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weather at home and enjoy theirspecial day basking in the sun.Their personal wedding service willtake care of everything from start tofinish down to the very last detail.

As part of the wedding package,award winning Spa Bahia Vital hasmuch needed pampering for thebride and groom before and afterthe event. For more information goto atlantisbahiareal.com/en

lITALY, Costa Rica, Peru andKenya are destinations tipped

to be hot with holidaymakers nextyear according to a new travel fore-cast from world-wide holidayexperts Kuoni.

Big movie launches, new directflight routes from the UK, favoura-ble exchange rates, state-of-the-arthotel openings and world-leadingattractions are some of the factors

which drive bookings. The new BenHur film — starring Morgan Free-man —will be shot in Rome whileFCO warnings are being relaxed insafari favourite Kenya.

Meanwhile, a a new direct sched-uled service on British Airways fromMay 2016 will make it easier to getto Costa Rica. And Antigua will bebig, thanks to the strength of thepound against the dollar.

lFUERTEVENTURA is sur-rounded by idyllic white sandy

beaches and is a hard to beat placefor some guaranteed winter sun.

It is also a dream destination forcouples who want to tie the knotaway from home.

The 5HGran Hotel Atlantis BahiaReal has launched a range of winterwedding packages for coupleswho want to escape the miserable

IT’S 26°C INBARBADOS—week at the 4Hadults-onlyClub Barbados

is from £1,049pp withBlue Bay Travel. Theprice is based on all-in-clusive with flights fromGlasgow on December13 (book by November30). See or call 08444997 645.

IT’S 22°C INGRAN CANA-RIA— a weekat the 3H CayBeach Princess

Bungalows in Maspalo-mas, Gran Canaria isfrom £284pp with Thom-son. The price is basedon self-catering withflights from Edinburghon December 14. Seethomson.co.uk.

HAPPY VALLE: A week self-catering at the 4H CordialMogan Valle in Las Palmas,Gran Canaria is from £549ppleaving Glasgow on Decem-ber 21. See thomas-cook.com, or call 0844 4125970.. . . GET INN THERE: Fivenights room only at the 4HHoliday Inn Istanbul CityHotel in Istanbul is from£280pp leaving Edinburghon November 24. See away-holidays.co.uk or call 0208705 0107.. . . YOU RICA: Trek acrossCosta Rica for 13 days visit-ing jungle and beaches from£1,700pp including hotels,lodges & eco lodges, flightsfrom Glasgow on November28 and tour leaders. See tre-kamerica.com or call 0333999 7959.. . . D’AZUR THING: A familyof six can stay on the CoteD’Azur, France at Esterel parcfrom £211 in a Puccini Rivieramobile home arriving March25 (book by November 19).Travel not included but canbe arranged. See alfresco-holidays.com. . . DUTCHOF CLASS: Twonights B&B in Amsterdam atthe 3H Amstel Botel is from£129pp leaving Edinburgh onDecember 2. See thomas-

cook.com/holidays/city-breaks or call 08718950045.. . . IT’S IN HTEPRAGUE: Two

nights room only atthe 3H Saint George Hotel inPrague is from £140pp leav-ing Edinburgh on December1. See thomascook.com/holi-days/city-breaks or call 08718950045. . . THISTLE DO NICELY:The Christmas countdownhas begun in London andThistle are celebrating with afestive offer and have roomsfrom £89. See thistle.com/wintersale. . . EL OF A DEAL: A weekself-catering at the 4H ElPlantio Golf Resort in Ali-cante, Spain is from £244ppleaving Glasgow on Decem-ber 6. See easyjet.com/holi-days or call 020 3499 5232.. . . LET’S BAY HAVINGYOU: Seven days all-inclu-sive at the 4H Pestana Bay inFunchal, Portugal is from£470pp leaving Glasgow onDecember 14. See first-choice.co.uk or call 0871 2007799.. . . CARIBBEAN KEEN:Three nights’ room-only atthe 3H Hotel Edison, NewYork, and seven nights’ B&Bat the 4H Hotel Blu, SaintLucia, is from £969 with Trav-elbag, saving almost £1,020per couple. Book by Decem-ber. See travelbag.co.uk orcall 020 7001 4112.. . . TURK THAT: The SunTravel has early-bookingdeals for 2016, including aweek’s all- inclusive break tothe 5H Ramada Resort inAkbuk for £249. See thesun-travel.co.uk.

7 PAGES OF HOLS WITH SCOTTISH SUN TRAVEL EDITOR HEATHER LOWRIE

IT’S said that Edin-burgh cabbies arenever wrong.

As myself and the other half Laurawere being dropped off for a two-night stay at the Dunstane Hotel inthe capital, our taxi driver asked:“Are you booked into the restaurant,The Skerries? The food’s amazing.One of the best in the city.”

On this occasion, I’m delighted toreport this Edinburgh cabbie mostdefinitely wasn’t wrong. The food atthe Dunstane is top-notch.

Now going by the hotel restaurant’sname, The Skerries, and a quickgander at the menu, it’s clear there’smore than a slight nod to Orkney.

Pictures on the wall also hint atan affection for the isles — and someof the staff even sounded Orcadian.

If the Dunstane’s brief was to com-bine island charm with capital citychic, they’ve pretty much nailed it.

The dining room has a quiet,relaxed feel but still has flashes ofuber-trendy elegance.

And it was here we settled downfor a fabulous meal.

I kicked off with a starter of West

Lothian haggis croquettes and pick-led turnips.

And, hats off to head chef PaulHood, right. It takes a lot to makethe humble neep a delicacy but, boy,did he pull it off. I could have eatena plate of these sweet, nippy morselsall on their own.

Laura was delighted with her Ork-ney scallops — and then asimpressed as I was with the pickledveg when she tucked into her mainof sea bass which was accompaniedwith celery that had been given thesame va-va-voom as my turnip.

For main, I had the Orkney sirloinsteak. Cooked to perfection.

Dessert was also a showstopper.Laura is quite the baker and makesthe best cheesecake I’ve ever tasted.

And the Skerries version is as closeas anyone has come to knocking heroff the No1 perch in my eyes. Close,but no cigar (I might be biased sosorry, Paul).

Laura, meanwhile, had the darkchocolate orange and praline tart.Imagine the most luxurious Terry’sChocolate Orange ever — and you’restill not even close to how goodthis dish tastes.

But the food isn’t the onlything the Dunstane has goingfor it.

It’s a classy boutique hotelwith a selection of bespokerooms, ideally placed inEdinburgh’s WesterCoates just outwiththe city-centre hus-tle and bustle butclose enough towander into town.

It’s also not farfrom Haymarkettrain station and thetram stop whilethere’s a bus stopjust outside thehotel’s entrance.

So whether you’rein Edinburgh forsome sight-seeing, a

show or a night on the razzle, itslocation is a massive plus.

And finally, a few words on theDunstane’s impressive staff.

They’re always polite and helpful —and they should really be billing thetourist board for the effort they put

in selling Edinburgh’s attractionsto domestic and foreign visitors

alike.They’re a credit to the hotel

and their city.The best customer service

I’ve ever experienced was at5H celeb retreat Mar Hall in

Renfrewshire.But the staff at the Dunstanecould give them a run for

their money.I’d challenge them all to

have a fight for the crownbut they’re all so nicethey’d probably agree tosettle it on a coin toss.

The Dunstanedescribes itself on itswebsite as Edinburgh’sbest-kept secret.

At this rate, it won’tremain secret forlong...

MARCTHOMSON

Planet Heather

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STAYING THERE: The Dunstane hassome great deals for the festive season.Their Winter Warmer package startsfrom £54pppn and three-night Hogma-nay package starts from £147pppn,including five-course Hogmanay dinner.MORE INFO: dunstane-hotel-edinburgh.co.uk

DUNSTANECOMBINESISLECHARM&CITYCHIC

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GO:DUNSTANEHOTEL

A tasteofOrkneyinEdinburgh

STYLISH . . .boutique hotelis getting rave

reviews

IMPRESSED . .Marc, below,was blown

away by food