Drink like a fish

The Saudi owner of the Grand Hyatt in Cairo has decided to ban booze from the hotel – and, to make the point, he’s dumped beer, wine and spirits worth £160,000 down the drains, which eventually lead to the Nile. Local newts have been seen celebrating.

How to stay in bed for ever

You know how you have to walk around a resort to see what’s in it? Murder, isn’t it? The boffins at IBM have come up with something much less exhausting – new virtual-reality goggles (sorry, an “immersive hotel/resort client experience”) that allow guests to tour the place without getting out of bed.

“You can stroll around the golf course or the spa, sit at a restaurant table and look at the view,” the company says. “There’s a virtual concierge to guide you, and you’ll be able to order from the menu, too.” It’s cagey about when we’ll be able to use them, but reckons “several chains are trying them out”. Trouble is, if anyone nicks them (and they will), they’ll never have to go on holiday again.

Then three come along at once

A veritable rash of five-star resorts is popping up in Mauritius. This month, the posh Anahita was launched; next, it’s the super-posh Grand Mauritian; then, in August, the super-posh-with-nobs-on Four Seasons. Tough choice, but we fancy the last one – not for the offshore island spa with overwater treatment rooms, but for the cute Hobbit Village kids’ club. Call us juvenile.

Where’s my dinner?

Eleven-course meals are a good thing – we can all agree on that – but aren’t they a little unhealthy? Not if they come with plenty of exercise. On July 19, the stylish Couvent d’Hérépian hotel, in the Languedoc, will ferry guests to nearby Pézenas for a gourmet orienteering evening: equipped with knife, fork, wineglass and map, you’ll packed off on a mad dash around town to hunt down the nosh, with each course secreted in a “spectacular and unusual” location. Next challenge: find an open chemist for those indigestion pills.

Open plan

A slightly odd sight will greet short-break strollers in London’s St James’s Park this Thursday and Friday: the Outdoor Office. It’ll take 32 people, and comes with desks, WiFi, boardroom, water cooler, whiteboards, receptionist and tea lady, all with a view of Buckingham Palace. It’s actually a wheeze from the London tourism bods, and you can book desk space for free at www.visitlondon.com/outdooroffice. What if it rains? “We have a high-tech solution,” the organisers say. “They’re called umbrellas.”

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