l THE new Hard Rock Hotel inRiviera Maya, Mexico, had a

grand opening — with rocker BonJovi helping the celebrations.The fourth Hard Rock hotel

opened on May 4 and featured alive beachside concert by Jon BonJovi and The Kings of Suburbia anda VIP after party at Club Heaven.The Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya

has 1,264 rooms, outdoor pools, aprivate beach, nine restaurants, andeight bars and lounges.Child-friendly parts include HIT

Entertainment’s Little Big Club, andthe Teens Lounge & Club, while theadults-only section includes theHard Rock signature Rock Spa,bars, and a premium nightclub.See hrhrivieramaya.com.

CLUB TROPICANA: Sevennights’ self-catering in Ibiza atthe 3H Tropicana Studios inSan Antonio Bay is from £333per person. Leaving GlasgowJune 21. See easyJet.com/holidays or call 0843 1041000.. . . ’SOL ABOUT THEMONEY: Seven nights’ self-catering at 3H Nuriasol Apart-ments in Fuengirola on theCosta Del Sol is from £329 perperson. Leaving EdinburghJune 23. See jet2holidays.com or call 0800 408 5594.. . . BIT OF A MALTESER:Seven nights’ self-catering atthe 3H Sunseeker Apart-ments in Bugibba, Malta, isfrom £175 per person. Leav-ing Glasgow June 3. Seemaltadirect.com or call 0845604 0035.. . . TURKISH DELIGHT:Seven nights’ all-inclusive atthe 4H Marmaris Palace inIcmeler, Turkey, is from £629per person. Leaving GlasgowJune 25. See thomascook.com or call 0844 412 5970.. . . ACHOUSA! BLESS YOU:Seven nights’ self-catering atthe 3H Achousa Hotel Apts inFaliraki, Rhodes, is from £189per person. Leaving GlasgowMay 28. See olympicholidays.com or call 020 8492 6868.. . . REINA IN SPAIN: Seven

nights’ self-cateringat the 4H BlauPunta ReinaResort, PortoC r i s t o ,Majorca, is from

£338 per person.Leaving Glasgow June 7. Seeloveholidays.com.. . . WHAM, VAN, THANKYOU SANDMAN: Sevennights at the Sandman Van-couver hotel is from £639 perperson. Leaving GlasgowJune, September and Octo-ber. See canadianaffair.com.. . . BAIA, BAIA: Sevennights’ B&B at the 4H BaiaAzul Hotel in Funchal,Madeira, is from £409 per per-son. Leaving Glasgow June9. See barrheadtravel.co.ukor call 0141 222 2223.. . . PANORAMA DINGDONG: Seven nights’ all-inclusive at the 4H IberostarCreta Panorama, Crete, isfrom £561 per person. Leav-ing Glasgow June 10. Seefirstchoice.co.uk or call 0871200 7799.. . . ORLANDO MILK ANDHONEY: Seven nights’ roomonly at the 4H Park Inn byRadisson Orlando, Florida, isfrom £575 per person. Leav-ing Glasgow June 6. Seelowcostholidays.com or call0800 1116271.. . . ON THE PROTUR: Twoweeks’ self-catering at the 3HProtur Floriana Resort,Majorca, is from £303 per per-son. Leaving Glasgow June7. See thomson.co.uk or call0871 230 2555.

IT’S 31˚C inORLANDO —seven nights atthe 3H Main-gate Lakeside

Resort is from £669pp.Price is based on a room-only basis and includesflights from Glasgow onJune 7 plus car hire. Seevirginholidays.co.uk orcall 0844 557 3870.

LAS VEGAS is37˚C — fiven igh ts a tPlanet Holly-wood Resort &

Casino is from £799pp.Price is based on a room-only basis and includesflights from Glasgow, viaPhiladelphia, on June 10.See magicholidays.comor call 0207 580 5000.

EXPLORE ISLE’SBEAUTY FROMBOUTIQUEHIDEAWAYEXPLORE ISLE’SBEAUTY FROMBOUTIQUEHIDEAWAY

LATEBREAKS

5 pagesof holidays

l RECENT research from travelsite Momondo has found Brits

favour three and four-star hotels fortheir travels.Bathrobes and free mini bars are

some of the amenities that canusually be enjoyed by upgrading to afive-star hotel. However by shunningthese, Brits appear to be saving cashto spend on other luxuries whilst

away. Momondo found that betweenJanuary 16 and the April 20 this year,well over three out of ten Britsbooked three or four-star hotels fortrips, with less than one in 10 Britsbooking a five-star hotel. And 15 percent of Brits booked a hotel with atwo-star rating.Q HOW BRITS BOOKED: 3 stars (35%); 4 stars(33%); 2 stars (15%); 5 stars (8%); 1 star (4%)

HEARD the one about theidiot driving to Skye whofollowed his Sat Nav to theclosed ferry port instead ofthe road bridge?No? Well, you have now.When I sheepishly broke the newsto my wife that we still had another120 snow-covered miles to travel(minutes earlier I’d assured her wewere half an hour away) I fullyexpected to be thrown in the watersoff Mallaig.Fortunately Lesley-Anne containedher anger — the classes seem to beworking — and we journeyed back toFort William before taking the cor-rect route to Kyle of Lochalsh andthen over to the Isle of Skye itself.The detour, or “little adventure” as I

put it, added over two hours to analready long jaunt from Glasgow.But it was all worth it when wefinally arrived at the magnificentfour-star Duisdale House Hotel —deserving winner of a host of indus-try awards in recent years including

UK Best Small Hotel of the Year2013 and Scottish Hotel of the Year2013-14.Manager Rose and her teamgreeted us with soup, sandwichesand beer. Not a bad start.Barman Matt brimmed with pas-sion as he told us the best places tovisit the following day. He evendrew a map. I wish he’d been in thecar a few hours earlier!

Top-notch andplentiful food

Our room, one of 18 in this bou-tique hideaway, had a four-posterbed and bay windows overlookingtree-filled grounds.Next morning we enjoyed a heartybreakfast in the conservatory. Thefood, as with all meals we had, wastop-notch and plentiful.Skye is a mecca for outdoorstypes and we headed out to see forourselves.It’s also a wonderful place todrive and we opted to spend theafternoon enjoying the sights

along the famous Loop Road acrossthe centre of Sleat.Along the way we explored theruins of Dunsgiath Castle, strolledalong the sandy beach at Ord andnarrowly avoided a confrontationwith an overly-protective bull atPoint of Sleat.For the record, it was us whobacked down!Back at Duisdale we enjoyed acouple of drinks in the well-stockedbar (I’d recommend trying somebeers from the small island brewer-ies) before heading through to therestaurant for what was to be asuperb meal.Pre-starter was black pudding bonbons with a mackerel mousse and amini cut of local salmon. Then it was

poached egg with pea puree, broccoliand pancetta, before the leek andpotato soup with assorted breads. Iopted for island scallops while Lesley-Anne went for Highland beef.The talented French chef cookedthe dishes to perfection and the lowlighting and cosy atmosphere in theroom made for a perfect evening.Had we been staying at Duisdale

later in the year (as you’re readingthis) we could have spent the Sundaysailing in the owners’ luxury yacht.In high season Ken and Anne arecaptain and crew of the Solus aChuain and guests can enjoy a five-star lunch while touring the island.Instead we took a drive throughmore stunning landscapes from ourbase in the south of the island tothe harbour town of Portree in thenorth.It rounded off a wonderful coupleof days surrounded by naturalbeauty and being spoiled by the lux-ury on offer at Duisdale House.We may have arrived as a coupleof stressed-out travellers, but weleft feeling wholly refreshed.

DAVID WYNN

HOTSPOT

HOTSPOT

A B&B stay at DuisdaleHouse Hotel costs from just£83.50. The hotel is in Sleat, Isle ofSkye, IV44 8RE.See www.duisdale.com or call 01471

833202

GO: SKYE

BREATHTAKING . . .scenic view of Skye

and, left, Hotel of theYear Duisdale House

Saturday, May 24, 2014 551S