As winter grips the northern hemisphere, the lure of the sun beckons admirers to visit those places - the cities and boutique beach towns given the esteemed title of being a winter holiday sun destination. For elevated stays blending high-quality accommodations, history, and a handful of the best culinary spots around, Conte would recommend looking no further than Tenerife, Morocco and Dubai. With flight durations ranging from just 4 hours from London to Tenerife or 7 hours to Morocco, and around 12 hours to Dubai from the U.S. East Coast, these destinations offer more than just a break from the winter cold - they promise experiences rich in culture, connection, and understanding.
Tenerife: The Best Island for Winter Holiday Sun
The largest of Spain’s Canary Islands, Tenerife is an oft-visited spot, full of contrasts and the ability to surpass expectations. While best known for its landscape of black-sand beaches and volcanic peaks, which in their own right are worth travelling to the island for, it is also a burgeoning hot spot for culinary start-ups, volcanic wines and elegant hotels.
A food journey in Tenerife might often be considered a blend of Spanish and Portuguese at the surface level. Whilst Spain and Portugal both played a large part in the development of Tenerife, considering its culture and cuisine as purely one or the other pays little attention to the swathe of other influences present. The famed Canarian Mojo sauce is a perfect example of this – it is commonly thought that this herby sauce originated in the Canary Islands because this was the first place where the ingredients had the opportunity to come together; chili peppers from South America, pimentón and olive oil from Spain and cumin from North Africa. It is a true testament to the levels of complex history found in the archipelago, and equally in Tenerife.
The cuisine is also where the unexpected is encountered – seven Michelin-starred restaurants are on the island of Tenerife alone. One of our top choices of accommodation the Ritz-Carlton Abama, hosts M.B where Chef Erlantz Gorostiza upholds the inimitable Martín Berasategui’s two Michelin-star ranking and is also home to one Michelin-star Kabuki, a more contemporary take on Japanese cuisine. Also, on our list falls the Bahia del Duque hotel in Adeja, which offers Nub, a one Michelin-starred restaurant offering a fusion of Mediterranean and Latin American flavours, similar to that of the Island’s own identity.
Yet, Tenerife's charm lies in its multi-faceted nature – the same excitement and delight provided by the likes of these Michelin-starred haunts can be found in its guachinches, small, family-run eateries that serve rustic local dishes like papas arrugadas—potatoes boiled in seawater and served with the aforementioned Mojo sauce. A small portion of an afternoon spent in the local wineries will tell the story of the volcanic wines produced here – Tenerife is the largest producer in the Canary Islands with 7200 hectares under vine – excellent in quality and unique for their ancient roots – as being one of the only wine destinations exempt from the horrors of the 19th & 20th-century scourge caused by the root louse Phylloxera.
Aside from the delightful food and wine, it is best to explore the other dimensions of culture offered on the island. The Auditorio de Tenerife, designed by Santiago Calatrava, is an architectural marvel and hosts world-class performances ranging from opera to symphony concerts. The Carnival of Santa Cruz, second only to Rio in size and flamboyance, is worth planning your trip around if you are fluctuating towards high-energy day parties, and of course, the incredible aesthetics. For a slower pace, explore the UNESCO-listed old town of San Cristóbal de La Laguna which offers cobbled streets from the late 15th century and a glimpse into the island's storied past.
Dubai: The Best City for Winter Holiday Sun
Dubai is a city like no other—where the tallest building in the world, the Burj Khalifa, stands side by side with the dunes of the Arabian desert. It should be said that the city is no stranger to contradiction; whilst blending luxurious shopping offerings with historical buildings, it also invests deeply in the cultural sphere and simultaneously has some of the best culinary directories internationally.
Dubai’s food scene is a fusion of flavours from across the globe, and it encompasses some of the most unique restaurants in the contemporary dining sphere. Start your culinary journey at Ossiano, the Michelin-starred underwater restaurant by Chef Gregoire Berger where you can dine surrounded by a marine life aquarium – the food, setting and presentation are of course inspired by the ocean, seas and travel of Chef Berger. Our top accommodation pick, the Shangri-La Dubai has four restaurants within the hotel alone – Dunes Café, Hoi An, Shang Palace and Indikaya restaurant and bar – each representing a slice of the culinary variety you’ll find in Dubai. Whilst the city has 19 Michelin stars, the quality of food and commitment to service is excellent city-wide, and it is worth keeping to a varied itinerary of both casual and fine dining spots to experience all that is there.
To some, however, the city’s true heart lies in its local eateries. Take a stroll through Global Village, where local vendors and food trucks sell Middle Eastern delicacies or visit Ripe Market, the first organic farmer’s market of its kind in the city for the freshest produce. For a taste of Emirati cuisine, visit Al-Fanar (with their newest venture on the banks of Dubai Creek), where dishes like machboos (a spiced rice dish with meat similar to an Indian biryani) and luqaimat (sweet Middle-Eastern style doughballs also called lokma or lugaimat) showcase the rich flavours and culinary leanings of the region.
Outside of the culinary scene, Dubai is a flourishing city for art, with modern galleries such as Firetti Contemporary and the Leila Heller Gallery on Alserkal Avenue offering cutting-edge contemporary art from local and international artists. For history, the Al Fahidi neighbourhood, with its well-preserved narrow alleyways and wind-tower architecture, is the place to visit. Home to numerous museums, you can visit the Dubai Museum at Al Fahidi Fort to learn about the city’s transformation from an early 18th-century fishing town to a global metropolis or lose yourself in the labyrinthine alleys which once housed busy souks between the coral and gypsum buildings.
Morocco: The Best Country for Winter Holiday Sun
Morocco has been described as “a gateway to another world” (Widad Akrawi), and that truly is a description befitting of the country and the most-visited city, Marrakech. Though not the capital but a former imperial city of Morocco, Marrakech is the place that Conte recommends you visit in the winter months – and as with Dubai and Tenerife, it is rife with a sweeping array of culinary options, historical sites and the most excellent of five-star properties to suit your every preference.
Here in the centre of Marrakech, where age-old medinas are cornered by hammam bath houses, textile souks and the vivid colourings of nearby buildings, we find the most commonplace of culinary traditions. In the local street vendors in the bustling Jemaa el-Fnaa square, you’ll find kefta kebabs (sometimes called qotban) fragrant harira soup, and the sweet and flaky msemen flatbreads, all served in the heart of the medina quarter (old city). It is Conte’s recommendation to look into a food tour of the city with one of our expert local guides – as we all know, sometimes the most frequented spots are not always the best quality, and Marrakech is certainly a city with remarkable restaurants hidden in the nooks and crannies.
Aside from the open-air food options, the fine dining in Marrakech is not to be dismissed. One evening, dine at La Grande Table Marocaine of the Royal Mansour, Marrakech, where classic Moroccan dishes like tagine and pastilla are available in a refined environment under the watchful eye of Hélène Darroze, who has not one, but six Michelin stars to her name. A light pastry break might find you at Amandine for several sweet treats – from traditional ghriba (Moroccan cracked almond cookies) to international stars (baguettes, croissants and the like). Conte also favours The Four Seasons, Marrakech, for its three dining options, Azzera, Inara and Quattro – each offering something slightly different, but still paying homage to the atmosphere and setting of the city they reside in.
Outside of dining, you’ll find yourself introduced to Moorish architecture whilst wandering the alleyways - Mosques, tombs and palaces celebrate the craftsmanship of mosaic facades and stucco plasterwork. Contrastingly, whilst the remnants of Marrakech's past are present in the more traditional buildings, there is a view to the contemporary with the likes of the Yves Saint Laurent Museum and the Majorelle Garden both offering tributes to the influence of Marrakech and Morocco on the international art scene. Even in the everyday exploration of the city, there is culture and history to be explored, some as ancient as the Almoravid empire who founded the city more than a thousand years ago, and some as new as 1956, when the country regained its independence from the French.
It is also worth remembering that Marrakech itself lays reasonably close to the desert – and a multi-stop trip should be dutifully considered if one has the time. The 150m dunes of the Erg Chebbi Desert are the sorts that are pictured in our minds, but come with a considerable journey – one that can and will amaze, inspire and bely you to venture outside of Marrakech when visiting this beautiful country.