From Pilates to Putkisto
If you're yawning over yoga and looking for the next work-out fads, try the latest form of Pilates - Putkisto.
Developed by Finnish Pilates instructor Marja Putkisto, it combines deep-stretching, deep-breathing and deep-strengthening, hopefully leaving you with a better body shape and improved posture.
It's one of a number of special-interest holidays featured in the new brochure from Turkey and Greek specialist Tapestry Holidays (020 8235 7700). One-week courses in May and October cost £900 half board with flights and morning and evening Putkisto sessions.
Spas in their eyes
Does Dubai need another six-star hotel? Kerzner International thinks so - it's just added a Givenchy spa to its Royal Mirage hotel as it eyes an upgrade for the five-star property.
Due to open next month, the spa adds an extra 350 rooms to the 200 it already has. With lots of Arabian influences, the Royal Mirage has individualistic style and the flashy elements you'd expect from Sol Kerzner's nine-strong empire, which includes the Ocean Club in the Bahamas and Mauritius's Le Touessrok, reopening next month after a $50 million refurbishment.
Abercrombie & Kent (0845 0700 612) has seven nights' B&B from £1,025pp.
Tracking down the bubbly
First there was tourism by text, with mobile phones used to give information on tourist sights. Now, France's Aube en Champagne is pioneering a system that gives travel tips through a Global Positioning System.
You hire the GPS from the tourist board, plonk it on the car dashboard, drive around the countryside and, voila , a voice tells you what's nearby and how to get there. It's an easy way to find Renoir's former workshop and family grave, Napoleon's school... oh, and the local champagne producers. And it has to be worth the ¿10 a day just to stop endless arguments about map reading.
Call the Aube en Champagne Tourist Board (00 33 325 425000).
Unearthing India's hidden jewels
Heard about Rajasthan's hidden gems but don't know how to book them? Look no further than MAhout (020 7373 7121), a one-stop marketing bureau for India's small heritage hotels, which is launching the Rajasthan collection in February.
Stay in everything from the tented camp at Chhatra Sagar, Nimaj, two hours from Jodhpur, with its 11 tents facing a lake plus home cooking, to the stunning rooms and fine frescoes and mirror work of the Samode Palace and Bagh near the 'pink city' of Jaipur, above. Other properties featured include a fort which is home to the royal family and a jungle camp.
MAhout managing director Mary Anne Denison-Pender also acts as a specialist worldwide travel consultant, using her knowledge gleaned as former head of upmarket specialist Western & Oriental.
Time Out in Andalucia
If you're a fan of Time Out City Guides but want something a bit more regional, the series last week published its first guide to Andalucia in southern Spain.
You'll find information on everything from gypsies and flamenco to tapas and sherry, liberally peppered with all the quirky extras for which Time Out is well known. Perhaps with an eye to future developments, the guide has got a small section on Gibraltar.
It's Time Out 's second foray into producing a broader tourist guide, following a book on the South of France. Watch this space for more additions.
