Take me there: Café Royal, London
It's been a high-society café and a decadent nightclub, playing host to everyone from Oscar Wilde to David Bowie, but from 3 December the Café Royal will reinvent itself as London's newest five-star hotel. David Chipperfield Architects is behind the upgrade of the 19th-century Grade I-listed building on Regent Street, which has been closed for five years. The hotel will have 159 rooms with a midcentury-modern flavour, plus several restaurants and a spa. Rooms will cost from £450, but until March 2013 a special introductory rate of £350 is available, including a bottle of champagne and late checkout. (hotelcaferoyal.com)
It's a good time to... visit a garden
It's tempting to go into hibernation, but more gardens than ever will be keeping their gates open this winter. Undeterred by the encroaching nights, Anglesey Abbey in Cambridgeshire will be lighting up its gardens on weekend evenings, with magical walks through the illuminated silver birch grove and statue gardens (1-16 December, adults £10, children £7, nationaltrust.org.uk), while the National Botanic Garden of Wales in Swansea will celebrate the dark skies with a Stargazing Party (23 November, adults £3, children free, gardenofwales.org.uk).
Kew Gardens is offering guided tours of its evergreens, plus a vintage carousel, and if it gets cold you can warm up in the tropical palm houses (1 December-6 January, adults £14.50, children free, kew.org). Glasgow's Botanic Gardens have gone one better with the installation of Heliotrope, an immersive "experience" designed to bathe visitors in sunlight and music – a perfect antidote to Seasonal Affective Disorder (24-27 November, free, heliotrope-project.com).
For a truly festive atmosphere, head to Northumberland's Belsay Hall, which is running a wreath-making workshop followed by a tour of the gardens and lunch (6 December, £50, english-heritage.org.uk).
Give me a break: The week's best deals
Home The Foley, an 18th-century coaching inn in the village of Claygate, Surrey, has been given a makeover, with the addition of 17 smart new bedrooms and a restaurant serving British menu classics. The normal rate for a double room is £149 including full English breakfast, but a special introductory rate of £89 per night is available until the end of January. thefoley.co.uk
Away Snow is already falling in the Alps, and to encourage skiers to get on to the slopes early A&K Chalets is offering a free day's lift pass for every night stayed in one of their chalets in Verbier or Davos Klosters before Christmas. A four-night stay in December at the self-catering Bois Gentil chalet in Verbier costs from £285pp based on eight people sharing. akvillas.com/ski
WHAT'S NEW? MORE TRAVEL NEWS
Restaurant
An atmospheric railway scene made from salvaged film sets is the backdrop for a pop-up restaurant at Kilver Court (pictured above), the designer shopping village near Shepton Mallet in Somerset. Stage 1 features original props from British films, including a 19th-century-style platform and coach. Seasonal dishes include treacle-cured venison with sour cherry and apple salad.
• Call 07768 930380 or email stage1@kilvercourt.com. Open until early 2013
Tour
According to the ancient Mayas, time runs in 394.23-year cycles known as Bak'tuns. The current cycle ends on 21 December. To mark this, Guatemala Tourist Board has launched the Bak'tun Route, linking 11 Mayan cities. Join a tour or download a map to follow independently the route, which takes in highlands, rainforest and volcanoes.
• visitguatemala.com/2012
Accomodation
A new holiday rental company, Simply Italy, has around 70 luxury catered and self-catering properties, from villas and farmhouses to castles and towers. Most are in Tuscany and Umbria but there are also properties in lesser-known regions such as Trentino.
• From £445 for seven nights in a Tuscan villa sleeping four, simplyitaly.com
The Icehotel in Jukkasjärvi, Swedish Lapland, is reopening on 15 December. The new northern lights suites feature an ice sculpture lit and shaped like the aurora borealis – which there's an excellent chance of seeing this year because of the intense solar activity.
• From £1,152pp for a three-night break with Discover the World (discover-the-world.co.uk) departing 15 December, including flights from Heathrow to Kiruna, a night in a northern lights suite and two nights in a warm hotel room
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