In transit: Nothing soft about Sofitel

Travel news for people on the move

Sofitel has come out tops in a survey of Britain's best hotels. A Which? poll of 6000 travellers put the luxury arm of Novotel at the top of the rankings and Britannia Hotels at the bottom, The Telegraph reports. The survey judged hotels on nine categories, including cleanliness, customer service, food, and value for money.

Sofitel - whose rooms cost an average of £144 a night - scored five stars in seven categories for a total score of 83%, while Britannia scored just one star in five categories, including those for bedrooms, bathrooms and cleanliness.

The top five were: Sofitel 83%, Premier Inn 82%; Warner Leisure Hotels 80%, Hampton by Hilton 78% and Q Hotels 78%. Ibis, the country's cheapest chain with rooms costing an average of £32, took 13th place.

New rules for Nepal trekkers

New guidelines for trekkers in Nepal, including the sharing of weather forecasts and monitoring of trekkers, may save lives in future. The move follows the recent hiking disaster on the Annapurna Circuit trail which left 41 people dead.

According to The Telegraph, trekkers will be required to take properly trained local guides and rent GPS tracking for use in emergencies. All trekkers must now also register at check posts when entering and exiting the trekking areas.

Tiger mauls tourist in Phuket

An Australian tourist has been hospitalised with serious injuries after being mauled by a tiger in the Tiger Kingdom park in Phuket, Thailand, The Telegraph reports. Paul Goudie, 49, from Melbourne, had stepped inside a cage to pet one of the larger tigers when it attacked him. Park attendants dragged Goudie to safety. Tiger Kingdom sees hundreds of visitors every day, each paying up to £70 which permits entry into various tiger enclosures where they can pose for pictures with chained adult tigers and help feed the cubs.

Mango looks east

Mango Airlines is investigating new regional routes as the carrier seeks to expand into Africa. This could see the low-cost airline begin flights to another destination on the coast of East Africa. The airline will add two Boeing 737-800s to its fleet by the end of the month. It currently carries 200 000 passengers a month.

Iceland's low cost airline

Icelandic airline WOW Air has begun taking bookings for super-cheap flights between London Gatwick to Washington DC and Boston with fares starting at £99. The catch? A layover in Reykjavik, Iceland's capital city.

Etihad to Phuket

Etihad Airways has commenced daily non-stop flights between its Abu Dhabi hub and Phuket, in Thailand, marking its second destination in the country.

Wifi Terror hot spot delays flight

Authorities are investigating an incident aboard an American Airlines flight from Los Angeles to London after a passenger spotted a hot spot called "Al-Quida Free Terror Nettwork" while trying to connect to the wifi on board. The flight returned to the gate before taking off and was delayed for 17 hours, Travelmole reports.

Passengers disembarked and some had to spend the night in nearby hotels as they waited for the next available flight. They were allegedly told that there was a "minor security issue" that needed to be resolved.

Thai Island bans beach parties

Thai authorities have announced a ban on almost all beach parties on the islands of Koh Tao and Koh Phangan following the murder of two British tourists in September.

In an effort to crack down on tourist misbehaviour and clean up the islands' reputation, all but the popular monthly "full moon" parties on Koh Phangan have been outlawed.

Koh Phangan's full moon parties have been a popular drawcard on Thailand's backpacker circuit for nearly three decades.

Backpacker offers sex for travel

A 19-year-old Chinese backpacker has ruffled feathers worldwide after posting an online ad offering to have sex with men in each city she visits in return for funding her travels. According to the International Business Times, Ju Peng posted the ad on Chinese social media site Weibo.

Ju Peng said her "temporary boyfriends" needed to be "good looking, under 30, taller than 1.75m and rich". While critics slammed her ad as prostitution, Peng has defended her actions, saying "it is sort of like hitch-hiking. It's nothing to be ashamed of."