Last month, magazine published its list of the world's best hotels and resorts. There's nothing new in this, of course; travel magazines, websites and online hotel-booking sites regularly offer similar lists derived from reader polls. But these are generally just puff pieces and padding run for self-publicity in a bid to appear relevant, or to attract advertising from the "winners", who can then describe themselves as "award-winning". The list is rather different in that it was compiled by a broad selection of international travel writers who inspect hotels and resorts for a living. That's not to say that their views are any more valid than the average travel magazine reader (and winning hotels will still milk the results) but they do stay in a lot more places than most. The better ones also offer impartial opinions. The winner this time was the Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc, at Cap d'Antibes in France, but the country with the highest number of entries overall was Italy, with two in the top 10 (the palatial Villa Feltrinelli, on Lake Garda, and that perennial celebrity-magnet, the Hotel Cipriani [pictured], in Venice), and 11 in the top 100. Five hotels made the list in the China category, but three of them (The Peninsula, Ritz-Carlton and The Upper House) are in Hong Kong, leaving just the Aman at the Summer Palace, Beijing (No29) and The Peninsula Shanghai (No81) representing mainland hospitality. The full list is available as an app for iPad for HK$38, or it can be perused free of charge at www.internationaltravellermag.com, where you can also check the credentials of the 17 contributors and find out what they mean by "best".

Cathay Pacific has just started selling premium economy seats (pictured) on regional flights, after having run them on long- and medium-haul routes since March. From October 27, flights operating between Hong Kong and Bangkok, Beijing, Cebu, Colombo, Bali, Ho Chi Minh City, Jakarta, Karachi, Kuala Lumpur, Manila, Nagoya, Osaka, Penang, Sapporo, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore, Surabaya, Taipei and Tokyo (both Narita and Haneda airports) will offer the upgraded seats, which have been installed on about 75 planes. Flights offering the seats will show the option when booking online at www.cathaypacific.com and www.cxholidays.com.

Lonely Planet releases the latest editions of its two heavyweight Europe guides this month: (a stubborn survivor of the once-omnipresent, backpacker-friendly Shoestring series) and Now in its 11th edition, the latter was the cause of much mirth in 1999, when it was dispatched around the world with the title "Westen Europe" misprinted on the spine - an error that bypassed proofreaders and editors only to be discovered by warehouse workers as copies were shipping out. By that time it was too late to amend the mistake and 40,000 volumes went out with a hastily included bookmark making light of the error. Both the new books are available in more easily correctable PDF form, as Lonely Planet guides have been for some time, but now if you buy the PDF version you also get a .mobi file for Kindle and an ePub file for iPad, KOBO eReader, Nook, Sony Reader and others. PDF chapters are also offered for individual sale. Go to shop.lonelyplanet.com for more information and downloads.

Cathay Pacific Holidays' Seoul Business Class Special includes a choice of 11 hotels and round-trip business-class tickets to the Korean capital from HK$8,620. This price will get you two nights at the Lotte City Hotel Mapo, which is currently in the top 20 of nearly 400 Seoul hotels listed on TripAdvisor. If you're looking for something a bit classier, the choices include: the Ritz-Carlton (from HK$9,410); Banyan Tree Club & Spa (from HK$10,380; pictured); and the Park Hyatt (from HK$10,790). Taxes and fuel surcharges of about HK800 will be added to these prices, which are quoted per person for two people travelling together. For more hotels and reservations, click on Business Class Specials at www.cxholidays.com.