MIAMI

New York is so, like, over. Smart Manhattanites now sizzle southward at weekends for some Miami attitude. Join them at the Hotel Victor (00 1 305-428 1234, www.hotelvictorsouthbeach.com ; doubles from £260), where P Diddy camps it up; or at the Setai (520 6000, www.setai.com; from £490), where Madonna dresses down.

In 2007 the city will get hotter still, with two big hotel openings on the way: Nicky O (www.nickyosouthbeach.com ; from £200), where guests will be spritzed with gardenia essence and tempted with cupcakes at turndown; and Gansevoort South (604 6700, www.gansevoortsouth.com ; from £347), which plans a rooftop pool and a beach club by the architect behind the trendsetting Nikki Beach.

Fly to Miami with British Airways (0870 850 9850, www.ba.com ) or Virgin Atlantic (0870 380 2007, www.virgin-atlantic.com ), from about £400.

AMALFI

An old favourite with some fresh tricks up its sleeve. Last year, Casa Angelina (00 39 089 813 1333, www.casangelina.com ; doubles from £163) in Praiano introduced white-on-white minimalism to the famous coast; and this summer the hotel will add an infinity pool and spruced-up spa, giving its celeb clientele even more incentives to visit.

A starry newcomer this year will be JK Place (www.jkcapri.com ; doubles from £235) on Capri. It has a coveted seafront location and the same confident style that made its sister property in Florence such a hit with the likes of Jade Jagger. Fly to Naples with BA (0870 850 9850, www.ba.com ) or BMI (0870 607 0555, www.flybmi.com ).

BRITAIN

Quirky London hotelier Firmdale is already a favourite with Kylie, J.Lo and other A-listers. Its new baby, the Haymarket (020 7470 4000, www.firmdale.co.uk ; doubles from £250), opens in March in a Nash town house near Trafalgar Square, featuring a knockout 18-metre pool with a nightclub-style sound-and-lighting rig.

In September, one of Robert Adam’s greatest buildings, the palatial Luton Hoo (www.lutonhoo. co.uk) in Bedfordshire, becomes a country-house hotel. Loaded with objets d’art and set in 1,000 acres of Capability Brown loveliness, it should be special: rates to be announced.

Next winter, the hip Myhotel chain (www.myhotels.co.uk ) promises a new place in Brighton — a Freddie-Mercury-meets-the-Maharishi confection with “rounded-ended rooms that provoke a more human-friendly environment”, where “the overriding canvas of the euphuism creates a sense of wellbeing”. Cosmic.

RIO DE JANEIRO

This spring, the new babe on Ipanema beach will be the Fasano Rio, masterminded by design guru Philippe Starck and oozing understated 1950s elegance, with a drop-dead-gorgeous rooftop pool. By the autumn you should be able to twin it with Warapuru, Anouska Hempel’s much-delayed futuristic fantasy in Itacare. Exsus (020 7292 5050, www.exsus.com ) has five nights, B&B, at the Fasano from £1,650pp.

JAMAICA

Ever glowered at your teenage progeny and wondered why you bother? Here’s a good reason: British Airways, Virgin Atlantic and Air Jamaica have all raised the qualifying age for child fares to the Caribbean from 12 to 16, saving you up to £360 per spotty youth.

Villas are the family-friendly way to go, and Jamaica has the hottest new address — the glam pads at Goldeneye, Ian Fleming’s former home. It’s £4,300pp for a week, though. Ouch. Thankfully, the trendy Jake’s, at Treasure Beach, charges a more manageable £976 per adult, £792 per teenager, for a two-bedroom staffed cottage, through Caribtours (020 7751 0660, www.caribtours.co.uk ).

ZAMBIA

Kafue National Park offers some of Africa’s best game — if you don’t see dozens of lions, cheetahs and wild dogs, try taking the lens caps off your binoculars. But traditionally its accommodation had all the charm of off-season Skegness. Not any more. Wilderness Safaris has unveiled the stunning Shumba and Kapinga camps, loaded with indulgence: sinks carved from big chunks of mahogany, cool infinity pools and the rest. Expert Africa (020 8232 9777, www.expertafrica.com ) has six nights at either from £3,265pp.

IRELAND

The great British country-house hotel is alive and well — but transported to Ireland. Pack your Hunter wellies for 18th-century Carton House, outside Dublin (00 353-1 505 2000, www.cartonhouse.com ; £160, B&B), which is pitching itself as the Gleneagles of the Emerald Isle; or perhaps Bellinter House, near Navan (1 677 4845, www.bellinterhouse.com ; £190, B&B), a Palladian mansion whose styling owes more than a naughty wink to the Somerset celeb haunt Babington House. Things will heat up further in June, when the 12th-century manor house Capella Castlemartyr (www.capellahotels.com ) opens in Cork. Owned by Horst Schulze, former president of the Ritz-Carlton chain, it will be like Gosford Park — with knobs on. Fly to Ireland with Aer Lingus (0870 876 5000, www.aerlingus.com ), or Ryanair (0871 246 0000, www.ryanair.com ).

INDIA

Like Rajasthan 30 years ago, Madhya Pradesh is just being discovered — and it’s glorious: spectacular scenery, ancient forests, flower-filled valleys, romantic forts and eye-popping wildlife, including 22% of the world’s tigers. Now it also has somewhere lovely to stay. Taj, India’s finest hotelier, has teamed up with CC Africa, a respected conservation outfit, to create Mahua Kothi, on the edge of Bandhavgarh National Park — aka Tiger Central. Taj is responsible for the 12 kutiyas, hut-like dwellings with roughhewn beams and mud walls. CC Africa ensures that top-notch guides bring the game into sharp focus. Cazenove & Loyd (020 7384 2332, www.cazloyd.com ) has an all-inclusive week at Mahua Kothi, plus two nights in Delhi, from £2,838pp.

CALIFORNIA

Auberge du Soleil and Calistoga Ranch are the pick of the Napa Valley five-star hotels, but their £500anight rates may leave a nasty aftertaste. In May, though, the same stable launches Solage Calistoga (00 1 866 942 7442, www.solagehotels.com ), with the same stratospheric standards and impeccable environmental credentials, plus cool Napa-barn-meets-Frisco-loft decor; doubles from £180. Fly to San Francisco with BA (0870 850 9850, www.ba.com ) or Virgin (0870 380 2007, www.virgin-atlantic.com ), from about £450.

BALI

No longer content with getting under our skin, spas want to get inside our minds too. Como Hotels, which owns the Alist Caribbean hideaway Parrot Cay, now offers a counselling psychologist at its flagship property, Como Shambhala Estate in Ubud. Where Como leads, others follow, so expect mind massage to be the next big thing in wellness. Carrier (0161 491 7630, www.carrier.co.uk ) has a week at the Estate from £1,790pp, B&B.

TANZANIA

While South Africa’s Singita lodges have been revolutionising the safari experience, bringing Armani understatement to the bush, accommodation at Tanzania’s Grumeti Reserves has been a tad heavy on the glitz. Now the two have linked up, and Grumeti has chucked out the shouty fabrics and clutter — leaving more space to appreciate the lodge’s finer points, such as the pair of vintage Chevrolets by the gate, and the fact that it is set in 400,000 acres of prime Serengeti wilderness, the only private reserve through which the migration passes. Audley (01993 838500, www.audleytravel.com ) has four nights in Grumeti and four on Mnemba Island, full-board, from £5,000pp.

MOROCCO

With flights now going for as little as £75 with EasyJet (www.easyjet.com ) and Ryanair (0871 246 0000, www.ryanair.com ), Marrakesh becomes ever more attractive. Stay at a sexy riad (current top dog is Dar Seven: 00 39 34 77 33 70 98, www.darseven.com; from £100) or hold off till spring for the much-anticipated renovation of the grand La Mamounia (00 212-24 38 86 00, www.mamounia.com ; from £150). It’s the work of genius designer Jacques Garcia, who created that fashionista favourite, Hotel Costes in Paris.

Also look out for big hitters making for the coast. The Lotus chain has Riad Lotus O Marine (24 44 14 05, www.riadslotus.com ; from £200) in Essaouira, with extravagant doubles named after Dali, Fellini and Onassis. And next month La Sultana (24 38 80 08, www.lasultanaoualidia.com ; £229, B&B) opens in Oualidia, the country’s oyster centre. Some rooms will have retractable roofs for stargazing.

THAILAND

Six Senses — owner of Soneva Fushi, the undisputed star of the Maldives — is about to export its brand of no-shoes rustic chic to Thailand. Soneva Kiri will open this autumn on Koh Kood, close to the Cambodian border, following the seductively simple, ecologically sensitive formula that has been so successful in the Indian Ocean. If you can’t wait till then, its sister property, the Evason Hideaway on the west coast, opens in June. These will be expensive hotels for Asia (about £300 a night) but, given Six Senses’ reputation, rooms will sell like hot cakes. Fly to Bangkok with BA (0870 850 9850, www.ba.com ) or Thai Airways (0870 606 0911, www.thaiairways.com ), from about £600.

Unless otherwise stated, package prices are per person and include flights from London. For UK regional or Irish departures, ask the operator

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