Summer seems long gone and Christmas too far off, but a short-haul away is the tempting sunnier climes of the Middle East. Sharm El Sheikh's not too hot and not too cold right now, making it the perfect choice for a pick me up, and boy does the Four Seasons there raise you up. Service is outstanding, to the extent that a birthday surprise we organised for a friend meant that we woke up to find our villa had been tastefully decorated with balloons and a delicious breakfast of all our favourite things had been immaculately prepared on our terrace – while we were sleeping! (www.fourseasons.com)

There's fun further a field at the Buriram Boat Races in Satuk, northern Thailand at the beginning of November, where elephants compete in swimming races on the River Mun, though the festival's main fixtures are the races between traditional Thai long-boats which each have up to 55 oarsmen. After such excitement you might want to check out the new traditionally Thai furnished 83-villa Anantara Phuket Resort & Spa which opens this month on Mai Khao Beach. Villas have private pools - which always feels like a treat! (www.anantara.com)

If you're prepared to go the distance, there's fun further a field in Australia, with the opening of a spectacular new holiday home: The Winged House, designed by award-winning architect Richard Goodwin, on a cliff on the north-west coast of Tasmania. The cantilevered structure was built with a sustainable conscience, so you can feel somewhat virtuous while enjoying the 180-degree views that take in the Bass Strait and surrounding Wilderness World Heritage Area nearby (www.thewingedhouse.com.au).