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Interlaken The Swiss have always been uniquely enthusiastic about their cheese. Last summer Gstaad began installing giant wooden fondue pots on the mountainside, in which guests could cluster together and enjoy cheese-feasts created with special portable fondue kits. This month adventure operator Outdoor Switzerland is launching its own cheese-themed innovation: the floating raclette party. Several times a week during the winter season, up to eight people will board an inflatable raft at Bönigen, on the shores of Lake Brienz, then float out onto the lake and down the River Aare to Interlaken as darkness falls and the lights come on. A guide will do the paddling, while blanket-wrapped guests enjoy a raclette feast: large quantities of melted cheese, boiled potatoes and pickles, accompanied by white wine. The two-hour trips run until April 30, and cost from SFr87 (£78) per person. outdoor.ch; interlaken.ch
Douz The Tunisian town of Douz, just to the south of the vast Chott el Djerid salt pan, has long been known as the “gateway to the Sahara” — the dunes start just beyond its extensive date palm plantations — but never as a hub for smart hotels. That could begin to change next month with the opening of its first five-star, The Residence Douz, a 50-villa resort set among 14 hectares of dunes and palms, with two restaurants and a large Clarins spa. It’s the first desert resort for the Singapore-based Cenizaro group, whose other Residence properties are all on beaches, including in Mauritius, Zanzibar and the Maldives. Double rooms cost from €357 per night; cenizaro.com
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