A friend in town, an anniversary, an “I deserve it” moment … welcome to the luxury micro holiday club
On a shiny winter’s day, seagulls, surfers and whale-watchers are framed in the picture windows of Bondi Beach’s famous Icebergs Dining Room and Bar.
The caviar tartlets and the thyme-infused Campari spritz have been dispatched. A three-course menu from head chef Alex Prichard is on its way, served by wait staff in crisp, intensive-care white.
Cheers! Toasting a perfect Sydney day at Icebergs Dining Room & Bar with an Americano Angeletti
Can there be a better way to celebrate Sydney? It’s just one of several experiences on offer to members of a unique luxury travel initiative that showcases the best Sydney and its orbit have to offer.
Book for spa treatments in heritage settings, gourmet getaways, gallery viewing and insights into collecting contemporary Australian art.
DayAway taps into the push for luxury collectives like those under the Signature Experiences of Australia umbrella: Ultimate Wine Experiences Australia, Cultural Attractions, Luxury Lodges of Australia, Australian Wildlife Journeys, Discover Aboriginal Experiences, Great Walks of Australia and Great Golf Courses of Australia.
A little something to start with: caviar tartlets
Founded by Martha Waslen in 2021, it’s a members-only marketplace that offers exclusive access to luxury experiences, VIP privileges, special events and lifestyle perks to individual travellers or corporate groups.
Waslen, from New York and now based in Singapore, has spent most of her career working with luxury brands at the intersection of lifestyle and tech.
Says the CEO, “DayAway was built to make accessing luxury experiences easier for our members, whether they’re travelling and want to book spa and dining experiences at different hotels, or when they’re not travelling and want to treat themselves or a loved one to a day of wellness and relaxation.”
Martha Waslen, Singapore-based CEO of the DayAway initiative that gives day-tripping a luxury gloss
Waslen wanted to be able to book poolside cabanas and spa treatments in favourite hotels even when she wasn’t spending the night there.
“The original inspiration was to create one centralised platform that would connect the supply of underutilised spaces at luxury hotels to the growing demand from guests looking for daytime escapes to relax and recharge.
“We continue to see demand for these ‘micro-holidays’ from our growing community of members.”
A special launch membership costs $152 (US$100). It buys access to experiences such as lunch or dinner at Icebergs Dining Room and Bar, with VIP seating, for $225 per person plus wine.
At Gallery Sally Dan-Cuthbert, a work by Donna Marcus, known for her use of discarded aluminium kitchenware
Other options are a wellness experience at Capella Sydney’s Auriga Spa ($330pp); or a guided or private viewing of the latest exhibitions at contemporary art gallery, Gallery Sally Dan-Cuthbert (from $180pp, or $550 for a private consultation on collecting art).
Book a day of luxury in the Blue Mountains, unwinding at Spicers Sangoma Retreat with a spa treatment and a harvest lunch at Restaurant Amara ($295pp) or head to Rick Stein at Bannisters in Mollymook for a day beside the pool in a private cabana, a spa treatment, and a two-course lunch ($325 for two).
Treatment room at Auriga Spa in the historic Capella hotel in Sydney
DayAway also encompasses luxury experiences in the UAE, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Thailand.
Back at Bondi Beach, lunch is served in a glossy turquoise space. Today the sea is as calm as a millpond, bar a fringe of ocean frothing up on the rocks below.
Maurice Terzini’s hatted establishment blends top-drawer regional Italian cuisine with gourmet Australian pizzazz. It’s famous for its luxury staples – crudo, lobsters, caviar…
We eat ziti pasta with pecorino and toasted pepper and a lavish wagyu beef tartare mixed tableside with a quail egg, capers and anchovy. Squid-ink calamarata is flecked with spanner crab and tiny edible yellow petals. We have charcoal-roasted New Zealand reef fish in order to justify the sublime signature potato mash side, piled high with shaved truffle.
Wagyu beef tartare prepared and served seaside
A twist on tiramisu is the Pepe Saya mascarpone with coffee and marsala and chocolate flakes.
Sun-seekers on towels – tattoos mandatory – are dotted over the poolside deck below the windows, like beached seals. But not even the abundance of bodies beautiful can distract from this showcase of drop-dead gorgeous dining.
The writer was hosted by DayAway
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