Departure Lounge: Get 2026 off to a sailing start to the Maldives
InterCon Maldives
Fantasy start to 2026? How about an overnight private yacht experience sailing around a lagoon in the Maldives, sipping champagne with oysters at sunset, dining on a menu by Michelin-starred Tom Aikens and enjoying a guided stargazing session in absolute luxury.
Live music on board and a drone video for a cinematic keepsake are part of this intimate New Year’s Day voyage, with a champagne breakfast on board on January 2 and personalised gift from Chef Aikens.
Offered at InterContinental Maldives Maamunagau Resort, this once-in-a-lifetime experience costs from US$16,500 per night. (approx €14,224) for two adults.
Rates for four adults and two children, or up to six adults, from $20,000 (€ 7,266). Limited availiabity and offered by reservation only.
The glam and gorgeous Casa Cook Madonna is set to welcome its first winter season this December.
The adults-only Italian alpine retreat sits in the pretty village of Madonna di Campiglio in one of the largest ski areas in Trentino.
Close to the ski lifts, you’ll enjoy direct access to breathtaking pistes, glacial sites, frozen lakes and snowy trails.
Alongside a gym and sauna, you can enjoy spa treatments, and stellar cuisine from a menu curated by three Michelin-starred chef Jacob Jan Boerma or hang out in the bar and terrace for refined apres-ski.
Rooms €280 in winter.
Families seeking an extra spooky Halloween will find value and mid-term fun at Ballygally Castle, a 400-year-old real-life haunted castle.
Perched on the Antrim Coast and regarded as one of Ireland’s most haunted buildings, check in from October 24 starts from €242 for two adults and two children, including breakfast.
Guests can explore the Castle’s turret room, said to be haunted by resident ghost Lady Isabella Shaw and enjoy some themed Halloween fun.
Classical music lovers can join Marty Whelan in Vienna this winter, on a Music & Opera in Imperial Vienna trip with RTÉ lyric fm.
Celebrating the 200th birthday of Johann Strauss II, this special trip departing 30 November includes Marty’s live broadcast from Vienna on December 3.
Flying from Dublin with Aer Lingus, the trip includes four nights B&B in the five-star InterContinental Vienna Hotel, two dinners, lunch with Marty Whelan in attendance and a city tour visiting the House of Strauss, Hofburg Palace and Imperial Apartments .
Musical treats include an evening at the Vienna Musikverein with the Wiener Symphoniker Orchestra and Die Fledermaus in the Vienna Volksoper.
€1,989pps, single supplement €479.
The Lodge at Ashford Castle has been ranked as No 1 in Condé Nast Traveler’s 2025 Readers’ Choice Awards.
The prestigious annual awards celebrate its readers’ favourite destinations, from hotels to cruises, countries and cities.
Part of The Red Carnation Hotel Collection, The Lodge at Ashford Castle enjoys the same spectacular setting as big sister, Ashford Castle.
With a 350-acre estate, excellent food by Jonathan Keane and the fabulous Éalú pool complex, it’s a Mayo destination worth seeking out.
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