Virgin Hotel Chicago, Ho Chi Minh City's The Reverie ready for check-in

Just about every hotel that opens these days claims to be "raising the bar", "setting new standards" or "redefining hospitality" (often all three), but such sales talk might actually have some substance at the new Virgin Hotel Chicago (below). Virgin Hotels launched in 2010, reportedly with an eye to buying up bankrupt hotels, and there was talk of opening a couple of dozen Virgin properties by 2017. Almost five years and one hotel later, things clearly haven't gone according to plan, but the hype surrounding the Chicago hotel, its opening delayed several times, has reached fever pitch, at least among those who concern themselves with the hospitality trade. The 250-room hotel is offering free Wi-fi, free room service (the delivery of which is routinely charged for in the United States), normal retail prices for minibars, free in-room movies, adjustable lounge beds and free evening cocktails for all guests. There's also an app for iPhone and Android devices through which guests can check in, order room service, control the lighting and temperature of their room, order movies and take part in a guests-only chat forum. Room rates start from US$207 per night. Virgin Hotels won't be arriving in Asia in the near future, but Nashville and New York properties are in the pipeline, for 2016 and 2017, and the company is making familiar-sounding claims about opening 20 hotels over the next decade. See virginhotels.com for further details.

Trekking aside, the most basic mode of travel - walking - seems not to feature highly on travel itineraries these days, and when it does, it is usually apologetically, as though it were more an inconvenience than a pleasure. But before the advent of the train, bus and aeroplane, pedestrians were the most common of all travellers, striking out on long weekends with knapsacks, home-made walking sticks, potted meats and anchovy paste. Pedestrianism, a sort of combined sport, healthy pastime and means of sightseeing, was all the rage in the 19th century, and few men were more famous for promoting it than Edward Payson Weston (right; 1839-1929). The energetic American made a living from being a pedestrian, winning many prizes and setting records wherever he went. He toured Europe for several years and lectured on the pleasures and health benefits of walking. In 1909, on his 70th birthday, Weston set out to walk from New York to San Francisco in 100 days. He arrived five days late and so made the return trip determined to make amends. He arrived in Manhattan almost two weeks early, and it's said that half a million people greeted him along Broadway. The story of this, one of his last great journeys, is told in Walk of Ages: Edward Payson Weston's Extraordinary 1909 Trek Across America, which will be published on February 1. Further inspiration for the would-be holiday walker can be found in A Man in a Hurry: The Extraordinary Life and Times of Edward Payson Weston, the World's Greatest Walker (2012). Both titles are available from amazon.com.

Travellers who appreciate a bit of Venetian-style opulence might like to visit The Reverie, a hotel in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, that soft-opened on December 29 and will officially part its velvet sash curtains next month. With interiors designed by not one but four Italian decorators, the hotel contains 286 "stylish" rooms (below) and suites, Italian and Cantonese restaurants, and "a bar the length of a city block" within floors 27 to 39 of the new Times Square Building, in District 1. For a closer look and opening rates (starting from US$285 per night), go to www.thereveriesaigon.com.

An affordable seven-night Mediterranean cruise is on offer from Swire Travel, priced from HK$9,690 per person, twin share. The MS Eurodam, operated by Holland America Line, sets sail from Barcelona, Spain, on April 19 and follows a circular route, calling in at La Goulette, in Tunisia (for Tunis and Carthage); Palermo, in Sicily; Civitavecchia, near Rome; Santa Margherita (top), near Portofino; and Monaco. Round-trip flights to Barcelona via Dubai with Emirates are included, but note that ocean-view cabins start from HK$11,990 and all prices are subject to about HK$6,250 per person in various fuel, airport tax and port fee surcharges. For further details, visit www.swiretravel.com.