Government-Owned Habitas Resort Will Cost $700 a Night

Sometimes, when life is feeling fast-paced and hectic, the less travel planning needed, the better. This is especially true after the exhaustion the busy holiday season so often brings.

It may not the DeLorean, but some United Airlines passengers are going to have their own «Back to the Future» moment when they travel back in time to celebrate New Year’s Eve twice — and where they’re going, they don’t need roads.

The moment you enter The Westin Lagunamar Ocean Resort Villas & Spa, your eyes dart to the infinity pools and crystal-clear teal waters that await you through the lobby doors. For me, as a first-time traveler to Cancún, this was the moment that the slight chaos of the busy tourist city faded away, and I was able to step into that zen vacation state that we all crave.

There’s no place quite like Sweden, whether you travel there for Stockholm or all of the gorgeous places outside of Stockholm). It can, however, be pricey. For those in the market for a new car, you can get that plus a free trip to Sweden when you purchase a Volvo. The car brand has a new buying option called the Overseas Delivery Tourist Program, where you can visit Sweden as a perk of buying one of the vehicles. All you have to do is buy a car and pick it up in Gothenburg.

If you have your eyes set on island-hopping throughout the Lamu Archipelago or venturing on some of the most thrilling wildlife safaris in the New Year, we have good news for you: travel to Kenya is about to get a little bit easier.

Saudi Arabia is truly leaving no stone unturned in its pursuit to become a tourism superpower. The kingdom’s latest move is to create the “Dan Company”, an organization under the sovereign wealth fund designed to promote and develop agritourism and eco-tourism.

Saudi Arabia’s Belgium-sized city of Neom has unveiled another giga-project. It’s called the Gulf of Aqaba and will contain many of the futuristic hotels the $500 billion project has announced in recent months.

A tourism development company in Mexico announced plans to build an ultra-luxury resort and residential project on the coast of Jalisco, dubbed Xala, for around $1 billion.

State-owned Qatar Airways has partnered with barefoot luxury brand Habitas to open one of the most costly resorts in the country. The Habitas Ras Abrouq is slated to open next month with room rates starting at around $700 per night to stay in one of its 42 villas.

Stayntouch, the property management startup owned by hotel company MCR, has raised $48 million in venture capital. 

This series of articles about credit cards, points and miles, and budgeting for travel is brought to you in partnership with The Points Guy.

The aroma of a tapas bar is an incongruous sensation when dressed in ski kit, but it’s the end of a long day on the slopes, and plates of grilled squid, spicy patatas bravas and plump green olives are on offer, along with a bargain glass of Rioja (€3.50/£2). It’s 6pm and the lifts have only just shut in Sierra Nevada, Europe’s most southerly ski resort. The mountain town in Andalusia enjoys lots more sunshine than most ski areas in the Alps. This, admittedly, is accompanied by a fairly functional assortment of accommodation spread along a steeply winding road. Unless you’re staying right in town, walking home while carrying your kit takes quite an effort at this altitude. The resort’s hub, Pradollano, sits at 2,100 metres, while the ski area’s 65 miles of pistes extend up to 3,398 metres: the chilly summit of Veleta, Spain’s third-highest mountain.