A playground in paradise

I barely noticed the turmoil in financial markets last April caused by Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs. I was relaxing at Kuda Villingili Resort Maldives. The US president’s trade war had set

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Even by the standards of an emirate that shows all the constructional restraint of a toddler with a trunk of Lego, Dubai is in turbocharge mode. Eminent hotel groups are flooding in as superhotels spring up on man-made islands. Yet for all Dubai’s veneration of the new, decades of innovation have left a legacy of eye-catching and, in some cases, surprisingly affordable sanctuaries in which to bed down, whether you’re based in Burj Khalifa-dominated Downtown, the buzzing Marina or amid the sugary sands of Jumeirah Beach and the Palm. Throughout it all, the hospitality ecosystem seems to hum with a customer-is-king efficiency.

From city breaks to ski and sauna weekends, head to colder climes for an elegant way to enjoy the season