An outdoor patio area with palm trees and outdoor furniture.

WHERE TO GO WHEN…

You Want Your Final Summer Blast To Count

Design by: Melanie Makariou. Photos by Ethan Jones, Mark Anthony Fox

There’s no doubt that being able to travel the world is the ultimate luxury. But sometimes getting there can be surprisingly stressful. Co-ordinating schedules, managing budgets, catering to different interests…when your to-do list is already heaving, sometimes figuring out where to go can feel overwhelming.

And so we introduce our brand-new travel series, Where To Go When...Every month WTGW will help tackle all those tricky travel scenarios, one dilemma at a time, with destinations that only the insiders know about. That’s one less thing on your to-do list. Passports ready.

The Baby Grand, San Diego, California

Hedonism and high spirits on Coronado Island

In San Diego, local summer begins after Labour Day, when the school holidays are over, the coast empties out and Pacific oysters are at their plumpest. The Baby Grand is a brand-new boutique hotel a short hop over a bridge from Downtown that’s quickly become a go-to for a good time – both for an international crew and for folk closer to home.

It’s a mad, maximalist fever dream, with Murano chandeliers hanging from leopard-print tents, mirrored mini bars in the bedrooms and no clocks in the bar. There’s a lagoon with 20ft waterfalls and an attention to design detail that is forensic as it is flamboyant.

And the mood is defiantly upbeat: staff in velvet suits operate between tables with outrageous cocktails, bubbles are served from elaborate gold buckets (book ahead, word is spreading about the Champagne and oyster bar), and a custom soundtrack by Jay-Z producer Swizz Beatz is audible (just) over the chatter of a spirited crowd. Truly a place to write home about; luckily, there’s personalised stationary in the bedrooms.

Photos: Ethan Jones

Villa Fayoum, Fayoum, Egypt

A gorgeous, go-slow retreat with Middle Eastern moxie

Summer in Egypt stretches its paws all the way into October, clawing back one more month of sunshine on skin and flicking its tail at any mention of autumn. Cairo’s locals slip southwest to escape the clamour of the capital, heading to Fayoum for the weekend, and a new property in the village of Tunis means travellers are catching on, too.

Here, the pace is set by the donkeys that plod along the sun-baked roads, and Villa Fayoum is fully staffed – chef Gioconda Scott (who also heads up the kitchen at sister hotel Al Moudira in Luxor) has crafted a menu of Middle Eastern market ingredients with a Mediterranean accent. Her roots lie in the famous family hacienda Trasierra in Spain.

Meanwhile Tunis is known for its pottery, and the villa’s vintage textiles, original stained glass windows and kaleidoscopic Izmir tiles celebrate the area’s artisanal heritage. Warm days pass flopping by the Sinai marble pool and padding through the gardens, or birdwatching for flamingos and kingfishers at Lake Qarun. Guests can book a room and full board, or take over the whole place for an end-of-season gathering with significant style.