Take me there: The Delano, Marrakech
Seventeen years after it first made waves on South Beach with the opening of the all-white Philippe Starck-designed Delano, Morgans Hotel Group is bringing a flavour of Miami to the medina with the opening of a sister property in Morocco. The 73-suite Delano Marrakech is an opulent affair, all velvet drapes, marble floors and intricate carvings, in the heart of the Hivernage district. There's a spa, three pools and a choice of restaurants overseen by Michelin-starred chefs, but the icing on the cake is the Sky Lounge, a rooftop bar with panoramic views across the medina and to the Atlas mountains beyond. Rooms from £198 per night (delanomarrakech.com).
It's a good time to... get in touch with your inner James Bond
It's been 50 years since 007 made his big-screen debut in Dr No, and to mark the anniversary a host of new Bond-themed tours, exhibitions and even cocktails have been launched. Follow in the footsteps of the world's most famous spy on a new one-off walking tour of London which visits the former haunts of author Ian Fleming and film locations, including a sneak preview of some of the sites featured in the new Bond movie Skyfall, which opens on 26 October. The three-hour tour takes place on 20 October (£12; britmovietours.com/bookings/spy-movie-london-tour).
If that seems a little tame, you could recreate a scene from The World Is Not Enough by taking a high-speed boat ride along the River Thames (londonribvoyages.com), followed by a thrilling climb across the roof of the O2 (theo2.co.uk/upattheo2). The National Motor Museum in Beaulieu, meanwhile, has the largest-ever collection of Bond vehicles on display as part of its Bond in Motion exhibition, which runs until 6 January (beaulieu.co.uk).
Finish off with a martini at Dukes Hotel in Mayfair (dukeshotel.com), one of Fleming's watering holes, which, popular legend has it, was the inspiration for the classic line: "Shaken, not stirred."
Give me a break: The week's best deals
HOME Borders cottages Crabtree & Crabtree is offering up to 20% off selected cottages in the Scottish Borders between now and Christmas. A week's stay at the cosy Gardener's Cottage, one of four on the Hoscote Estate in the Tweed Valley, is down from £450 to £360. Guests have access to 450 acres of walking and biking trails, and bikes can be borrowed from the estate (crabtreeandcrabtree.com)
AWAY Lanzarote apartments Tiagua 81 is a collection of new apartments in Tiagua village on Lanzarote. Aimed at a sporty crowd who want to enjoy the island's great surf, cycling and walking, there's a store room for equipment and a pool, and Famara beach is a 10-minute drive away. Prices start from €90 a night for a studio apartment, with an opening offer of seven nights for the price of six in October (tiagua81.com)
