Dead relaxing
If you’re tight on time in Jordan you could still fit in all of the major sights on
a three-day local tour, organised by the Kempinksi Hotel Ishtar in Amman. Not
your usual sight-seeing trip, it includes one hotel-based day for helping you gently
acclimatise to the Dead Sea in fresh water swimming pools and you also get to
enjoy spa treatments ahead of a trip to the hotel’s private beach. Also on the itinerary
is a tour of the ancient city of Petra with a local guide and one night camping in the
desert complete with a Bedouin-style dinner. From September you have the option
of trying scuba-diving or windsurfing. From £709 per person. Kempinski Hotel Ishtar,
Dead Sea Road, Amman, +962 5356 8888; www.kempinski-deadsea.com
Mind your manor
It pays to be polite; or at least it has done for Hartwell
House, the hotel in the Aylesbury countryside (about an
hour from London’s Marylebone Station), named Pride
of Britain’s Hotel of the Year for Outstanding Hospitality
2008. It’s also well-placed for a shopping spree at Bicester
Village’s group of outlet stores that stock designer labels
like Burberry and Hugo Boss (www.bicestervillage.com
).Hartwell House, Oxford Road, Near Aylesbury, Oxfordshire,
+44 (0)1296 747 444; www.hartwell-house.com
An oasis in the desert
If there’s one thing we’ve noticed about Las Vegas, it’s that folks there enjoy
replicating famous features from other countries. The latest is a new Middle Easternstyle
hammam at Palms Place, the new resort destination within The Palms Las Vegas.
It’s a glittering, 50,000 square foot spa that’s mixed gender, so there’s no nudity
allowed. But you’ll still find authentic heated stone slabs and a domed ceiling with
skylights. The Hammam at Drift Spa, Palms Place Hotel and Spa at The Palms Las Vegas,
4381 West Flamingo Road, Las Vegas, +1 866 942 7773;www.palmsplace.com
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