Last week I had eight hours in Economy to reflect on how uncomfortable flying has become and how, once I win the lottery, I will only travel on private planes and transfer to my hotel by helicopter. Here’s where I’ll be landing first:

The Burj Al Arab in Dubai has its own dedicated helicopter transfer service from the airport landing on what must be the Rolls-Royce of helipads. A dizzying 28 floors up, the cantilevered helipad is also used for prestigious sporting events – Roger Federer and Andre Agassi played a match here in 2005 – as well as weddings, though brides will obviously need a good head for heights.Helipad, The Peninsula Hong KongThe Peninsula is my favourite hotel in Hong Kong so thank goodness it offers airport transfers from the airport to its own roof-top helipad, one of only two in the territory. The flight takes about seven minutes and offers the sort of views you can only otherwise get from The Peak. The Peninsula also offers a Sky Tour and Teatime experience, which combines a helicopter tour of the island followed by afternoon tea.Ciragan Palace Kempinski IstanbulCiragan Palace Kempinski Istanbul, on the shores of the Bosphorus, is the only hotel in the Turkish city accessible by car, yacht and helicopter (the helipad is on the water’s edge, a little farther to the right of this picture). You can also take helicopter tour – a great way to make sense of a city that straddles two continents. Helipad, Chateau Saint-Martin & Spa, FranceHeavy traffic makes the drive from anywhere on the Côte d’Azur to Saint-Tropez a tedious undertaking. Fortunately, Saint-Tropez has its own airfield – La Mole – and Château Saint-Martin & Spa, set in 32 acres above Vence, has its own helipad. Lunch in Saint-Tropez? That will be 20 minutes. On the other hand, Monaco is even nearer at 10 minutes. Decisions, decisions. Chewton Glen, HampshirePerhaps I’ll give up travelling by road at home, too. There is a surprising number of hotels in the UK with helipads, including one of Travelwrap’s favourites, Chewton Glen, on the edge of the New Forest National Park. A company called Private Travel Services will pick me up from London’s Battersea Heliport or even my own garden and whisk me down to Chewton Glen in around half an hour. So that’s the hotels sorted. All I have to do now is win the lottery…

BY MAGGIE O’SULLIVAN