After navigating the M62 in the snow (made worse by heavy traffic) to get to Liverpool airport, by mid afternoon it was all worth it just to be sitting in the sun at La Residencia sipping a glass of cava. Deia is about as far away from the images some people have of Mallorca as I can think of. It was I think even more stunning at this time of year, without the crowds and the baking hot sun. It was the perfect temperature for being active and there are some fantastic walks around Deia,Valldemossa and Soller. We had a fantastic horse ride cantering through olive groves and walked from Deia to Soller which boasted great views.

Also made it down to Palma (about 30 mins drive) to meet friends at Simply Fosh which really is a fantastic restaurant.

Hotel La Residencia is part of the Orient Express collection although does not feel like a chain hotel and has an atmosphere all of its own. The hotel was perfect as were the staff and at this time of year you can take advantage of better rates.

So winter in Mallorca? Absolutely!

Photo Gallery: Deia

The Detail...

Sleep:

Hotel La Residencia

Eat:

Xelini

Restaurant Deia

Cappuccino

Simply Fosh

Don't Miss

Walk from Deia to Soller

Cape Town

Cape Town’s more popular than ever now the World Cup’s approaching, so if you haven’t got big match tickets, pop over now and avoid the crowds. Most popular places to visit are the buzzy shops and restaurants of the Victoria & Albert Waterfront, Table Mountain and Clifton Beaches.

Best Place to stay: The Mount Nelson Hotel (76 Orange Street, Gardens, Cape Town, South Africa, 8001)

Sydney

Australia’s cool and cosmopolitan must-see city is home to a clutch of fantastic beaches (including famed Bondi Beach) as well as the landmark Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge. Try your hand at surfing by day, then hit edgy Kings Cross for night-time drinks at the city’s best bars.

Best Place to stay: Blue Hotel (The Wharf at Woolloomooloo, Sydney, NSW, 2011, Australia)

Maldives

The Maldives are made for winding down, with palm-fringed beaches and stunning ocean views begging you to kick back and relax. You could pick just one luxury resort to shack up in, or island-hop at your leisure: whatever you choose, you’ll be accompanied by sunshine and blue skies.

Best Place to stay: Cocoa Island Resort (Cocoa Island, Makunufushi, South Malé Atoll, Republic of Maldives)

Rio de Janeiro

South America’s most extravagant city is a fantastic place for fun in the sun – especially during the annual February Carnival. If you can’t make it then, you can still enjoy catching rays at Copacabana Beach, sampling a samba club or marvelling at the famed Christ the Redeemer statue.

Best Place to stay: La Suite Hotel (Rua Jackson de Figueiredo 501, Joa, Rio de Janeiro 22611-000, Brazil)

Goa

India’s premier beach destination has had an explosion in popularity recently, and it’s all down to its unique mix of tranquil resort accommodation and lively nightlife. Here, you can kick back and relax all day, or party till dawn should you so choose – paradise indeed.

Best Place to stay: Taj Exotica Hotel (Benaulim, Goa 403 716, India)

Victoria Quarter

Here are my favourites:

Lunch:  Anthony’s at Flannels

Anthony Flynn is a young, innovative chef who since opening his flagship restaurant in 2004 has expanded throughout Leeds. The Loft style room at Flannels is spacious, bright and airy making lunch an extremely enjoyable affair. www.anthonysrestaurant.co.uk

Dinner: Sous Le Nez

Souz Le Nez always delivers on taste, service and atmosphere. It also offers the best early bird in Leeds, 3 courses and half bottle of wine for £22.95.  www.souslenez.com

Champagne: Epernay

Epernay, commonly known as the champagne bar is a popular spot with a lively atmosphere and a supply of yummy champagne!  www.epernaychampagnebars.com

PrimoItalian: Primo

An authentic Italian in the city centre serving good food and complemented by warm service. Recommended.  www.primo-ristorante.co.uk

Cappuchino: Casa Mia Coffee Shop

Casa Mia Coffee Shop (the original Casa Mia)  is an institution in Leeds. Much bigger these days you will always find a welcoming atmosphere.  www.casamiaonline.com/casa-mia-coffee-shop

Cafe: Pera

A recent addition to the Street Lane cafe scene, Pera is the perfect stop anytime of the day.

Gift: Cadeaux

In the stunning Victoria Quarter I deny anyone not to smile in delight at the contents of this gift shop.  www.cadeaux-leeds.com

Jewellery: Argent

A long time favourite of mine, Argent excels in contemporary jewellery. www.simplyargent.co.uk

Florist: Daisy Chain

In my opinion, the only place to buy flowers in Leeds. Can be found on Street Lane or in the Victoria Quarter.  www.daisychain-leeds.com

Hair: West Row

West Row now have salons across Yorkshire and offer an excellent service. www.westrow-hair.com

Shop:

You can't go wrong in the stunning Victoria Quarter. Also check out the recently opened Coco Rooms behind the Corn Exchange- a styling lounge and clothes exchange.

I can’t finish without mentioning Harvey Nichols and the fabulous Fourth Floor cafe. www.harveynichols.com

Paris

In the heart of Montmartre, this beautiful apartment by the Swell group measures 39m². In an art nouveau building dating from 1914 the accommodation offers living room, bedroom, kitchen and shower room. Find out more at  Swell

Barcelona

Located in a 200 year old building in the fashionable Raval area of the old city, 39 Steps has been stylishly renovated. The apartment offers living/dining room, galley kitchen, modern bathroom and bedroom.

Find out more at Staying Cool

Cornwall

The Old Stores by Boutique Retreats is located in the centre of Mousehole, a village in the south west coast of Cornwall. A chic open plan retreat, Boutique Retreats are designed exclusively for couples.

Venice

Only 3 minutes to San Marco, this apartment is on the third floor of a 15th century house. The accommodation features a large open plan studio space with kitchen, living/dining area and shower room.

Find out more at Venice Rentals

Umbria

Villa Metato can be found near Citta di Castello in Umbria, on the border with Tuscany. The one bedroomed open plan villa is split level and comprises living dining area, kitchen and bathroom.

Visit i-escape.com for more info

Do you know a fab property designed for two? If so please add it below...

Tamara Heber-Percy

Tamara Heber-Percy is co-founder of Mr & Mrs Smith boutique hotel collection.

Luxury camps/ eco chic beach shacks

Sal Salis, Ningaloo Reef, Australia, which opened this year stands out as a template for barefoot luxury – just five stylish tents next to the Indian Ocean. The resort is fringed by coral reefs – a remote, bush camp sitting snugly in the dunes of the Cape Range National Park. You can sleep under canvas, dine under the stars and mingle underwater with the rainbow shoals of fish that also call this remarkable place home. It’s perfect for flashpackers, nature-lovers, water babies and even honeymooners – offering back-to-nature luxury and exquisite privacy in equal measure.

New Urban Hotels

Crosby Street New York City, which opened in October 2009, has caused quite a stir. The innovative British hotel duo behind the Firmdale Group take their quirky-but-elegant, colourful style to Manhattan. It’s dripping in Kit Kemp’s special blend of inspired fabrics, textured wallcoverings and colourful artworks. Each room offers a different mix of patterns and colours, and combines just the right balance of character and comfort. I love the details, such as the Miller Harris perfume that was designed specially for Firmdale. There’s a great restaurant that looks onto a courtyard garden, a buzzy bar and a private screening room with Poltrona Frau leather armchairs. A great destination hotel.

Villas

Villas Fawakay in Marrakesh opened in February 2009. It consists of just three villas out of town in the foothills of the Atlas, set on a lush patch of greenery, dotted with olive trees and pottering peacocks. These desert dwellings excel in their combination of classic Moroccan charm and sensitive contemporary styling. Each villa is quite different: I love Villa Taos, which has an African theme running through its decor, with some wonderful artefacts and a fantastic master suite with its own private terrace – loungers and a shady tented area adding to the sense of seclusion.

Cathy Bartrop

Cathy Bartrop is founder of travelguru.tv, a video based travel site.

Top hotel

St Lucia – Jade Mountain. The ultimate romantic hideway. Set on a hilltop above Anse Chastenet bay, this is contemporary chic at its very best.

Wedged into the side of a hill each of the extraordinary (and huge) suites features a private pool and a completely open fourth wall looking directly across the bay to the Pitons. Complete privacy is assured and, should you want for anything at all, simply dial up your assigned butler, who will come running...

Related video: http://travelguru.tv/offers/st_lucia/destination/default.aspx

Top region

Girona Province – a long standing favourite of mine which delivers a new experience each time I visit. The coastline from is gorgeous – pretty little bays and fishing villages with sparkling azure waters but take time also to explore the volcanic zone of the Garrotxa, the tranquil lake at Banyoles, the dramatic scenery of the Pyrenees and the wonderful regional capital of Girona. So many contrasts within such a small region make for varied and rewarding trip.

Related video: http://travelguru.tv/offers/spain/catalonia/default.aspx

Top restaurant

Plantation lunch at Fisherpond Great House, Barbados – every Sunday, Rain and John Chandler throw open their beautiful 350 year old home to those ‘in the know’ for a  Planters lunch.  After drinks in the garden, a lavish 4 course buffet featuring over 30 or so traditional West Indian dishes awaits in the elegant surroundings of the dining room, filled with antiques, fine china and gorgeous flower arrangements by John.  NB they also organise weddings here - a magical venue. Advance booking essential Tel: (246) 433-1754

Related video http://travelguru.tv/offers/barbados/destination/default.aspx

Lara Dunston

Lara Dunston is a Dubai based Australian travel writer and author of the Cool Travel Guide

My favorites for 2009 are not all new for 2009, some have been around for a few years, however, these are my pick of the places we experienced during our travels in 2009.

* Restaurant

It's so hard to pick one favorite restaurant, but my eating highlights of the year were definitely in Barcelona and Venice, two of my favorite cities. We had a week of R&R in Barcelona to recover from the Mallorca book, and all we did was wake late, eat lunch, siesta in the afternoon, then wake for dinner for a week. As we'd been to the city many times before and tried all the classic restaurants and done countless tapas bar crawls, our focus this time was on trying the best of Barcelona's contemporary cuisine and newer restaurants. My favorites were Hisop, Cinc Sentis, and Moo (at Hotel Omm). All serve up highly creative, contemporary Catalan cuisine, based on the freshest and finest products, and specialise in presenting exquisite tasting menus that are so elegant and light and perfectly balanced that even after 7 or 8 course you could still eat more. We had a similar experience in Venice when we went for the preview of the Venice Biennale. Once again, we spent a week doing nothing but eating (oh, and seeing some art of course!) and my favorites were the Venetian equivalent of those Barcelona restaurants, The Met (at The Metropole Hotel) and Osteria di Santa Maria. Both serve up playful interpretations of traditional Venetian dishes.

* Hotel

Once again, we spent most of 2009 travelling, and we stayed in some stunning properties, however, W Doha was my favorite. We were lucky to get one of their Wow Suites, which is like a funky bachelor pad with a cool living area with a hanging swing chair, color-changing lighting, and floor-to-ceiling views of the sea, not to mention the BOSE sound system, king-size signature W bed with 400-thread-count linens, and a separate office with a retro-cool typewriter. Plus the hotel has Jean-George's superb Spice Market restaurant and funky Wahm Bar. The hotel is reason in itself to visit Doha. 

* Spa

The Six Senses Spa at Sharq Village, Doha, is undoubtably the world's most atmospheric spa and the Middle East's finest. I was lucky to indulge in some heavenly treatments during a stay at the Ritz Carlton Sharq Village a few months ago. The spa's design is inspired by a traditional Arabian village, so there are narrow alleys winding between high earth walls, and each treatment room is like a little two-storey village house with a tranquil courtyard and pond-like pool. Being a Six Senses, everything is natural and eco-friendly and the attention to detail is impressive, from the locker rooms with rustic wooden cupboards for lockers to the overall ambiance: Oriental lanterns, wooden pillars and ceilings, chain 'curtains' screening off areas at the central pond, and frankincense wafting through the place.



Map Prints    I love these handmade map prints available for London, Paris and New York from Famille Summerbelle.  (£45, Bodie and Fou)

Ski Boot Bag   Inspired by the old vintage ski accessories this boot bag from Paul Smith will certainly stand out on the carousel.   (£240, Paul Smith)

Lounge Socks   These luxurious lounge socks are 100% cashmere and perfect for relaxing at home or away.  (£45,   The Travelwrap Company)

Leather Tote Bag  Made from beautiful eco tanned leather this tote bag by Clare Vivier has to be a stylish addition to to any journey.   (£169.99, Bodie and Fou)

Mr & Mrs Smith, Australia & New Zealand  The latest book from the Smith Collection featuring fabulous properties from down under. As good as ever!  (£19.95, Mr & Mrs Smith) Win a copy...

LUXE World Grand Tour Box   The world in a box- holds 12 LUXE city guides including London, New York and Paris.   (US$110 approx £67, LUXE City Guides)

iPhone/iPod Touch Covers  Protect your iPhone/ iPod Touch with a sleek protective cover or case from Maikai when on the move.  (£8.49-£25.99, Maikai)

Beautifully styled (and that's just the interior!) you can't afford to miss out on the Style Lounge, a great place to spend an afternoon with the girls and a glass or two of fizz!

Find out more at Coco Rooms

Gaynor (owner) & moi

Owners Gaynor & Tim in the Style Lounge

Fitting rooms Coco style

Berlin

Highlights:

The Brandenburg Gate

Bundestag

Checkpoint Charlie (The Checkpoint Charlie Museum was full of interesting facts and poignant stories.)

Shopping: The shopping was excellent and I was impressed with Galeries Lafayette of which the lower floor was dedicated to food and housed a champagne bar! From huge sport shops to the well known labels it really did have it all.

Hotel: The Circus Hotel proved to be a comfortable home while in the city and the staff were extremely helpful and welcoming.

So, a very enjoyable and interesting sojourn apart from the weather which as usual decided to turn wet as soon as my husband and I stepped off the plane.

The whole experience did set me off thinking about city guides and user generated content. The Circus hotel, for example (which happened to be celebrating its first year anniversary) is rated as the Number 1 hotel (out of 617) on Trip Advisor which I thought was very interesting. It is a decent hotel in my opinion but user reviews make you realise that you have no idea what other people actually like or what kind of budget they're on. Some people would'nt like the functional rooms or the fact that there are no amenities in the bathroom- they are available at reception, you just need to ask (in line with the hotel's eco policy!) Same goes with restaurants, what one person likes, another dislikes. User generated content has its place but I think you need to find a guide or person/site that has the same criteria (and budget!) in order to trust their opinions.

I used Unlike City Guides iPhone app in Berlin for the first time and was quite impressed. It could take your position and then give you a list of sights, restaurants, shops etc around you. It can be used offline apart from the 'directions' feature which means no expensive data roaming charges. Again I think with guides you have to choose whatever works for you and sometimes too much information is as bad as too little.

Not an easy thing to decide, after all what makes a brand cool? After much deliberation here are my cool brands split into TN categories:-

Hotel & Villas

Mr & Mrs Smith  Boutique and luxury hotel specialists, the Smith portfolio now extends to stylish villas, serviced apartments and ski chalets. 

Travel

Tour Operator: Black Tomato This luxury tour operator creates cutting edge travel experiences around the world

Travel Accessories: The Travelwrap Company Contemporary knitted Scottish cashmere wraps perfect for long haul travel.

City Guide (online): Unlike.net The definitive city guide for the mobile generation.

City Guide (print): Luxe Ultra smart travel companions stacked with priceless information for the discerning, value conscious and busy traveller

Insider Travel Deals: Jetsetter Exclusive access to insider travel deals by invitation only.

Business

Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts  In every corner of the globe, Four Seasons is designed offers a 24-hour office and home away from home, with comprehensive personal and business services.

Family

Original Families The Original Families portfolio offers family friendly holidays worldwide.

Ski

Ski Safari  Tailor made skiing holidays to Canada, USA, Chile, Japan and Switzerland.

Spa

Six Senses  Destination Spas are dedicated to transforming the lifestyle of its guests through a complete immersion into healthy and mindful living.

Suite

Amanresorts   Aman Resorts offer luxury resort hotels providing environmentally friendly and aesthetically pleasing resorts.

Sometimes I wonder if everything is going to revolve around the iPhone.

I'm not convinced myself (just as well as I must be the only person who doesn't have one!), even though there are some excellent travel apps available. It seems to be the flavour of the month, everybody now has a blog but do you have an iPhone app? It will be interesting to see if more iPhone apps become available with the appearance of sites such as Swebapps and AppBreeder. I have images in my mind of everyone wandering around cities like robots with iPhones, checking out the nearest restaurant or museum.

I can see the advantages and the internet is superb for travel information but I also love reading my glossy 'hard copy' of Conde Nast Traveller magazine.

Technology moves at a fast pace and while the internet and iPhone have real value, in my mind there is definitely still a place for humans, guidebooks/books, brochures and magazines.

More reading:

iPhone versus travel guidebooks

It's time to scrap holiday brochures

Top iPhone travel apps

PhoCusWright Webinar: The iPhone and the future of mobile travel applications