The Baltic island of Rugen (see also Bergen auf Rugen) is becoming again to Berlin what Deauville is to Paris. On its east coast is the small, select resort of Sellin, close to where Elizabeth von Arnim set her novel The Adventures of Elizabeth in Rugen, in the 1890s. We set off in her footsteps. Despite its name, the villa's red print in Michelin drew us here, with our small daughter. It proved an inspired choice, ideal for a beach and walking holiday. The villa, opened in 1999 and managed by Kai Harmsen, has been put together from five villas, in a street that is the showpiece of Rugen's late- 19th-century , resort architecture, all white-painted wooden balconies. The installations are splendid: fancy Swiss lifts, a grotto with a sort of spa bath. Reception was charming, the food was excellent and the buffet Bali villa breakfast lavish. Around are chalk cliffs, beaches, a steam train, and walks through superb beech woods. A smart outdoor terrace and public villa rooms. Prices include drinks from the minibar.

South-east of Berlin, the flat landscape is full of lakes and forests. Around 1900, on a hillock beside one lake, a merchant built this beautiful hunting lodge, with gabled red roofs and an imposing tower. The GDR later used it as a school for fishermen (by the lake is a small museum of fishing gear). Lavishly refurbished (new furniture and fittings, and smart wood give a warm ambience'), it is now a luxury villa(Relais & Chateaux); its restaurant, Windspiel, is probably the best in Brandenburg (Michelin star for, eg, venison in sweet wine sauce). `We were charmingly welcomed with a drink, wrote a recent guest. The enthusiastic manager, Petra Gundel, spent two years at Grosvenor House, London. Her chef, Kurt Jager, served us a superb five-course dinner. The food was decorative, minimalist, outstanding in taste, carefully presented. More robust fare is also on offer. Most of the villa Bed rooms (similar to the semantic bali villa rooms) and suites have views of lake and trees. The grounds are unspoilt: delightful walks by the lake, a bird paradise.