See these new articles following my latest trip to Cyprus:

Top 3 Luxury Hotels in Paphos Area
Play Top Golf & Tennis at Aphrodite Hills Resort plus
Review of free golf lesson

Plus Review of
Butler service at the Thalassa Hotel, Coral Bay
Palm Beach Hotel, Larnaca

And Reports on
Top Cypriot Tourist Sites
Best Beaches in Cyprus
Popular Major Holiday Resorts
Best Small Holiday Resorts

Tourists stay away in Malta in their droves

Pity the poor boatmen at the Blue Grotto in Malta and Azure Window on Gozo. The last two weeks in August and we were the only people on the boat trip around the Gozo caves. A wait at the Blue Grotto elicited a few more tourists but the credit crunch has well and truly bitten over here. Some hotels in Mellieha are reporting bookings 70% down this summer. Fortunately the Italians have saved the day for many.

Hilarious sitcom blows into Brookwood

Brookwood residents were disappointed to learn that the village's new hair salon Cut and Blow will be closing after just one week.

But their dismay turned to delight when they discovered that the shop had been transformed into a set for the filming of a new tv comedy of the same name.

Brookwood actors Martin Dickinson and Nathan Lubbock-Smith, helped by local residents and students who acted as runners and crew, filmed the comedy this week at the salon in Connaught Road. Local colleges had also supplied equipment. I went along to the filming to see what all the fuss was about.

The set with its candy pink signage was extremely realistic thanks to ebay, where producer Martin had managed to pick up a lot of the furnishings and accessories. Local hairdresser Peter Jones had also helped out. The walls had even been wiped with tea bags to age them. No wonder residents thought this former salon had reopened.

A 30-second joke routine lightened the mood. A dozen or more of us quietly toasted in the heat of the lights while the five actors ran through their lines. Sound booms were thrust in the air while Jamie Kluckers, director of photography, ran through camera and sound checks. Then 'action'.

The script explores the lives of salon staff and customers in the fictional village of Maybourne. After the owner, Felicity, tired of being at everyone's beck and call, storms out fireworks begin as the characters' secrets and past catch up with them. Zakarya Daliri who plays Antonio and Natalie Eve as Michaela were hilarious in their parts.

Director Jo Peploe described the script as "pretty much on the edge and a bit risque". Nathan, who plays Noel, started writing the sitcom when he worked in a hair salon 10 years ago. He went on a cruise to work on it and started working with Jo on his return.

Martin describes the sitcom as a cross between the Inbetweenies and Vicar of Dibley, without the canned laughter. He chose to film in a former salon because he wanted people to believe the salon really exists. Great detail was paid to continuity. Cars parked outside were asked to move on retakes if they had not been there when the scene was originally shot. Editing was done overnight in the flat above the salon.

His only task left now is to attract interest in the pilot from the likes of the BBC and Channel 4. If he's successful - and I see no reason why he shouldn't be - this cutting edge sitcom could be blowing onto a screen near you. Cut!

Luna Baglioni Venice - the grandest old lady of them all

A luxury hotel in Venice may cost an arm and a leg but to enjoy the city's true splendour, it is worth staying in one of the grande dames at least once in your life. As Venice's oldest hotel, the Luna Baglioni Hotel is the great, great, great grande dame of them all, as I found out on a recent visit.

Getting There
Arrive in style and take a water taxi straight to the front door from Marco Polo airport. At around €100, it’s expensive but worth it for the amazing views as you cruise along the Grand Canal. The vaporetta (water taxi), costing €13, is cheaper. It takes around 30 minutes longer as you stop off at the islands of Murano and Lido.

Location
Venice’s oldest hotel, dating back to the 12th century, is literally a hop, skip and a jump away from St Mark’s Square. You will find it tucked away in between the infamous Harry’s Bar, made famous by novelist Ernest Hemmingway, and the designer outlet Chanel.

Rooms
The rooms are palatial, bordering on ostentatious. Gold silk wall coverings, fine braided drapes, period-style furniture, hand blown Venetian chandeliers and Italian marble bathroom, with ‘his and hers’ walk-in showers, befit Venice’s oldest hotel. A very comfortable bed with crisp Egyptian sheets provided a fantastic night’s sleep.

Service
The service was discrete, warm and friendly with a personal touch that is to be expected from such a luxury hotel.

Breakfast
A splendid breakfast buffet was served in the wonderfully frescoed Salone Marco Polo. Expensive at €40 per person, it did offer smoked salmon and the creamiest bread rolls. Unfortunately, the burners had gone out on the first morning so the scrambled egg and bacon were stone cold, although this was quickly remedied.

Overall Impression
It may not be as famous as some of Venice’s ‘grande dames’ but the Luna Baglioni is an excellent choice for a special occasion or celebration, delivering on:
central location
excellent service
palatial rooms

San Marco 1243 - 30124 Venice, Italy. Tel: 0039 041 5289840
Rack rate for a double room in May costs from Euro 730 + vat.

Brighton - No Way! Restored Bandstand Saves the Day

I have just returned from a weekend in Brighton, which I found to be too crowded, too dirty with litter, too busy with tour coaches and too rowdy with T-shirted youngsters on stag and hen parties. Even more galling was that I had to book - and obviously pay out for - two nights' accommodation when all I wanted was one.

I can understand that hoteliers need to make money during the summer but with room rates starting from £80 a night at a fairly basic three-star B&B, it's a rip off. Is it no wonder that people still say that their overseas holiday is one of the last things they are willing to forgo, even in the credit crunch. When will British seaside resorts learn that visitors want value for money?

Fortunately, we managed to find pockets of olde worlde charm such as the Grade II listed Bandstand on the seafront, which reopened last Friday (July 24). Here, we relaxed over delicious croissants, fruit pastries and coffee from the ground floor cafe while a splendid jazz band bellowed out mellow sounds from above.

It has taken a sustained two-year campaign to restore the bandstand to its former glory and I must say it was a highlight of my stay.

Later we dined on excellent crab sandwiches from the Traditional Fish Smokery. Housed under the arches on the seafront, Brighton's only remaining commercial smokehouse uses oak and applewood to flavour its kippers. They also do a fabulous fish soup.

Checkout other UK resorts on http://www.kathrynliston.com/