The Wrap
Our journal of all things cashmere

Once upon a time, weddings were all the same: church or registry office followed by a reception in a hotel or a marquee. For most of us, Four Weddings And A Funeral wasn’t so much a movie as a documentary.

News reaches us of a chic new restaurant opening at Nikki Beach Dubai tomorrow, so if you find yourself in the emirate this summer you might want to drop by (there’s a Nikki Beach Resort opening in Dubai later this year, too). But what really caught my eye

A few years ago everyone predicted travel apps would be the end of guide books and for a while it looked likely. But according to The Bookseller, the sales of travel guides in 2015 increased for the first time in seven years. Guide books have moved with the times, too. One of our favourite publications, Insight Guides has recently

Need inspiration for Mother’s Day on Sunday? Fortunately, the travel industry loves a special occasion and there are plenty of Mother’s Day packages on offer. Here are five of our favourites.

Desperate for a blast of sun? That’s what planes are for. You don’t have to endure a 13-hour flight either: the following destinations are all eight hours or less away and while their daily temperatures – with the exception of Antigua – tend to be warm rather than hot, there is plenty of bright sunshine on offer. Think sunglasses and a light jacket rather than an umbrella and winter coat.

This is 907 Whitehead Street in Florida’s Key West. Between 1931 and 1939, the house was home to Ernest Hemingway and his second wife Pauline (you can read a fictionalised version of their time here in Naomi Wood’s riveting Mrs Hemingway). When they bought it, the house was a ruin and they spent a fortune restoring it, filling it with antiques from Europe

Next year marks the 300th anniversary of the birth of Lancelot Brown, better known as Capability Brown, arguably England’s greatest gardener. There are lots of anniversary events and exhibitions planned throughout 2016, and we will be highlighting some in due course. Meanwhile, to get in the spirit, here are three Capability Brown parks that are perfect for blowing the cobwebs away at this time of year.

This year I have added a new must-ski destination to my list: the Sella Ronda circuit in the rose-pink Dolomites. And I’ve found just the place to stay: a luxury chalet in the pretty mountain village of Selva Gardena.

According to Vladi Private Islands, if you can afford a car, you can afford an island, and to prove it, the company’s 2016 calendar matches 12 cars with 12 islands up for sale. You could, for example, swap your 2013 Aston Martin Centennial DB9 Spyder Concept by Zagato ($693,000)

Naturally, at Travelwrap Towers we do most of our Christmas shopping online, but even we have to admit that sitting at a computer screen is not very Christmassy. So to top up on our festive spirit, we usually head for a Christmas fair, preferably in a stately home or castle. There’s nothing like a glass of mulled wine in posh surroundings, we find, to bring on feelings of Comfort and Joy. These are the five festive fairs we’ll be choosing from this year.

25-27 November 2015

Lord and Lady Lansdowne’s 18th-century home (above) is closed to the public at this time of year,