Itsy bitsy, teeny weeny: Liz Hurley romped in the surf on Necker, Sir Richard Branson’s 74-acre private island in the British Virgin Islands, where she was staying for a photoshoot with Harpers & Queen magazine. Hurley had her photo taken in a variety of very small bikinis, then retreated to a sunbed to read Jilly Cooper. She said: “I never wear one-piece swimsuits, only string bikinis in very hot colours. I’m very lucky because I didn’t get stretch marks when I was pregnant.” She also spent hours just admiring the view from the window of her beach villa, which she described as the most peaceful in the world. Necker is available for hire to private groups and accommodates up to 26 people, with ten rooms in the Great House and a master bedroom plus three one-bedroom Balinese houses.
Necker Island is available through Virgin Limited Edition (020-7227 6804, www.virgin.com/limitededition), from £812 per person a night, based on 26 people sharing. Celebration Weeks are available September 19-26 and October 10-17 from £5,216pp, per week, based on a couple sharing. Flights not included.
Dark and mysterious: Bono, the U2 frontman, is a regular at Royal Malewane, a luxury safari lodge on the Thornybush Game Reserve, next to the Kruger National Park, in South Africa. A fellow guest says: “He likes singing and dancing on the lower terrace around a fire after dinner, and he keeps his sunglasses on even when it gets dark.”
Other regulars at Royal Malewane include Juliette Binoche, star of The English Patient, and the American actor John Cusack. The camp “relives the colonial days of Africa”, with six private suites connected by wooden walkways through the trees. All the suites have wooden decking, open-sided thatched gazebos and private plunge pools.
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Turquoise Holidays (0870 4434177, www.turquoiseholidays.co.uk) offers three nights in a double suite for £2,148pp, based on two sharing. The price includes return flights from Heathrow and private charter from Johannesburg directly into the reserve, plus all meals, local drinks and game drives.
Pop idol: Ronan Keating and Bill Clinton have been spotted in Brunei, where they stayed at the Empire Hotel and Country Club. The hotel is exceptionally lavish, with gold taps, marble baths and Swarowski crystal chandeliers in its 360 rooms and suites. The hotel also has private villas, set close to the golf course, which was designed by Jack Nicklaus and has views over the South China Sea. There are nine swimming pools, squash and tennis courts and riding on offer — if you are feeling energetic in Brunei’s searing heat.
Kuoni Travel (01306 747008, www.kuoni.co.uk) offers seven nights’ B&B at the Empire Hotel in a superior room from £1,120pp, based on two sharing. The price includes flights from Heathrow with Malaysia Airlines and transfers.