Updates from Portugal, New Zealand and Germany

Portugal Six Senses, the Bangkok-based group best known for “barefoot luxury” resorts in remote Asian locations, has announced details of its first European property. The 71-room resort will be set on a 19-acre site about 90 miles east of Porto, in the Douro valley. It’s due to open in spring 2015, offering a large spa and numerous yoga courses, as well as wine tastings led by winemakers from the surrounding region. Established in 1995 by Sonu Shivdasani, the company was bought in 2012 by Pegasus Capital, the US private equity fund manager, and is engaged in a programme of rapid expansion. It currently has nine resorts but aims to double in size in three years. sixsenses.com

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New Zealand A Queenstown-based tour operator is offering a new package that combines surfing and skiing in a single day. The day trips, which run from July to October, begin with a helicopter ride to Big Bay, a remote surf spot with no road access (without an aircraft, it takes three days to hike there). After lunch cooked on the beach, guests get back into the helicopter to spend the afternoon heli-skiing on Mount Earnslaw. It costs from NZ$2,200 (£1,124) per person, based on a group of four. alpineadventures.co.nz

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Germany Guests at a new spa hotel will be able to guarantee a complete “digital detox” thanks to bedrooms that are being lined with copper wire, which will block WiFi and mobile phone signals. The 15-bedroom Villa Stéphanie is a destination spa attached to Brenners Park Hotel, the 140-year-old grande dame on the edge of the Black Forest at Baden-Baden. Due to open this autumn, Villa Stéphanie will offer 5,000 sq metres of spa facilities. brenners.com