DOG STAR Dog owners staying at the Holbeck Ghyll hotel in the Lake District pay £60 a night extra for “Michelin-star” dog meals, a “special” bowl and a blanket. “The chef will tailor-make something to the dog's requirements,” it says.

IRON MAN Lords of the Manor hotel in the Cotswolds has introduced “outdoor butlers” who iron maps before walks, wash wellies, set up picnics, and provide “binocular conveyance for orthinologists”.

HEAR HERE Home Apartments, a five-room boutique retreat in Reykjavik, Iceland, has a penthouse with a retractable roof, a “butter churn” bath-tub and a table that lights up when it “hears” sounds.

BORAT MOVES ON The comic Sacha Baron Cohen was spotted at the Sherlock Holmes hotel in Baker Street this week. He will play Holmes in a film, but was seen without the trademark pipe.

DARK KNIGHTS Hotel guests will be able to watch the latest Batman escapade, The Dark Knight, in HD format in October. Filmbank, the hotel supplier of Hollywood movies, says that the film will be its first HD offering - coming ahead of the pay-TV and DVD release.

Times recommends

• Friday: latest flight and airport news
• Ski guide school in Whistler
• The best festivals in France, 2010