Dorset Singapore

By StanleySobari

The gleaming façade of this 10-storey hotel can be seen against the bustling backdrop of ethnic buildings in Chinatown. A mere five minute’s walk away from one of the country’s richest heritage areas, guests can sleep ensconced in decadent bedding and posturepedic mattresses in one of the hotel’s 285 luxurious rooms and lofts. What’s more, all rooms come with high-tech and-ons such as a iPhone or iPad docking app-enhanced dual alarm stereo clock radio. While good food can be had just a stone’s throw away from the hotel in Chinatown, its speciality or all-day dining restaurants, and café or tapas bar do offer competitive choices. Serenity-enhancing features such as a koi pond and landscaped roof garden cement this hotel’s charms, as does its private lounge for guests.

New Mexico Fun for Everyone

By Stanley Sobari

Five things to do right now! ASCEND the heights aboard the Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad, the country’s longest narrow-gauge railway. RAFT the Rio Chama, a gentler alternative to the Rio Grande. EXPLORE an active volcano and an Ice Age cave in Albuquerque’s New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science. STAY at a dude ranch and ride horseback through fabled lands of Apaches and outlaws. TAKE in stunning scenery on the Sandia Peak Aerial Tramway. For more ideas, go to newmexico.org/things-to-do

Enchanting Albuquerque

By Stanley Sobari

FOR an authentic Southwestern experience, stay awhile in Albuquerque. Vibrant arts, diverse cultures, world-class events, and offbeat attractions continue to shape the story of the state’s largest city. Starting in historic Old Town, you have options among more than a hundred shops, galleries, and restaurants. Narrow streets, cobbled alleys, and small courtyards fan from a leafy central plaza. Among these attractions, the Albuquerque Museum of Art and History displays more than 400 years of Rio Grande Valley history. The state’s most visited attraction, nearby ABS Bio Park encompasses an aquarium, a beach with lakes for fishing and pedal boating, and a zoo and botanic garden that both host a summer concert series highlighting local and regional talent. Film fans will want to tour sites from such TV shows as Breaking Bad and in Plain Sight, and movies like the Book of Eli, Crazy Heart, and Lone Ranger. For more detail please visit : itsatrip.org

Fez, Morocco

Pleasure palais

By Stanley Sobari

With donkeys clopping through the winding lanes of the medina, Fez feels little changed in more than a millennium, and spring here descends with a similarly timeless rhythm: the weather grows mild, wildflowers bloom on the hills around the city, and stalls heaped with orange blossom scent the air in the souqs. Tucked away in a quiet corner of the old city, Palais Amani is an ideal base for easing into the labyrinth. Push open the thick wooden doors and you’ll find a listed riad, its grand fountain trickling amongst gardens flanked by orange and lemon trees. Inside, rooms are full of traditional Moroccan artistry – bright mosaic floors, ornate wood paneling and Fassi embroidery – and there’s also a hammam and rooftop terrace with sweeping views. Meals, including four-course breakfasts, offer a taste of Fez, with ingredients gathered daily from local souqs and gardens. Guests can also master their own local dishes, exploring the medina with a chef to pick out ingredients before rustling up a tagine-based feast. Back outside are the former capital’s wealth of sights, from the Chaouwara tanneries to the intricate madrasa, the Medersa Bou Inania.

Palais Armani’s cookery course includes a basket of spices, apron, recipes and lunch; there are also classes in Moroccan baking. Rooms start at $. (palaissamani.com). 

Ryanair flies direct to Fez from London stansted (ryanair.com), and various airlines fly with one stop from UK cities.