one of the new seven wonders of the world), dive in the cool blue water or meet the neighbouring jungle’s colourful inhabitants. It’s a world away from a Christmas white-out. Or grey sludge-out, as the case may be.
For more information and other December-perfect suggestions, check out Original Travel’s website.
Hot Off the Press
The London hotel scene seems set to explode in anticipation of the 2012 Olympics – from Easyjet opening on Old Street and Spanish brand ME taking over Holborn to the rumoured arrival of Andre Balazs in a disused Marylebone fire station. The Zetter’s getting a new addition in the form of a townhouse with just 14 rooms, Dorchester Collection 45 Park Lane has announced NYC Steak supremos ‘CUT’ will be on site, and The Corinthia next to Trafalgar Square is set to house London’s biggest spa. For once we wish we were tourists rather than residents.
Industry Insider
There’s nothing as frustrating as needing to change your flight at the last minute and being smacked with a whopper of a fine, or even worse: a non-refundable ticket and the cost of re-booking. So we’re excited to hear on the grapevine that Easyjet are introducing a new flexible fare aimed at business travellers in early 2011, which’ll let you change your booking up to two hours before take-off, and make unlimited amounts of changes in a four week period – one before and three after. Plus you’ll get automatic speedy boarding, no booking fee and a check-in hold bag. Flighty minds meet flighty.
Pack Me Now
Apparently Air New Zealand is stepping up its game with two-seater Economy class ‘sofas’ (including touch-screens for ordering meals no less) as well as in-flight concierges to quell any pre-landing panics. Good work – but we love Monocle’s fictional airline ‘Nippon Nordic’, a Gaku Nakagawa illustrated print of the publication’s ‘perfect’ plane. And whilst you’re shopping, pre-order a copy of their ‘Monocle Alpino’ broadsheet, the successor to Summer’s ‘Mediterraneo’ packed full of essential Winter travel news and features.
Monocle Alpino: £8, Nippon Nordic Poster: £69
