Beirut is fast becoming the focus of high-end hotels. Gordon Campbell Gray (One Aldwych and Carlisle Bay, Antigua) has fallen in love with the Lebanese capital, which is why he opened his latest property, the sumptuous Le Gray.

The 87-room hotel, designed by Mary Fox Linton, has large, light rooms with Cuban art hand-picked by Gray himself in Havana, Natura Bisse spa treatments and Martini bar. Doubles from £194 room only. www.legray.com

Meanwhile, Four Seasons Beirut is set to open on the Corniche next month with 26 floors of glass and steel, an enclosed rootop pool and views of the Med.

Interiors by French designer Pierre Yves Rochon (Four Seasons Hotel George V in Paris) contrast with the masculine exterior using maple and rich colours and textures. Doubles from £215 room only. www.fourseasons.com/beirut.

• Going to watch the World Cup next summer? You don't have to rough it. 27 Edward is a stunning two-bedroom private home sleeping four, in Hout Bay, Cape Town, with outdoor pool and views across to Chapman's Peak with the beaches and harbour within 300 metres.

More importantly, it has availability for most of the tournament, from 11-19 June, and 27 June to 11 July (the final). £400 a week. www.holidaylettings.co.uk/12488.

• Whether you're in the sun or the snow, your skin needs nourishing. Madonna - probably the biggest devotee of anti-ageing products — has turned to Dr Kadir Matrix Moisturising Cream SPF22. It includes muscle-relaxing properties to help smooth lines and will pep up dull, dehydrated skin. £95, www.beautyslave.co.uk

• Has the new ski season left you feeling like you need to brush up on your technique? The Ski Club of Great Britain and the British Association of Snowsports Instructors (BASI) have just released their latest instructional DVD — Skiing Skills: off piste & freeride — aimed at skiers who want to make their first venture into off-piste or who want to improve in the powder. £19.95, www.skiclub.co.uk.

• Seven nights half-board at the three-star Hor Palace Hotel (right) at the Red Sea resort of Hurghada, with return flights from Gatwick and transfers on 4 December, costs £259 pp (saving £244). www.olympicholidays.com

• Depart 25 November for a week in Malta at the five-star InterContinental Malta from £379pp B&B (saving £82) with return flights from Gatwick and transfers. www.maltadirect.com

• A week in Tenerife at the five-star Gran Melia Palacio de Isora costs £799pp (saving £420) B&B with return flights from Luton on 13 November. www.sovereign.com