i-escape

Stop 1: Tropical beaches and Creole flavours We were delighted to be welcomed by a steel pan player at the airport, getting us in the holiday mood! I’d always longed to stay at unique Cap Maison, located on the north tip of St Lucia (inconveniently the other end from the international airport, but road or boat transfers are straightforward), so had booked this for our first few days.

We began our trip in Chania, Crete’s waterfront capital steeped in history and character. Monastery Estate Venetian Harborembodied this entirely – an elegant building dating back to the 16th Century when it was the private mansion of a Venetian nobleman; now it’s a chic hotel that marries historical authenticity with modern minimalism after a painstaking restoration. The love and attention put into preserving the building’s heritage was clear to see.

I’ll admit, I stayed somewhere more central in Delhi initially (to get to all the tourist spots ‘easily’, or so I thought) which turned out to be a big mistake. My first impression of the city was a smoggy haze of noise and traffic. Then I arrived at Mizpah. Hidden down a leafy street in a gated residential neighbourhood, Mizpah feels like an escape from the city before you’ve even stepped inside.

Gather the family, or round up a group of friends, and make yourselves at home on the sprawling Dillington Estate. Spread across 3,000 acres of rolling Somerset countryside, the collection ranges from cosy cottages for four to substantial houses designed for larger gatherings, all finished with a polished yet welcoming feel. Days can be spent roaming woodland trails and parkland, lunching at a nearby village pub, or venturing to the Jurassic Coast in search of fossils and sea air.

Sea air in Foz do Douro For the final part of the trip, we hopped on a short bus out to Foz do Douro, where the river meets the Atlantic. It’s still Porto, but it feels like a different trip altogether. The air changes, the streets widen, and suddenly there are waves, wind, joggers, dog walkers and seaside cafés. Don’t expect a soft, Mediterranean-feeling beach escape. Foz is wilder than that, especially in October.

To complete the prize, the winner will also receive: A £500 SPF and skincare bundle from Sun & Skin, who will create a personalised bundle with products tailored to the winner’s skin type and concerns. Think of it as everything you need to enjoy the sunshine safely. Sun & Skin is a dermatologist-led suncare brand dedicated to making sun protection simple, effective and easy to incorporate into everyday life.

L’Escala, Catalonia, Spain L’Escala is a charming beach town in Catalonia, close to the French border. It’s an old fishing port, famed for anchovies, and still has a working fleet today. Recent years have seen the town develop into a fashionable seaside retreat, a result of its pretty beaches and pristine turquoise water. The old town has cute cafes, boutique patisseries and trendy restaurants spilling onto the streets. The main beach is Riells, offering safe swimming.

My love of hiking goes back even further than my love of unearthing delightful small hotels. Before I co-founded i-escape, I operated trekking tours in the lesser-trodden corners of Europe, from La Palma to the Peloponnese. Combining awesome landscapes, easy exercise, good company, and the pleasure of hiking from village to village, it remains my favourite way of travelling. In a few rare places, these two holy grails – spectacular hikes and spoiling hotels – converge.

This latest adaptation of literary classic Wuthering Heights places the Yorkshire landscape front and centre. Filming took place across the Dales and the moorland around Haworth, where Emily Brontë lived and set her novel. We’re expecting sweeping shots of Margot Robbie (Catherine) and Jacob Elordi (Heathcliff) on the paths above Top Withens (the ruined farmhouse long associated with the Heights), and in the stark uplands of Penistone Hill Country Park.

Wanting to get out in the great outdoors has been a growing desire for many of us since Covid times, and it seems as though this trend is here to stay in 2026. But finding somewhere remote enough to really disconnect from reality for a few days isn’t so easy when everyone else is trying to do the same. My advice is to head inwards and upwards, to a unique mountain retreat in the little-discovered Slovenian Alps.