Top 10 Valentine’s breaks

Boutique hotel experts Mr & Mrs Smith have sifted through the schmaltz to find Valentine’s packages that will really set hearts aflutter (and won’t involve soggy petals clogging the plughole). Here are 10 hot properties that offer something a little bit different…

Explore Shandong

Heading to China in the year of the Dragon? Seek out Shangdong – steeped as it is in myth and supernatural allure

Passenger Focus

From the website

“We are the independent passenger watchdog. Our mission is to get the best deal for passengers.

We are an independent public body set up by the Government to protect the interests of passengers.”

Where the Experts Holiday: Mirjam Stibbe of Barcelona-Enabled

Mirjam Stibbe started Barcelona-Enabled in 2010. In Spain like many countries, she says, there are initiatives that promote accessible travel. What she noticed was there was no bridge between travellers and the services Barcelona offered. Suppliers were the same, the needs of disabled visitors was overlooked.

Snow time

The winter sports business has seen fewer skiers on the slope over the last few years (there were 911,000 UK skiers on the piste last season compared to 1.2 million in 2007/8), but you could have fooled me if the turn out the 2011 Ski & Snowboard Show was anything to go by.

Passport Control Lines

Check-in queues have decreased in size as on-line check-in and airport check-in machines have become widespread. What has increased has been the length of the queues at passport control. You might understand that the queues at the non-nationals/EU section takes longer to process as more questions have to be asked But why does it take longer in the UK/EU sections? Is it because EU nationals go through the same line and there are more people to process? Is it because instead of just looking at your picture, the officials now have to scan your details through and wait for them to appear on their screens?

Beijing after dark

Thanks to a slew of trendy new bars and fine restaurants, Beijing has been stealing the spotlight from its southern sibling, Shanghai. So don’t hit the road as soon as you’ve had your fill of the Forbidden City, for the fun continues even after dark