Southend is famous for its 19th-century pier and old-fashioned seaside fun. The opening of the town’s first boutique hotel might start to change that perception The 10-minute walk from Southend Central railway station to Seven, the town’s newest – and first boutique – hotel takes in its prosaic High Street but, on a crisp, sunny…

Startup moves toward full-service travel-booking company as it adds new housing categories and guest loyalty programme Airbnb has expanded its offering to include hotels, luxury properties and a loyalty programme for guests as the California startup shifts towards a full-service travel-booking company. Hoteliers and B&Bs have long been listing their rooms on the platform, but…

Technical issues with a reservation system appear to be behind two-day delay that prevented rail customers from booking tickets for the new route, which is due to start in April Tickets for Eurostar’s new direct high-speed rail service from London to Amsterdam went on sale on Thursday, after a last-minute IT glitch delayed plans for…

From homegrown heroes like Clockenflap to international imports Sónar and Creamfields, Hong Kong’s city festivals are easy to enjoy – and mud-free Most of us associate Hong Kong with gleaming skyscrapers, bustling industry and frantic markets. But a succession of homegrown and international music festivals are turning it from staid metropolis into a city of…

White sand, turtles, coral and rainforest-shrouded hills … our tipsters have sailed to far-flung archipelagos from Panama to the South China Sea Comprising 365 islands in the Caribbean Sea, the San Blas archipelago is inhabited by the Kuna people, and has avoided mass tourism. The islands are blessed with eco-friendly accommodation and unspoilt nature. I…