The hotel As if New York needed another drop-dead gorgeous boutique hotel, Vikram Chatwal, owner of the Big Apple's Dream and Time hotels is to open Night Hotel (00 1 212 835 9600; www.nighthotelny.com) - a 'homage to New York, fashioned after its seductive muse, Gotham City,' - on 132 West 45th Street next month. Chatwal hopes urbane nightcrawlers will be lured through the wrought-iron gates to a dramatic funkadelic black and white interior featuring 72 dark, hi-tech rooms, costing £158-£1,435 a night.
The festival Enjoy a diverse programme of performances spanning Mozart, Romeo and Juliet and Eastern European gypsy jazz in the Caribbean sunshine at the Holders Season festival. Hosted by the Kidd family at their Barbardos home, this intimate arts festival runs 11 March-3 April. Carrier (0161 491 7630; www.carrier.co.uk) is offering seven nights' B&B for the price of six at the boutique Treasure Beach hotel, from £1,970 per person based on two adults sharing, saving £225 per person. Includes return flights from Gatwick and transfers, valid on departures from 1 March to 3 April.
The activity It looks like a futuristic gadget from a James Bond movie but the BOB (Breathing Observation Bubble) is now available for hire by tourists in Tenerife, the only place in Europe where you can ride an underwater scooter. Divers sit on the device with their heads inside a watertight glass helmet attached to an oxygen tank. A BOB dive safari (www.bob-diving.com) is available at Puerto Colon, Playa de las Americas from £29 per person and lasts two hours.
The book Valentine's Day may be over, but it's not too late to learn some sexy Spanish to charm a potential holiday fling, courtesy of Hide This Spanish Book For Lovers, published by Berlitz for £3.99. Six chapters guide you through the erotic stages from 'hooking up' through 'love and sex' to 'breaking up', with phrases including 'we're just fooling around' and 'let's get kinky', to 'move in with me', 'I'm pregnant' and, finally, 'let's just be friends'. If you get through all these in a fortnight, it'll be one hell of a holiday. To order a copy for £3.99 with free UK p&p go to www.observer.co.uk/bookshop or call 0870 836 0885.
The gimmick Could this be the most depressing hotel experience ever? Novotel (0870 609 0962; www.novotel.com) has launched 'TV Dining' at its Sheffield branch, allowing lone business and leisure travellers to watch their own personal TV screen at their restaurant table for one, in a bid to reduce the embarrassment of eating alone.
The ski trip If the Winter Olympics got you in the mood for snowsports, there are still packages available for the Orange British Snowboard & Freestyle Ski Championships, in Laax, Switzerland 11-18 March. New for this year is the Air Time challenge where riders must drop from a crane platform into a quarter pipe, from increasing heights up to 20 metres (equivalent to six storeys), if they dare. Seven-night packages cost from £249pp including flights, accommodation, lift pass and event and party entry, see www.orangebrits.com.
The flight New flights to Barcelona, Spain and Faro, Portugal will be launched from Kent International Airport from 25 May until 26 October 2006. Kent Escapes (0845 676 0043; www.kentescapes.com) has packages from £309 for a week, including accommodation in the Costa Brava or from £239 in the Algarve. Kent residents get 10 per cent off.
The big day Looking for somewhere unusual and romantic to tie the knot? Have you thought about Butlins? We thought not. From 1 March couples will be able to say their vows at Butlins resorts in Minehead, Bognor Regis and Skegness with the launch of the company's wedding packages (01442 203584; www.adifferentkindofwedding.com). Choose from a Viva Las Vegas wedding complete with Elvis impersonator and stretch limo, a retro Car Wash-themed Seventies service or a more traditional white wedding with cake and flowers. Packages start from £175 per person.
