If you are among the cautious thousands who have waited until now to book a summer holiday, there is a far better choice of last-minute cruises than the cruise lines – with their "book now to avoid disappointment" warnings – would have us believe.

The hotel

The Big Six: From beautiful stone farmhouses to pastel-coloured cottages

From coffee in Nicaragua and upmarket Asia to Andy Murray's hotel

The man who pays his way

A short break in the Italian city of Sorrento over the Bank holiday weekend

Conservatorium, Amsterdam

Sixth floor of the Scotsman Hotel had to be evacuated after two bodies were discovered by staff

Emergency services evacuated part of The Scotsman Hotel as teams in protective hazardous material suits investigated room following possible suicide

Balkan state keen to recruit French  politician to aid its ailing economy

Two former New South Wales Labor Party ministers facing potential criminal charges and long jail sentences

Less than £200... BA Holidays has a range of deals on Spanish city breaks this month. Destinations on offer include Barcelona and Alicante where three nights' B&B at the four-star Medium Conqueridor Hotel is £195pp on 9 August, including flights from Gatwick. Ba.com

Britain’s biggest budget airline cancelled a late-night flight – then told passengers to wait 86 years and one day for a replacement.

The Carlton Hotel was a setting for Alfred Hitchcocks’s 1955 movie 'To Catch a Thief'