2020 Hotlist
Want a piece of the action in 2020? Check out where it’s all happening…
1. MATERA
Italy’s divine town in Basilicata is known as the City of Caves and is the third-oldest continuously inhabited settlement in the world.
Honey-coloured stone houses, hotels and restaurants are carved into a jaw-dropping canyon. In 2019, the Unesco-listed site was named European Capital of Culture.
The city also has a starring role in the new Bond film No Time to Die, which will confirm its status as one of Italy’s most beguiling places to visit. THE DEAL Four nights in Matera from €910pp including Ryanair flights and car hire. abercrombiekent.co.uk
2. BILBAO
Rising from its industrial past, this city is now full of architectural allure, from the Guggenheim museum to the Casco Viejo, with its Aladdin’s cave of boutiques. The spotlight swings to the Basque gem in summer as San Mames Stadium hosts Euro 2020. THE DEAL Rooms at the four-star Barcelo Bilbao Nervion from €141pn. barcelo.com. Ferry from Portsmouth to Bilbao from €515 with a car and en-suite cabin. brittany-ferries.co.uk
3. ENGLISH COAST
This year sees the opening of the 2,800-mile England Coast Path, the longest continuous waymarked coast in the world. Any takers? It will wind its way from The Wash to Portsmouth.
The 66 stretches previously closed to pedestrians will be open for the first time. There’ll be wildlife, quaint seaside resorts and busy ports. visitengland.com
4. HOLLAND
All eyes will be on the Netherlands next spring as it hosts Eurovision in Rotterdam, the Invictus Games in The Hague and the return of the Dutch GP to the F1 schedule in Zandvoort after 35 years. From a new exhibition on slavery at the Rijksmuseum opening next September, to the recently renovated Anne Frank House, there is
always something happening in Amsterdam and, with the city banning free tours and restricting guided tours from January, navigating the narrow streets will be easier. Eurostar aims to begin its long-awaited, non-stop service from Amsterdam to London. THE DEAL Immerse yourself on a Classic Holland Cycle trip with Utracks from April-september. Seven days from €924pp. utracks.com
5. JAMAICA
Its crystal waters and paradise beaches will soon be beamed around the world when they star in the 25th
James Bond adventure in April 2020. Visit Dunn’s River Falls, from Ursula Andress’ bikini scene in Dr No, or Roger Moore’s crocodile-jumping scene from Live and Let Die at Kanaga House in Ocho Rios. Book both tours via islandroutes.co.uk THE DEAL Seven nights’ all-inclusive at Sandals Ochi Beach Resort in a Riviera Bamboo Grove premium room from €2,095pp including Virgin Atlantic flights from Gatwick and transfers between June 1 and July 31. sandals.co.uk
6. ALBANIA
Touted as the new Croatia, enigmatic Albania was, for most of the 20th century, off-limits.
Now its glorious beaches such as in the resort of Sarande, across from Corfu on the Albanian Riviera, will be just a three hour 15 minute flight from Gatwick with the summer launch of direct easyjet flights to the capital, Tirana. And you can visit its imposing fortress towns including the ‘town of a thousand windows’ Berat. THE DEAL Return fares from €99. easyjet.com
7. MANCHESTER
The transformation of Greater Manchester is gathering pace with the expansion of three big museums in 2020 – Science and Industry Museum, Manchester Museum, and Manchester Jewish Museum. And there’s the phased opening of RHS Garden Bridgewater, Europe’s largest garden project. rhs.org.uk THE DEAL Gary Neville and Ryan Giggs’ hotel, The Stock Exchange, opened last month, with a Tom Kerridge restaurant. Rooms from €188. stockexchangehotel.co.uk. In February, Hotel Brooklyn on Portland Street opens. Rooms from €170. hotelbrooklyn.co.uk
8. PLYMOUTH
Next year marks the 400th anniversary of the Mayflower’s pioneering voyage across the Atlantic to the New World.
The most influential journey in maritime history left Plymouth in 1620 with 102 pilgrims, landing 66 days later at what’s now Provincetown, Cape Cod.
A year-long celebration features the spring opening of the Mayflower Trail and multi-million pound art gallery and museum The Box. visitplymouth.co.uk THE DEAL Doubles at the Crowne Plaza from €159 a night. ihg.com/crowneplaza
9. LONDON HOTELS
A raft of sensational hotels are landing in the capital, with 65 openings in 2020.
Properties include 249-room Nobu Hotel London Portman Square in the West End. Its Nobu restaurant will feature the signature Japanese cuisine. londonportman.nobuhotels.com
Autumn will see the opening of Pan Pacific Hotels’ first in Europe, in the new tower at One Bishopgate Plaza across from Liverpool Street station. Pan Pacific London will boast sky gardens and a rainwater harvesting system. panpacific.com
Opening next month, on South Bank’s Lower Marsh will be German-based Ruby Hotels’ first “lean luxury” London property. Expect galley kitchens and ironing stations at the 76-room Ruby Lucy. From €139. ruby-hotels.com
10. KYOTO, JAPAN
Following the success of the Rugby World Cup, the Land of the Rising Sun is in the ascendant, as it gears up to host the Olympics. Ultramodern Tokyo hogs the limelight, but Kyoto,
London Pan Pacific one of 65 new hotels
Kyoto worth a detour during Japan Olympics
P&O’S Iona among some great new cruise ships
Japan’s former imperial capital, home to 17 Unesco World Heritage sites, is worth a detour. THE DEAL BA flies direct to Osaka’s Kansai Airport with returns from €1,234. ba.com/osaka
11. AT SEA
It’s going to be a great year for new cruise ships and two that catch the eye are P&O’S Iona (debuts May) and Virgin Voyages’ Scarlet Lady (April). The former is the line’s new flagship – the two-deck glass Skydome looks fab – sailing to the Norwegian Fjords from Southampton.
Richard Branson’s innovative ocean enterprise departing from Florida to the Caribbean is bound to surprise. THE DEAL Iona from €877pp for a week. pocruises.com Scarlet Lady from €911 for four nights. virginvoyages.com
12. CAIRO
The Grand Egyptian Museum promises to open early 2020 with 4,000 artefacts from the tomb of Tutankhamun, including three coffins.
These will be among 100,000 objects chronicling Egypt’s history – visitors will be greeted by a gigantic statue of Ramesses II.
The new Sphinx International Airport will soon be open for a trial period for domestic flights to tourist spots such as Luxor and Aswan. And with the remake of Death on the Nile out in October, all clues point to Egypt. THE DEAL 10 nights, a seven-night Nile Cruise, full board and excursions, plus three nights in Cairo, from €1,749. discoveregypt.co.uk
13. BAHRAIN
Slick hotels, gleaming waterfronts and new attractions are enticing a new wave of visitors to this small island nation in the Persian Gulf.
The Dilmun Burial Mounds have just become its third Unesco World Heritage site. And it has opened a vast diving park, with a decommis