Get Toasty 

Truffled avocado toast and a flute of Perrier-Jouët. Every day, EP Club breakfast items, together with today’s Financial Times and New York Times, are at Emirates Palace Mandarin Oriental, Abu Dhabi. Now made over Hollywood style by luxe designer Alexandra Champalimaud, the monumental palace resort can - despite 1.4 million public-area tourists a year - offer exclusivity. Fifth-floor suite 3519, a haven of champagne hues and blues that complement the ocean, overlooks the mile-long private beach, and it’s directly, by elevator, above the EP Club.

The Hollywood 100 

Talking of Hollywood, that city’s distinctive 45-foot tall logo atop Mount Lee in the Beachwood Canyon area of the Santa Monica Mountains turns a hundred on 8th December. In 1923, white-painted wood letters were put up to advertise new homes in Hollywoodland (the last four letters were taken away in 1949).  In 1978 new letters were used, with slightly too-wide a gap on the right side of the W. The non-profit Hollywood Sign Trust manages the sign, which can be reached by a 2.5-hour round-trip hike.

Hang It Like Beckham

David Beckham shows his meticulous, self-maintained wardrobe in Netflix’s must-watch Beckham. Actually, hanging clothes is happiness, says Shuhei Nakata, head of third-generation hand-made Tokyo-based Nakata Hangers. It takes a couple of days to carve and polish each European beech hanger, which can be personalised for security or as hikidemono, a gift.

Cheers To Sustainability

Savvy travellers want products with individuality and style. Langham Hotel London saw the literary birth of Sherlock Holmes and the literal start of afternoon tea. Heritage and future. The Langham’s Artesian, on many best-bars lists, has sustainable cocktails. How about Macallan 12 with kombu - brown Japanese seaweed - plus dark Oloroso sherry, chocolate wine, Martini bitters and Tio Pepe?

Fashion Decorum 

Don’t despair at the sloppiness of youth – there’s a return-to-trad revolution underway, led by Bangkok’s Gen-Zs. The savvy, of all ages, shop at the city’s Decorum, led by sartorialists Ball Pattharachaikul and Guy Ridhiprasart. Expect to be tempted by top UK, US and Japanese brands. Decorum also hosts pop-ups. Last week, the temporary star was John Lobb, for footwear.

Whiskey Hideout 

The Scotch Whisky Association believes whisky tourism is already Scotland’s top attraction. To enhance its popularity, Pernod Richard’s Chivas Brothers has opened Linn House on the bank of the River Isla in Keith, Moray. Buyouts only, six or 12 double bedrooms. Stays with tutored tastings, including limited editions 30 years old. Resident chef and log fires (Linn House was designed in 1870 by local aesthete Robert Kynoch-Shand).

Football Freestyle

Get moving, the Marcel Gurk way. The 23-year old German holds ten Guinness World Records for the sport you never knew you needed to know – football freestyle. He’s teaching in The Maldives (Soneva Fushi), 15-21 December. Choice of beach or over-water pool villas. Don’t miss the two master-chef over-water rooftop Japanese restaurants or, kids only, making rockets from waste discards.