Travellers' checks

Following the Dorchester Collection's acquisition of the Hotel Eden in Rome, Italy, in September, the hospitality group has wasted no time in linking several of its fine European properties to create what it calls the Ultimate Grand Tour. A modern recreation of the Grand Tour, on which wealthy young Englishmen embarked from the 17th to 19th centuries, it leaves out a few key cities such as Turin, Venice and Florence (and the return loop through Central Europe), but is otherwise quite faithful to the original route. It begins with three nights in London's Dorchester Hotel and a tour of the gentlemen's clubs of Pall Mall and St James's, before moving on to Paris and three nights at Le Meurice Hotel. There is plenty in the way of cultural enlightenment along the way, but, alas, none of the debauchery of old. A limousine then takes you to Geneva, in Switzerland, for two nights at Le Richemond (pictured above) whence a helicopter will whisk you across the Alps to the Hotel Principe di Savoia, in Milan, Italy. The last stop is Rome, just short of the traditional Grand Tour terminus, Naples. Pricing for the tour, perhaps designed more for publicity than participation, is supplied on a need-to-know basis, but you can apply for an itinerary through grand-tourist.com/your-ultimate-grand-tour-itinerary.

Reputed to be London's most expensive, The Lanesborough (pictured above) also looks and sounds like one of the city's oldest hotels. In fact, it only opened in 1991 (although the building dates back to the 1820s) but is already closing down this month (for about a year), for extensive refitting and refurbishment. Anyone with an attachment to the hotel, or an interest in its unique contents, can obtain a piece of the property through an online auction that will take place from December 9 to 13. Some 3,000 lots will go under the hammer, including room and suite furnishings, restaurant and bar contents, and fixtures and fittings from other public areas. (It might be tempting to open a bed & breakfast in the same name after purchasing a small selection of Lanesborough-branded crockery and cutlery, towels and bed linens. Just a thought.) To download a catalogue, view panoramic renderings of all the rooms and other spaces and take part in the bidding, visit www.thelanesboroughsale.com.

It wasn't long ago that getting from Hong Kong to Chiang Mai, in northern Thailand, involved a change of planes in Bangkok. Now we're spoiled for choice, with Dragonair, Hong Kong Express and, from January 7, Air Asia all operating non-stop scheduled services. If you feel that you've already seen all that Chiang Mai has to offer (including the interesting little foreign cemetery, with its surprising statue of Queen Victoria; right), consider a side trip to the pretty town of Lampang, less than an hour's drive, or a short hop by train, to the southeast. Here, people get around by horse and carriage rather than by tuk-tuk, and expats living in Chiang Mai head down on weekends for the reasonably priced riverside restaurants and a more relaxing environment. For more on the city, which was once the centre of the British teak trade, visit the website of the Lampang River Lodge at www.lampangriverlodge.com.

If you can get away between now and December 19, Cathay Pacific Holidays' business-class package to Kota Kinabalu is a good deal, with round-trip, business-class flights and two nights' hotel accommodation from HK$5,540. For this price (plus about HK$740 in tax and surcharges applicable to all prices mentioned here) you can stay at Le Meridien, which is as good a place as any in the downtown area. Among the better beach resorts on offer are the Sutera Harbour (from HK$5,950) and Shangri-La's Tanjung Aru and Rasa Ria resorts (the former is a closer drive from the airport; the latter - pictured top - is a bit more up market), from HK$7,200 and HK$7,990 respectively. Breakfast and insurance are included in the prices, and reservations can be made through the Cathay Pacific Holidays website, www.cxholidays.com.