Japanese department stores are places of wonder, where staff greet customers with low bows and the basements are temples to elaborately packaged delights When Japan’s big department stores open their doors each morning, managers step outside and offer a synchronised bow to customers, many of whom will have started queueing well before opening time. Most…

To celebrate four decades of the Good Hotel Guide, editor Adam Raphael chooses his favourite places to stay – mixing affordable character and a spot of ‘pamper yourself’ luxury Forty years ago, an article in the Observer by literary agent Hilary Rubinstein gave birth to The Good Hotel Guide. Readers responded with such enthusiasm to…

Winter sports breaks can be seriously expensive during February half-term and the Easter holidays but there are bargains if you know where to look Action Outdoors is the UK partner of UCPA, a French non-profit group that works to make outdoor sports holidays affordable. Its all-inclusive ski trips offer some of the best value going,…

Canadian non-profit organisation, which enlists willing travellers to help transport essential medical supplies to developing countries, now has a Bristol base and is looking for UK volunteers Suncream, swimsuit, paperbacks … the packing list for a holiday usually follows a formula. However, one non-profit organisation hopes travellers will take the opportunity to fill their suitcases…

This revamped old drovers’ pub above Wharfedale offers a roaring fire, real ales and a menu designed for those who’ve been out walking on the fells When Yorkshire hosted the grand départ of the Tour de France in 2014, the first taste of the wild for the peleton was climbing out of Wharfedale past a…