‘It was so exhilarating’: readers’ favourite spas and saunas in Europe

Even during the height of winter ski season, you can still hear the rhythmic pop of a tennis ball hitting a racquet around Stanglwirt, a decades-old luxury resort in the Austrian Alps near the tony mountain town of Kitzbühel. While Stanglwirt is now known for its laundry list of world-class amenities (including a fantastic wellness program), tennis is in fact what put it on the map. Through tennis management firm Peter Burwash International, Stanglwirt expanded its entire tennis program in the 1970s and 1980s, including building more facilities to accommodate tennis camps—a novelty at the time.

The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is inviting all to experience one of Thailand’s oldest and most colourful festivals while gaining insights into the charming traditions of Chiang Mai, Roi Et, Samut Songkhram, Sukhothai, and Tak at the Loi Krathong Festival 2023 at Bangkok’s Phadung Krung Kasem Canal.

Last November, a group of us took a trip to the Peak District for my dad’s 60th. We booked the Packhorse Inn in Little Longstone for the celebratory dinner, just off the famous Monsal Trail. The pub sources all its produce locally and changes its menu monthly. When we arrived, we were welcomed with roaring fires and delights on the menu such as pork belly with black pudding and mustard mash, game pie, and a top tier sticky toffee pudding. It was worth it, although we ended up having to navigate a muddy walk home afterwards through cow fields in complete darkness.Eloise

To date, 106 individuals have been named to the Hall of Leaders, U.S. Travel’s highest honor.

The European Young Chef Award 2023 programme will conclude on 23 November with a visit to the Hauts-de-France region to discover the local gastronomy and producers, including Fromagerie des Freres Bernard in Wierre Effroy, and Brasserie des 2 Caps at the Ferme de Belle Dalle in Tardinghen.

The acquisition operation has benefited from the expert guidance of the consulting firm Bluebull, an investment banking firm specializing in mergers and acquisitions for technology companies, and the specialized law firm Cuatrecasas.

In a showcase of global engagement across 100 categories and participation from 51 countries, the “GrINN Awards” underlines a united commitment to promoting sustainability and responsibility in the tourism industry.

Switzerland is a perfect winter destination, with the snowy Alps hosting some of the world's best skiing in cozy little towns.

This past June, my wife and I, along with two of our children, flew from our home in India to the eastern United States to see family and visit Universal Studios in Orlando, Fla. The trip included three domestic flights over five days on Frontier Airlines: Philadelphia to Orlando, Orlando to Atlanta, and Atlanta back to Philadelphia. The total cost for four people on three flights was an affordable $939.75, including a $99.99 “Discount Den” membership on Frontier. (We also spent $1,269.52 on tickets at Universal.) But our first flight was delayed and eventually canceled, and Frontier’s staff told us the next available flight was three or four days later — too close to our return flight to India. We were given a QR code at the Philadelphia airport to file for a refund, which we did for all three flights. But all we got was an email with a credit worth $339.92 and good for three months, plus four additional messages with a $100 voucher for each of us. Since Frontier does not operate in India, the credit and vouchers are useless. I fought Frontier through my Discover card, but lost. (Meanwhile, Universal reimbursed us in full.) Can you help?

In early November, the Global Wellness Institute unveiled the global wellness industry is now worth a staggering $5.6 trillion. With the holidays and the new year fast approaching — detoxing, pampering and rejuvenation will surely top travelers to-do list. Below, from the Southwest to the Midwest and back out East, rejuvenate your mind, body and spirit with this welcome lineup of the best new (and renovated) wellness and hotel spas retreats in the US.

New Hotels in the Cayman Islands for 2024 Scheduled to open in Q2 2024 is Hotel Indigo Grand Cayman. The 282-room 10-storey beachfront property will provide an upper midscale experience featuring multiple restaurants, a 6,700 square foot ballroom, a pool deck and a rooftop bar. Indigo’s restaurants and bars around the world are known as a favourite destination for visitors and locals alike. With sustainability in mind, the hotel is being built to LEED standards, which ensures high-performance buildings that have less of an impact on the environment. Hotel Indigo will use a geothermal/ice storage combination and will feature insulated glazing throughout to reduce energy consumption. The latest in Cayman real estate developer, Dart’s, hospitality portfolio, Hotel Indigo is expected to generate several hundred jobs when it opens. In 2022, Dart launched its Hospitality Training Programme, which provides Caymanians with the opportunity to obtain first-hand industry experience via a three-month work experience within the Dart hospitality portfolio.

Revisiting Panem, the dystopian country in which The Hunger Games novels and movies are set, in prequel film The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes offered director Francis Lawrence an opportunity to present the world through a new lens. Set 64 years before those earlier works, the new film (based on a 2020 novel of the same name) showcases the familiar country just 10 years post-war—the thriving political Capitol, 12 outlying districts. As part of reconstruction, the Capitol has introduced the series' titular competition.