IF YOU WISH UPON A FIVE STAR

Guests at Lisbon’s five-star Corinthia Hotel (corinthia.com) will be showered with gifts to mark the hotel’s 10th anniversary. Until the end of the year, guests can avail of the ‘Ten Years, Ten Wishes’ promotion, where they can choose from a wish list that includes buffet breakfast, a port wine welcome drink, early check-in or late check-out arrangements or discounts such as 10 per cent off spa treatments or 15 per cent off admission tickets to Lisbon Zoo and Oceanarium. Rates start at ¤150 for a double.

In a different kind of star treatment, London’s 41 Hotel (41hotel.com), on Buckingham Palace Road, has introduced A Night Under the Stars offer that also runs until the end of the year. The package (£1,159/€1,466 plus VAT) includes one night in the glass-roofed penthouse conservatory suite (pictured left), where you can star gaze and name a star (you will be provided with a telescope, astronomy book and certificate). During the evening you’ll also get a flight of Champagne (Ruinart and Laurent Perrier) and access to the hotel’s Plunder the Pantry service.

LUFTHANSA PREMIUM ECONOMY IS THE BUSINESS

Lufthansa has announced that its new Premium Economy Class will be fitted on its long-haul fleet from October. The seat will have a 38-inch seat pitch with 50 per cent extra leg room and an industry-best recline of 130 degrees. Passengers will also have a free check-in allowance of two bags up to 23kg and an amenity kit. The new class has all the elements of a standard business class, and  the airline is offering introductory Premium Economy fares to Irish passengers travelling from Dublin between December 10th and August 31st next year, which must be booked before October 7th. See

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PICNIC AT 35,000 FEET

Heathrow Airport may have dealt a terminal blow to dodgy aeroplane food by introducing a new picnic hamper service for passengers.

All of the airport’s 118 restaurants have signed up, so passengers can now board with their own bespoke picnic basket from a range of outlets including Heston Blumenthal’s Perfectionist Cafe, Gordon Ramsay’s Plane Food (right), the Caviar House and The Gorgeous Kitchen. Hamp- ers range in size and price (from €6.30 to €63, depending on the outlet), are collapsible and designed to be easily stowed either under the seat or in the overhead compartment. Some are insulated for maximum freshness and outlets like the Caviar House are offering 15 per cent discounts on the next on-board picnic if the passenger returns the hamper.

UBER’S BACK IN BERLIN

A German court has overturned an injunction banning ridesharing service Uber from operating anywhere in the country.

Last month, the Berlin state government put the kibosh on the service due to pressure from the taxi association, which has declared that it will appeal the court’s decision. The San Francisco-based company, which operates in 43 countries, has had a tough time bringing its business model to Europe (it was banned in Brussels and strongly opposed in Paris, London and Barcelona) but it recently appointed former Obama adviser David Plouffe as senior vice president of policy and strategy to help make its global expansion smoother.

KENYA & TANZANIA FOR €2,130

14-day tour includes safari in Ngorongoro crater and Serengeti, exploring village life and spice plantation. Includes return flights to Nairobi and from Zanzibar; see

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FAR EAST FOR €1999

14 nights cruising Vietnam and Philippines. Includes flights, transfers and two nights, five-star, in Singapore. Price based on two sharing; departs January 2015. See

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THAILAND FOR €887

10 nights B&B in four-star Amari Resort in Hua Hin. Includes flights with Vietnam Airlines from London Gatwick. Book by October 1st for travel in October; see

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DOMESTIC DEALS

Luxuriate in the Victorian splendour of Ballynahinch Castle (ballynahinch-castle.com) with their one-night Duvet Day package that includes room-service dinner plus popcorn and chocolates as you settle back to watch a movie (from €150 per person in a Classic Double). Alternatively, you could watch The Quiet Man in your room at the Lodge at Ashford Castle (

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), part of their two-night Young at Heart offer that includes a full Irish breakfast both mornings, a welcome drink and dinner in the Wilde Restaurant and a Quiet Man tour of locations that featured in the film. The package costs €329 based on two people sharing (three nights €419).

MICRO-GUIDE: MANCHESTER

STAY

Great John Street Hotel (Great John St;

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; room from €160) A former schoolhouse now the top boutique hotel in town with an art deco style.

EAT

Australasia (1 The Avenue, Spinningfields;

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; mains £13-26) Bright trendy restaurant serving superb Australasian cuisine.

DO

Imperial War Museum North (Trafford Wharf Rd;

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) A terrific museum that reminds us that war is always hell.

NEW YORK CITY FOOD TOURS

The New York City Wine and Food Festival

(nycwff.org) kicks off on October 16th – three days of hosted dinners, walk-around tastings and discounted meals at top restaurants. But there are other ways to uncover the city’s rich dining scene. Here are five tours that do that:

A Taste of Harlem

(tasteharlem.com; $65-95) A walking tour that explores Harlem’s rich diversity of cuisines, from southern African-American soul food (fried chicken, collard greens, breaded fried okra and cornbread) to a host of Caribbean and African dishes. The tour stops at six restaurants and explores Harlem’s rich cultural heritage.

A Slice of Brooklyn

(asliceofbrooklyn.com; $80) Where can you find the best pizza in New York? This 4½ hour tour makes a strong argument for Brooklyn, home to classic spots like Grimaldi’s under the Brooklyn Bridge (so popular there’s usually a queue) to L&B Spumoni in Bensonhurst. Along the way, you’ll visit spots used in Saturday Night Fever, Goodfellas and The French Connection.

Enthusiastic Gourmet Melting Pot Tour

(enthusiasticgourmet.com; $55) A three-hour tour of lower Manhattan, sampling the dishes of Chinatown, Little Italy and the Lower East Side, traditional arrival point for Jewish immigrants from Russia and eastern Europe. You’ll learn how to make bialy, taste a typical prosciutto, ricotta ball and a properly made BBQ pork bun.

Food on Foot Tours

(foodonfoottours.com; from $49) A range of foodie tours, from New York over Noodles to Food for Baseball Fans, introduce visitors to the city’s huge range of cuisines by bringing them to spots frequented by New Yorkers themselves. Expect to pay for your own food (about $20 per tour).

Turnstile Tours

(turnstiletours.com; from $42) The company’s mission is to provide socially engaging and responsible tours: the two-hour food cart tours of Midtown and the Financial District will bring you in contact with the people behind the carts and give you an insight into how these ‘curbside kitchens’ operate. The Immigrant Foodways tour explores the cuisines of eastern Williamsburg – from eastern European to Afro-Caribbean – and explores the Moore Street Market, at the heart of the area’s Puerto Rican community