Luxury hotels | Hot accommodation | Sensational suites

A hotel can be as much a part of the travel experience as the destination, whether it’s the location, interiors, room service, staff or just the way it makes you feel like a jetsetter. These are establishments that have left a good impression at home and abroad on the Excess All Areas travellers

Adelaide

The Mayfair Hotel
45 King William Street, Adelaide

Recently settled into the Colonial Life Mutual building, this 170-room boutique hotel is brilliantly located: it’s near Rundle Mall, North Terrace and the very local, vocal Hindley Street. Not to mention diagonally opposite Haigh’s shrine to chocolate. In tones of rose and gold, with a big marble lobby, a moody bar and restaurant downstairs, rooftop champagne terrace and spacious rooms, it’s elegant, attentive and a welcome addition to the city’s accommodation portfolio.

The Watson
33 Warwick Street, Walkerville, SA

Tommy Watson is one of Australia’s greatest living Indigenous artists, and the first to have an Art Series hotel dedicated to his work. The hotel design is a testament to the nation’s creativity and talent with the vibrant topographical landscapes of Watson’s Australia showcased throughout and former Olympic swimmer Michael Klim contributing to the design of the 25m lap pool and deck area. The open-plan suites offer views of the Adelaide CBD, River Torrens and Adelaide Hills.

 

Majestic Minima Hotel
146 Melbourne Street, North Adelaide, SA

Opened in 2008, Majestic Minima has recently had a refurbishment that included inviting about three dozen local artists to have their way with the wall behind the king beds in one or more of the 46 rooms. Stencil artists, illustrators, interior painters, graphic designers, oil painters and animators rose to the challenge. The result is a compact (rooms are 14sq m) but arty place to stay, which is ideal for the independent streamlined traveller in town for one of Adelaide’s many festivals or just here on business for a few days. Purchase a breakfast box or order in from one of North Adelaide’s restaurants. There are pubs and cafes aplenty and it’s a pretty 20-minute walk to the CBD past the zoo and Botanic Park.

Barcelona

W Hotel
1 Plaça de la Rosa dels Vents, Barcelona

There are many reasons to check into the W Hotel, a big bold establishment at the Barceloneta beach edge of town, its architecture a landmark “sail”, just like Dubai’s Burj al Arab. The rooms are huge, the views even grander. Everything’s jumping, from the foyer (it’s popular with groups), the Eclipse bar on the 26^th floor, and the seafront playgrounds outside. Then there’s La Brava 24 on the first floor, where tapas includes Iberian ham or roast chicken croquettes, a flight of oysters (from Normandy, the Ebro delta and Galicia), cod fritters, and signature squid.

 

Casa Fuster
132 Passeig de Gracia, Barcelona

Mariano Fuster commissioned Lluis Domench i Montaner (one of the leading architects of the day) to build, between 1908 and 1911, the Casa Fuster as a gift for his wife. This explains why what has been a boutique hotel in the Leading Hotels of the World portfolio since only 2004 feels so much like home. The building, constructed with fine materials – white marble, glass and slate – has a neo-Gothic feel and understated modernista style.

The spacious plush street frontage lounge, Cafe Vienés hosts jazz on Thursday nights, and the rooftop terrace bar (6^th floor) has the most spectacular views of the city, and houses a plunge pool and gym. The rooms are not huge but they have a stately ambience with an entrance way, walk-in wardrobe, and modern bathrooms. And there’s an omnipresent bespoke perfume that wafts throughout the halls like the ghost of a past grandeur.

Best of all, Casa Fuster is within walking distance of the Gaudi show-stoppers, Sagrada Familia, La Pedrera and Casa Batllo, as well as top-brand shopping. Back the other way, on the Carre Gran de Gracia, are the more local delis, cafes and clothing stores to make you feel less like a tourist.

 

 

Beijing

China World Summit Wing
China World Trade Centre
No.1 Jianguomenwai Avenue, Beijing, 100004, China.

This oddly named hotel in a new financial district skyscraper goes to town on the interior design, detail playing with metal or carved-wood panels, rich wallpapers, paintings, chrome edging and silk fabric inlays between glass. Rooms are spacious with marble bathrooms. Nice touches: the welcome pot of hot tea, a box of chocolates, tiny friands, fruit; a desk drawer stocked with business essentials; and a complimentary silk-covered diary to record your first impressions of the city (smog!).

Buenos Aires

Faena Hotel 
Puerto Madero, Buenos Aires

Exceptional conversion of a mammoth old grain silo in Puerto Madero and a destination in itself. A celebrity drawcard with its Hollywood glam, the interiors are by Philippe Starck. Red is the signature colour, turning up in plush drapes, cut-glass accessories, poolside umbrellas and sumptuous sofas, with studded white leather chairs as a counterpoint. The hotel assigns guests an “experience manager” and has its own bespoke scent called Cathedral. Rooms are exciting, a rare event in hotel land. The Library Lounge, which leads to the red day bed-lined pool, is Faena’s sexy hub and El Bistro earns rave reviews. No stay is complete without a visit to the soothing in-house spa, for ace facials and manicures that have found favour with Kylie and Madonna.

Nuss
4916 El Salvador

A 22-room hotel in a refurbished convent with both style and substance in the heart of the Palermo Soho, arguably the best area for shoes, hip clothing and great cafes and restaurants. Beautiful rooftop terrace and wised-up front-desk staff.

Byron Bay

Gaia Retreat
933 Fernleigh Road, Brooklet, NSW

Gaia is more an authentic retreat than resort. It’s a cocoon far from the big, bad world; a choice retreat where you decide the experience – detox or weight loss, to be pampered, to fine-tune yoga moves, eat healthy food or simply be restored by views across the beautiful Bangalow hinterland to the Pacific.

Gaia general manager and co-owner Gregg Cave, a long-time friend of Olivia Newton-John, one of the property’s four investors with Ruth Kalnin and Warwick Evans, has ensured that quality is not just skin-deep. The accommodation is sophisticated without fuss, with elegant furnishing fabrics and bedding, intelligent art work and floral arrangements making a subtle statement.

The Gaia day spa is a shrine to self-indulgence, offering the finest healers and therapists. Signature dishes include the $520 Gaia Goddess (or Gaia Man), an epic four-and-a-half-hour pampering involving a body polish with organic raw sugar and a hydrating masque of pink clay with top-to-toe muslin wrap.

Head chef Dan Trewartha devises light, nutritious gourmet meals that draw inspiration from local, seasonal organic ingredients. The 10ha grounds, which include an orchard and herb and vegetable gardens, are as well-tended as the guests. Day beds and meditation decks take full advantage of sunrises and sunsets and views of the lush green hills.There are walking tracks, the Viha fitness centre and a tennis court. A heated pool area with an outdoor sauna and the heavenly hot tub in the Sacred Garden, complete the otherworldly picture. Two-night package $AUD960 per person (includes all meals, activities, facilities and a selected spa treatment).

Chile

Awasai
San Pedro de Atacama, Atacama Desert

Accommodation in the Atacama Desert ranges from comfortable hostels to five-star establishments such as Awasi, Kunza, Explorer and Alto Atacama. Four years ago, Awasi became part of the Relais & Chateaux portfolio. Designed by Chilean architect Gonzalo Dominguez, it’s a series of low-lying thatched adobe-rendered cottages – just eight – in what feels like an oasis within an oasis. The alfresco dining and lounging areas are desert chic, with painterly trees, flitting sparrows, metres of plump lounges and cushions. Juan Pablo Mardones’ food is imaginative, intuitive and abundant, as close as you’ll get to fine dining in the desert. At Awasi, everything is included in the rate (rooms from about $US1500 for two nights) – meals, wine, transfers, a bespoke itinerary and a personal guide with 4WD. The rooms are tiled, spacious and come with a private outdoor (extra) shower and sunbed.

Lastarria Hotel
188 Coronel Santiago Bueras, Barrio Lastarria, Santiago.

Opened in July 2011 after a $2m revamp by architect Jorge Arteaga, the boutique Lastarria Hotel is a former stately home in one of Santiago’s historic barrios. There are 14 rooms: book the junior suite, room 11, which has a sunny terrace; or room 6, the only one with a bath and, indeed, the original bathroom with lapis lazuli-coloured tiles. The owners have kept things as original as possible (which means really squeaky floorboards). However, its best feature is the restaurant and patio overlooking a picturesque swimming pool and garden.

Christchurch

Otahuna Lodge
224 Rhodes Road, Tai Tapu, Christchurch, New Zealand.

There’s something quite intoxicating about pioneering history – especially absorbing it from five-star comfort made possible by the endeavours of ancestors for whom roughing it was a way of life.
Otahuna Lodge, about 30 minutes’ drive from Christchurch, abounds in history. Completed in 1895, it was the estate of the knighted parliamentarian and gentleman farmer Heaton Rhodes, whose father, Robert Heaton Rhodes, and uncles were energetic British pioneers who became wealthy from whaling, cattle droving, banking and land speculation in the 19th century.

Like a setting for an upper-crust TV drama, understated grandeur is Otahuna’s byword. It’s reflected in the wood panelling of the reception and drawing rooms; in the original pressed and gilded wallpaper of the dining room; the carved inglenooks; the 9m balcony of the Verandah Suite; and a lawn that erupts with daffodils in early September between the entrance drive and a lake.

The property, which has had several incarnations since its owner/builder died in 1956, was bought in 2006 by Americans Hall Cannon and Miles Refo, who were looking for a quieter life after the hurly-burly of Manhattan. By the following May it had been refurbished by Auckland interior designer Stephen Cashmore, incorporated big, new, glammed-up bathrooms, and taken delivery of a truckload of art commissioned from New Zealand painters. Two earthquakes since then have been disruptive but not fatal.

While Cannon says he is yet to sight the ghost of Sir Heaton, the past is evident in the wealth of historical black-and-white family and period photos that adorn the walls and evoked by the four-chamber Rhodes Suite, which was the master bedroom. The 1895 mansion has seven suites with individual themes and furnishings. Tariffs range from $1000 to $2000 per night, depending on the season and the size of the suite (there are two master suites – but the smaller, cosier Garrett among the gables and rafters is just as enchanting). The tariff includes board, breakfasts cooked to order, pre-dinner cocktails and canapes, five-course dinner with matched NZ wines, post-dinner nightcap if desired, laundry, mountain bikes, and a jar of home-baked cookies replenished daily.

New Zealand’s Canterbury region is a luxury landscape, too. Otahuna is positioned on a small hill at the base of the Banks Peninsular – and today a far cry from what head gardener John Joyce recalled in 1926 as having been “a wilderness of scotch thistles” when he first arrived. Its autumn dress is gold and dazzling, and on a clear day you can see through to the Southern Alps. Daytrips to places such as Akaroa, a little French port an hour or so away, deliver the sort of countryside you move countries for (ask Cannon and Refo).

Set on 12ha, the grounds are stroller central. Among woodlands of majestic oak trees is a Dutch garden, named for its windmill design, as well as cutting, potager and rose gardens, and many pretty walks. Otahuna Lodge is working towards becoming as self-sufficient as possible. At last count the produce garden had 93 varieties of vegetables; an orchard of apples, pears, quinces, plums, walnuts; and a herb garden with 22 options. Head gardener Steve Marcham is using an old apple storehouse to grow oyster mushrooms, and is experimenting with shiitake mushrooms. A hothouse was recently constructed for more exotic fruits. In season, guests can pick mushrooms in the woods. From personal experience: some mushrooms are not what they seem and trying to provision the kitchen with an undesirable toadstool doesn’t earn brownie points.

Chef Jimmy McIntyre peruses his garden every day before he plans his knockout five-course dinner menu. Guests – from as far afield as the Netherlands, the US and the UK – appear to be almost nonplussed by the excellence of what they are eating – food that inspires a quite reverential silence.

Dallas

Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek

2821 Turtle Creek Boulevard

It was once the palatial home of a Texas cotton magnate which probably explains why you feel like someone who’s someone when you check in. Housed in a 1920s renaissance building, this establishment is adorned with marble, antiques and ivy filigrees. Cosy but sumptuous rooms were recently overhauled to mark the 30th anniversary of the property. The quiet, discreet location is only minutes from Dallas Love Field airport as well as some of the finest shopping in the South West. Dine in the Mansion’s acclaimed restaurant or enjoy a drink in Mansion Bar while rubbing elbows with Dallas movers and shakers.

Fiji

Laucala
Laucala is one of a triplet of small islands that lie to the east of Thurston Point on the island of Taveuni in Fiji, an hour’s fight from Nadi. It has been owned since 2003 by the Austrian entrepreneur Dietrich Mateschitz who founded the Red Bull empire. Villas are a connecting series of bures (thatched bungalows) on steroids, each with its own pool, deck and private beach. There are 25 of them, mostly beachfront, but some in the hills and one over water. Spoilt for choice is the mantra. There’s a sense of having the place to yourself, such are the many secluded nooks on this 14sq km island. There’s a lot to love about Laucala: it’s lush, fragrant and full of surprising places to be, from the Rock Lounge for a sunset drink to a teppanyaki table under the stars, afloat on daybeds in the very blue lagoon or curled up in a hanging basket chair on the beach.

While much is made of the fact that all villas are equally fabulous (no need to covet thy neighbour’s house), the hacienda of the boss on the hilltop is the queen bee. Set over 11,000sq m, it has three private residences, endless oversized rooms and furnishings, bars, gardens, state-of-the-art telescope, and an intricate linkage of glamorous waterfalls, watercourses, pools and daybeds. And a 360-degree view to die for. Naturally. Live like a billionaire here for $US40,000 ($42,508) a night. For mere mortals, rates, basically all-inclusive, start at $US4200 ($4463).

Flinders Ranges

Ikara Safari Camp

Wilpena Pound, Flinders Ranges, South Australia

Yes, South Australia has wine, festivals and international sporting events, but they pale in comparison, says tour guide veteran Michael Hey-Cunningham, with the Flinders Ranges, the state’s “best kept secret”. Wilpena Pound, an amphitheatre within a quartzite and sandstone mountain range is, “our greatest single geographical feature: walls 3km thick, 17km long, 7km wide – more land than Manhattan. Uluru would fit inside the Pound eight times.”Ikara Safari Camp was recently added to the Wilpena Pound Resort portfolio, with 15 safari-style tents (two for families with up to four children) and a community enclave offering a “glamping” option. Spacious tents with king-sized bed, air-conditioning and heating, zip-out picture windows, a deck and full-length tiled bathroom make getting back to nature a comfortable exercise.

Time out at Ikara (an Aboriginal word for meeting place) is spent bushwalking (there are some 70km of walking tracks), mountain biking, joining a 4WD excursion or getting a bird’s-eye view of the region from a small plane. There are caves, gorges, wildlife, spectacular sunrises and sunsets, wildflowers in spring and rock art further afield.
The Pound is in the south-west corner of the 91,200ha Flinders National Park, which Hey-Cunningham calls “a corridor through time”. Indeed, the Brachina Gorge Geological Trail in the north-west of the park contains a 20km self-guided trail that claims to pass through 130 million years of Earth history.
As well as native pine and black oak, the bush around Ikara boasts several types of gum trees and more than 1000 yellow-footed rock wallabies, which have made a comeback from less than 50 thanks to a fox-eradication program.
Ikara is five to six hours’ drive from Adelaide, with Clare Valley a sensible pit stop along the way (then take the RM Williams Highway to Hawker). The Campsite also has an airstrip nearby, and shuttle buses.

Fort Worth

Omni Fort Worth Hotel
1300 Houston Street, Fort Worth

Diagonally opposite the Water Gardens, the Omni has spacious rooms, a grand lobby, bars, wine room, an army of staff, and the Kimbell Museum gift shop. The free courtesy cars are a bonus in a big city. But if you are feeling fit you can easily stride briskly into the centre of CBD action.

Gold Coast

Palazzo Versace
94 Seaworld Drive, Main Beach

The lobby of Palazzo Versace is the glam slam of lobbies – acres of marble and mosaics, a turquoise and gold palette, and plenty of lounges for people watching. Floor-to-ceiling glass overlooks a Hollywood movie-style pool best viewed from a Water Salon cabana accompanied by Champagne. That geometric Versace motif is everywhere – from bedheads to bathroom screens to balcony railings.

Guests look like they have stepped directly from the catwalk to the cocktail bar. There are high-tea parties with Barbie doll babes and diamond-encrusted glamazons attending functions celebrating everything from fine jewels to luxury cars. It’s great fun.

There’s a 90-berth marina and a helipad next door, cool shops in the Marina Mirage. Executive chef Geoff Haviland is overseeing a series of in-house masterclasses this year (this month is Pasta Perfect).

The Aurora Spa Retreat has newly taken up residence and its very Zen creator, Lyndall Mitchell, knows that even a pedicure should be a bliss-out experience. Factor in a rich, relaxing massage or the signature steam-room coconut and honey exfoliations with hydrating hair treatment known as Guku Cocoon (you’ll need the in-house Oscar Oscar hair salon to get photo-shoot ready afterwards).

The daytrip for foodies is to Terri Taylor’s Tamborine Cooking School, overlooking the Albert Valley at Mount Tamborine, ideally with a pit stop at Skywalk to see the rainforest and its rare Richmond birdwing butterflies.

Sheraton Mirage Resort & Spa, Gold Coast
71 Seaworld Dr, Main Beach 

Expanses of blue water and skyscraping glass make a knockout first impression at this Gold Coast evergreen that’s had a $26m upgrade. Modern art works line the corridors and the light fittings are twisted mesh and wired jute. The resort faces the beach: a roomy Deluxe Ocean Suite road-tested had a sophisticated dove-grey and charcoal palette and lush outlook. The pool area has lots of nooks for sun beds and an all but in-pool restaurant and bar. The 295 rooms are spacious, and the 185sq m Royal Suite has inclusions from Ralph Lauren and Christopher Guy.

Great Barrier Reef

Orpheus Island

Great Barrier Reef, Queensland

Orpheus Island is 80km and a 30-minute helicopter ride north of Townsville (it can also be accessed from Cairns). It is everything an island escape should be – sunny, sandy, remote and uncrowded, catering to a maximum of 28 guests. Blue butterflies flit and cheeky kites dive-bomb fish in the shallows. Following a makeover that recently added four villas, parkland and an infinity pool, Orpheus has been attracting guests from Moscow to Melbourne.

Service is detailed and bespoke, and the snorkelling, fishing, sunset cruises, kayaking, whale sightings and island tours compete for attention with the compelling beachfront rooms, suites and villas in sand and wood colour schemes with crisp white linens. Key attractions are the Coral Sea views and the tapas-style delicacies of Indonesian chef Arie Prabowo, who sources much of his produce from the Orpheus Island garden. A new pontoon is expected in early 2015.

Hamilton Island

Qualia
20 Whitsunday Boulevard, Hamilton Island, Queensland
Since Bob Oatley bought Hamilton Island in 2004, it has become a playground for Australia’s who’s who, and his $AUD85m gated resort, Qualia, on the northern tip of the island, a destination for the jet set.

Step into one of the 27 Windward Pavilions looking across Fitzalan Passage towards Whitsunday Island and shed stress like snakeskin. These are the epitome of design, with a neat bushland fit despite their dimensions: 120sq m, comprising a king-sized bedroom, a marbled bathroom that is almost the same size and a spacious living room – all with floor-to-ceiling windows – and, outdoors, a large sundeck with cushioned double daybeds for snoozing and sturdy singles for sun-soaking. Did we mention the plunge pool?

And all this in total privacy, the neighbouring villas are almost invisible in the bush surrounds. Apart from an even larger Beach House, there are 33 Leeward Pavilions – 90sq m studios (without the pools) also built among the trees from handsome timbers.

Qualia’s base camp is the alfresco Long Pavilion, opening to sea breezes, with restaurant, cocktail bar, many secluded spots for private lounging, an infinity swimming pool and an elegant library with computer terminals, the walls lined with books, including rare fashion and art tomes.

Down the hill is the exclusive Pebble Beach with yet another pool, dozens of daybeds and cabanas with plenty of distance between them, a more casual restaurant and a gym.

Hayman Island

One&Only – Hayman Island

Great Barrier Reef, Queensland

It’s not as if Hayman Island wasn’t a glam destination before, especially following its swishing-up after Cyclone Yasi several years ago. But its glamazon status has reached new heights, courtesy of an $80m revamp and a rebranding as One&Only Hayman Island, the new jewel in the crown of a portfolio that includes luxury properties in Cape Town, the Bahamas and Dubai.

One&Only Hayman Island is located in the heart of the Great Barrier Reef, on the closest Whitsunday island (there are 74 of them) to the outer reef and the Heart Reef that has graced many a postcard. It’s a chill-out launch ride from the airport on Hamilton Island or there’s a seaplane or helicopter.

They always had it right with the Beach Villa concept – there are eight of them, designed by award-winning Perth architect Kerry Hill – with plunge pool right in the middle and the beach at the door. They are modern and minimalist, with a neutral colour palette, elegant pale furnishings and clever geometric accents with bursts of brightly hued accessories.

However, it’s poolside where Hayman-lovers will notice the biggest difference, the suites, many with direct access to the pool, have been transformed – rooms are twice the size. The lagoon suites, too, have had a makeover.

Hayman is heaven on a stick for many other reasons: its private beaches (they can drop you at one for a picnic à deux, if you so desire), sailing, snorkelling, and myriad other water sports, rewarding walks, tennis, golf, fine dining (plenty of options) and a great island boutique.

Hua Hin

Chiva-Som 

73/4 Petchkasem Road
Hua Hin, Prachuab Khirikhan, Thailand

Stress registering in the danger zone? Tolerance levels toxic? Workload needs a forklift? Wake up at Chiva-Som and feel it evaporate. The retreat, at Hua Hin in the Gulf of Siam, 187km south of Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport, is a magnet for health and wellbeing seekers. They come for detox, weight loss, nutrition advice, alternative body work, yoga, physiotherapy, massage, beauty treatments, nutrition drill, and to catch some good old-fashioned rays poolside.

Arrive at night by limo to a fairyland of lights, lakes, waterfalls, bridges, picturesque pavilions and fragrant, manicured grounds. By day, the steamy air – studded with frangipani – is a caressing body wrap.

First task is a consultation to set goals and design a program for the stay, from three nights to three weeks. Guests are allocated a “retreat”, a bespoke package from a menu of 11, ranging from Optimal Performance to Fitness, Spa Pampering to Weight Management. Among the inclusions is a thrum of therapies – herbal, water, mind and body-shaping. There’s even jet-lag therapy. And massage, from herbal to the signature Chiva-Som, to Chi Nei Tsang (an abdominal kneading that seems to invite the liver to swap places with the kidneys); and Shirobhyanga (a scalp massage that communes with another galaxy).

Myriad daily options supplement the retreats: yoga, Thai boxing, tai chi, aqua aerobics, even golf biomechanics. As well as labyrinthine treatment rooms, spa and water therapy areas, this village of vitality has a gym, dance studio, Pilates studio, yoga pavilion, medi-spa, hairdresser and bathing pavilion.

The spa cuisine is fresh, light, varied and abundant. Your wish is pretty much their command, although everything comes with a specified kilojoule count. Expect to unfriend alcohol, coffee, salt and sugar with ease.

Hobart

Islington, Hobart

321 Davey Street, Hobart, Tasmania.

The Islington has won a stack of awards, and with good reason. This beautiful home dates back to 1847 (it’s part of a dress circle of Hobart Regency homes) and became a hotel in 1986, with glass-roofed pavilion extensions instituted seven years ago. Its 11 bedrooms look out to Mount Wellington across gardens that are a profusion of daisies and rhododendrons. The place is as much an eclectic art gallery as a hotel. There are paintings, etchings, tapestries, rugs, furniture, chandeliers, statues, ceramics and clocks from the 11th century to the 21st, and curiosities to amuse and impress. The glazed conservatory abuts an open kitchen offering in-house dinner and a breakfast that includes the best berry muffins around.

 

MONA Pavilions
655 Main Road, Berriedale, Hobart.

The Nonda Katsalidis-designed pavilions beside the Derwent River, mostly of translucent glass and steel cubes, are chic and cheeky – right down to the uninvited blowfly whose presence seems almost choreographed. You won’t find “Do Not Disturb” or “Please Make Up My Room” here. Rather, there’s “I’m A Messy Bastard”, “Undo the Damage” or “Come Back Later When the Noise Subsides”. There’s a twisted 1m-tall pedestal of books – The Rapture Of Death by Prue Gibson and Life Of Pee: The Story Of How Urine Got Everywhere by Sally Magnusson, as well as regular art books and Penguin classics. The carpet is an avant-garde welcome mat: “Apropros of nothing it’s nice to have you here and thank you we need the money”. It’s high-tech; there’s a TV in the wall at the end of the bath, art to peruse, a Lurex throw rug, plenty of space, a recharge view, the Source restaurant up the hill for fine food, and a sense of being part of a moment in art history.

Hong Kong

The Langham
8 Peking Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon

Arrive like a celebrity. A designated desk (B14) at the airport facilitates a limo or shuttle straight to the door. Like the London mothership, this is a solid, cosy retreat, right in the middle of one of the world’s busiest luxury brand hubs (look down from the bedroom window at the queues for the hallowed worlds of Herms, Chanel, Dior, Louis Vuitton, and Miu Miu). The Langham Club has been funked up, with lots of plush pincushioning and pleating, green and blue sofas, and handpainted leather wallpaper. The Langham is a short walk to the Star Ferry, and its old-English style lobby lounge is an afternoon tea imperative (bear that in mind if the queue for the famous Peninsula high tea is too long) or evening cocktails with piano on the side.

The Upper House
Pacific Place, 88 Queensway, Admiralty

Heaven on a stick. Designed by Andre Fu, this exercise in contemporary Asian luxury sits atop the Marriott with a discrete entrance through a curved “stone curtain” on the atrium level of Pacific Place. It’s very Zen, all oak and limestone and bamboo, with ambient golden lighting, and sculptural pieces (no paintings atall). Smooth, cocooning and paperless (there is no traditional check-in or check-out, room service menus or printed screeds, everything is on an iPod touch), the Upper House even has its own bespoke ginger-lily fragrance filtered throughout.

The studios and suites in the Upper House (117 rooms in total) are big by Hong Kong standards (from 68 to 182sq m), with at least half the floor space taken up by grand and spacious bathrooms. Never did a bath have such a view. But it’s all about the home-away-from-home ambience. There are no ballrooms, meeting rooms, or business centres to intrude and not a cleaning trolley in sight. A “lawn” off the lobby level is an outdoor oasis that picks up the “calm and comfort” motif.

 

Lake Como

Hotel Villa Belvedere
Via Milano 1, Argegno

Stayed here on the advice of a couple who had checked in a few years before and it proved to be the find of a European honeymoon. Such a pretty little hotel right on Lake Como (a 20km taxi ride from Como city centre), and in a village with lots of unpretentious eateries and cafes. Also right near the ferry that takes you on a leisurely voyage up and down the lake with stops to visit grand old homes, four-star hotels like the Grand Hotel Tremezzo, beaches and local baths, shop in and soak up the invincible town of Bellagio (where we discovered Melli Pelli CHECK the best place to buy a leather hat). The rooms (about 20 of them), are quite basic, but with that glittering lake and its mountainous backdrop, who needs lavish décor? There’s a cool glassed-in restaurant, and an al fresco terrace.

 

Melbourne

The Adelphi Hotel
187 Flinders Lane, Melbourne, Victoria

The new-look Adelphi Hotel brings quirky-cool vibes to the city’s Flinders Lane. The refurbishment of the 1930s building, originally a soft-goods warehouse, is retro and the colour scheme is 50 shades of candy, highlighting the recent addition of Om Nom, a dangerously delicious late-night dessert bar overseen by chef Christy Tania. At the Adelphi, it’s about the service – sharp and seamless, yet personal – just look to your mirror for the staff’s daily message.

The Larwill Studio 
48 Flemington Road, Parkville

It might be unusually located, attached as it is to Melbourne’s new Royal Children’s Hospital in North Melbourne, but The Larwill exudes that same sense of welcome and humour as its more centrally located sibling Art Series Hotels (The Cullen, The Olsen and The Blackman) across town.

The rooms pick up the colours in the childlike art works of the late David Larwill in hangers, lamps and throws. There are the art books, artisanal chocolates, juices and yoghurts, and maps, menus and postcards clipped to a notice board. Opened last September, it overlooks an expanse of parkland and a playground. The huge light-filled lobby cafe is a casual communal area with books, coloured pencils, chalkboards, and games that can be borrowed for the stay. Guests can stroll to Elliott Avenue for cafes and galleries, or take a tram or taxi to the CBD, Lygon Street, Melbourne Zoo, Queen Victoria Market or Flemington Racecourse.

Sheraton Melbourne Hotel

27 Little Collins Street, Melbourne

Completed in March last year by the Golden Age Development Group on the site of Melbourne’s old Navy and Military Club, the Sheraton is one of the first CBD hotels to be built in the past decade. As slim and elegant as a runway model, the feel is more boutique than monolith. The lobby – with a feature wall of diamond-patterned Turkish limestone – dazzles with big dandelion puff-shaped lights, a two-storey chandelier drop of gold beading and stairways of marble and laser-cut steel.

Designed by the Buchan Group with interiors by Hecker Guthrie, the 174-room hotel occupies a third of the 32-storey building – the rest is residential. The compact balcony off the Federation Terrace Suite on level 9 looks out over well-kept rooftops to the legendary Windsor Hotel, State Parliament and the Gothic spires of St Patrick’s. Order crab cakes and a glass of chardonnay and run the bath for a long and pleasant soak.

For all its size restraint the Sheraton manages to fit in a 20m lap pool, gym, outdoor terrace bar, three meeting rooms, a ballroom and a business lounge. The Little Collins St Kitchen is all putty colours, white venetian blinds, blond wood floors and marble-like communal tabletops, with a big open kitchen. It’s spacious and cheery.

Situated at the “Paris end” of Little Collins Street, the Sheraton is close to Melbourne drawcards such as the Princess Theatre, the Paperback Bookshop, Grossi Florentino and the designer labels of Marais and Assin.

The Lake House, Daylesford

4 King Street, Daylesford 

Being led up the garden path is a good thing at Lake House, the landmark restaurant and luxury hotel in Daylesford, the Victorian spa 90 minutes’ drive from Melbourne. The buddleia- and rose-scented trail running past the hotel’s elegant waterfront suites leads to Lake House’s secluded Retreat. An elevated weatherboard cottage with views over 2.5ha of rambling gardens, the Retreat contains two villas. Each has its attractions; the spa villa’s private courtyard encloses a daybed and sunken hot tub beneath the birches; the loft villa’s conservatory-style living area has direct access to the lake and a private gazebo that is perfect for daydreaming. Common to both are stylish but relaxed interiors featuring works by ceramicist Bern Emmerichs and local glass artist Don Wreford, and plush, textured finishes in leather, timber and marble. The decor is eclectic. Whimsical side tables with animal feet and a chandelier of moulded birds bring nature indoors and chime well with The Retreat’s woodland-inspired interiors of cut-log side tables and lamp stands shaped like tree limbs. Fireplaces, honour bars and a well-thumbed library encourage house guests to idle away the hours until their butler arrives in the evening to prepare cocktails and grazing platters. The energetic can plot excursions to cellar doors, antique stores and farm gates, or immerse themselves in the vibrant spa culture of the district. Equally, guests can stay put beside Lake Daylesford and while away the hours with tennis, billiards and bocce – and a nice glass of Burgundy from the 10,000-bottle cellar. Pilgrimages to sample Alla Wolf-Tasker’s superb regional cuisine at the celebrated Lake House restaurant, and to the mineral-springs sanctuary of the split-level spa, are mandatory.

Milan

Bulgari Hotel Milano
Via Privata Fratelli Gabba

Recently refurbished to celebrate its 10^th anniversary with a makeover, our suite was as pretty as a picture – all blonde wood with black accents, dozens of art and fashion titles to browse, a balcony overlooking lush gardens, a welcome Dom Perignon 2004, perfect fruit. For the après flight treat, the spa is a must, with its gold tiled steps, warm water and candles. Wake to church bells. Any roaming list should include a coffee and croissant at the Emporio Armani Café; 10 Corso Como for shopping and lunch; a delicious degustation at Ristorante Cracco or a less formal dinner at dusk at The Four Season’s La Veranda. And, of course, the Gothic confection that is La Duomo.

New York

Park Hyatt New York
53 West 57th Street, NYC

Just a block from Central Park, opposite Carnegie Hall, and a stroll to Tiffany & Co on Fifth Avenue, this new midtown hotel is perfectly located. Despite an indoor pool in a three-storey atrium, gym, spa, afternoon tea and cocktails in glam surrounds, and some appealing artwork, this flagship Park Hyatt, which opened last year, manages to retain an intimate feel. The decor is elegant, the rooms light-filled and spacious, the marble bathrooms feature deep baths and Le Labo products. As for breakfast – after the white-egg scramble with Maine lobster and spinach, life will never be the same.

The Pierre
2 East 61st Street.

One of New York’s most iconic hotels, the Pierre houses both guests and permanent residents and so is almost disconcertingly low-key. Old-fashioned wood-lined elevators have a tiny padded red leather seat for the foot-weary, gold-leaf domes, carpet, polished brass and real lift attendants wearing white gloves. There are vintage mail chutes on each floor, a concierge desk that can open doors anywhere and, as of last October, a new restaurant, Serio. The rooms (hard to beat one with a view of Central Park) have an elegant palette of duck egg blue, coffee and cream, with satins and brocades. Expect a note on your pillow each night advising stock exchange closing prices and tomorrow’s weather. But the money shots are on level 2, where there are opulent function rooms, sweeping staircases, marble, frescos, flower arrangements, massive ballrooms, and chandeliers. Splendiferous.

The Mandarin Oriental
80 Columbus Circle

Dead glamorous, great aura of authority and service, bathrooms to die for (sit in the tub and look over the Hudson River and NYC skyline). The efficient concierge desk executes requests for a blow-dry, shirt pressing and tickets within 10 minutes of lobbing.
The decor is oriental clubby, juxtaposing marble, pressed metals, orchids, bronze and wallpapers with human props (this being a week the UN General Assembly is meeting), beefy security men with earphones. The reception lobby on 35 is a people-watching hub: an elegant lounge with million-dollar views, groovy bar and Asiate restaurant.

Crosby Street Hotel
79 Crosby Street, Soho, NYC

Kit Kemp’s style is alterna-chic and her New York digs are as desirable as her London Firmdale portfolio. Dogs of Soho is a theme here, with local mutts framed, sculpted and saluted throughout the boutique hotel, which feels like a home away from home with its solicitous drawing room, courtyard, dining room and bar, all in trademark jewel and cool colours. Crosby Street Hotel is quite possibly the Big Apple’s most environmentally conscious hotel, as well as its artiest. Original artworks are dotted throughout the hotel. The simple, timber-floored entrance and lobby area has a casual cluster of settees, chairs and a coffee table – and the 2.4m-tall White Head by Spanish artist Jaume Plensa. Hundreds of letters of the alphabet, cut in steel, are welded together to form a sculpture of a human head. It’s a stone’s throw from Nolita, Soho and Little Italy, with funky homewares (Australia’s Dinosaur Designs among them), restaurants, cafes and boutiques. Rooms are spacious, comfortable, with NYC rooftop panoramas.

The arty lobby of the Crosby Street hotel in New York’s Soho. Photo Simon Brown

Paris

Mandarin Oriental Paris
251 Rue Saint-Honor, 1er

In the heart of the Rue Saint-Honor and its credit-card burn shopping, signature French labels from Christian Louboutin to Hermès, Chanel and Colette are at the doorstep. It’s a short walk from the Louvre, the Place Vendme with its A-list jewellers, and the Tuileries Garden. Then there’s the green bubble of its acclaimed terrace. A long, shallow designer water trough through the trees separates Thierry Marx’s one-Michelin-star Camlia restaurant (the langoustine ravioli is a triumph) and Bar 8, which has fabric walls studded with black, green and clear glass Lalique crystals, a curtain of Murano glass rods, and a bar of caramel marble. There are eight Champagnes by the glass and more by the bottle. The spa has seven suites, expert masseurs and skin technicians, personal steam showers and king-sized therapeutic jacuzzis tiled in mosaic pink mother-of-pearl tiles. Hotels in the Mandarin Oriental group tend to nod to their host city: so this one has dove-grey fabric friezes using Man Ray photographs; and, being in the heart of the fashion district, the motif is the very feminine butterfly.

Le Royal Monceau
37 Avenue Hoche, 8me

Its huge studio rooms have an eclectic mix of photography, china collages, paintings and sketches, often spotlit in unexpected places; cool upholstery with wacky stitching; raised, angled desk tops that might feature under glass an interpretive map of Paris. Even the lamp bases are works of art, while the lamps look like some organic form that has sprouted overnight. The hotel, revamped by Philippe Starck, has a cigar room, a cinema, and the glass altar-like Bar Long. A former monastery, it was this year awarded “palace distinction” by the French government, one step above five stars in the company of Paris legends such as the Bristol, the Four Seasons Hotel George V, Le Meurice and the newly transformed Plaza Athenee.

Apostrophe Hotel
3 Rue de Chevreuse, 6me

On the Left Bank where the sixth and 14th arrondissements meet, in a neighbourhood that feels more everyday life than itinerary, the Apostrophe is cosy and edgy, each room with a different writing theme (poetry, fonts, posters). Some have a huge bath (actually part of the bedroom, so don’t be shy) with 33 jets, a 15-minute massage cycle and a light show. No request is too hard for the front desk. In the hood: La Rotonde for coffee and people-watching; the legendary seafood restaurant, Le Dôme – oysters, fish soup with aioli and eye-popping mille-feuille mandatory; the cool department store Le Bon March; Jardin du Luxembourg; backstreet browsing.

Hotel Daniel
8 Rue Frédéric Bastiat, 8me

Like most in the Relais & Chteaux portfolio, there’s sense of home away from home here. It’s like staying with that fearless friend who can throw together East and West, art deco, coloured glass, silk cushions, antiques and multiple prints, textiles and colours with intent. The signature colour is a beautiful sea green. The plush, street-side drawing room with its orchids and bowls of dried rosebuds is where you want to be for afternoon tea, a business rendezvous or post-dinner digestive. Each room is different, with fabric wallpaper that evokes a traveller’s diary of faraway times and places. The hotel is in the eighth arrondissement, near both the Champs-Elyseés and the Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré.

Perth

Fraser Suites Perth

10 Adelaide Terrace, East Perth, WA

East Perth is the new hub for hip WA happenings as five-star-hotel meets apartment-style living at the Fraser Suites. Sharp styling, sparkling interiors and a grand glass stairway in the lobby give the space a polished feel. Celebrity chef Pete Evans has the reins of the restaurant, Heirloom, which features organic produce. The house-made pate and crab chowder are standouts.

Terrace Hotel, Perth

237 St Georges Terrace

Perth’s newest hotel may be housed in a heritage building, but it’s a very 21st-century lodging: connected, convenient and tres chic. The decor mashes up king-sized four-poster beds with hand-painted Japanese wardrobes, old-fashioned fireplaces and new black marble bathrooms. Each of the 15 rooms and suites has free wi-fi and an iPad. Stroll to downtown’s best bars and restaurants. Or stay in: with a glamorous watering hole dominated by a three-sided mahogany bar, and delicate dishes such as duck wontons with a cucumber and coriander salad served on the sunny terrace, why would you want to go anywhere else?

Portofino

Eight Hotel Paraggi

8 Via Paraggi a Mare,  S. Margherita Ligure

Located halfway between Santa Margherita Ligure and Portofino, Eight Hotel Paraggi has pure Italian Riviera ambience. Boasting its own private sandy beach (with a beach concierge to look after the towels, drinks and daybeds), it has 13 rooms each with its own personality. In the attic, the roof retracts, others have a jacuzzi and/or a pretty balcony looking out to sea. There’s a little local bus to take you into Portofinto proper 20 minutes away, but at least once do the coastal walk whose view is as pretty as it gets. Enjoy an espresso martini at the bar and don’t miss breakfast in the restaurant by the beach, for its freshly baked, tarts, cakes and pastries, fruit, hams and cheese.

Queenstown

Matakauri Lodge
569 Glenorchy Road, Queenstown, New Zealand

Matakauri Lodge is only seven minutes from Queenstown, but it feels like drop-out heaven with nothing else in sight. Matakauri is part of the upmarket portfolio that includes The Lodge at Kauri Cliffs and The Farm at Cape Kidnappers. Big windows frame views – The Remarkables to the left, Cecil Peak front-on and Walter Peak to the right. There are white faux-marble floors and interiors by Virginia Fisher that use a sophisticated palette of gold, terracotta and rust; plus lots of nooks and crannies, so it feels more private country escape than communal lodge. Matakauri has 11 generous suites and one entry-level room; there is a gym and an outdoor pool, and walking and cycling trails.

Queenstown Hilton
Peninsula Road, Kawarau Village

Set neatly into the slopes beside Lake Wakatipu and ringed by snow-covered mountains, the Queenstown Hilton is the relatively new jewel in the town’s accommodation crown. With richly coloured interiors and flinty multi-textured features, the Hilton is a sophisticated hotel just five minutes from the airport and 15 minutes from town (there’s a water taxi). The Wakatipu Grill and cocooning Cru Wine Bar & Lounge have become popular with locals as well as guests. You’ll want a water frontage. With spa tub. The hotel is part of the evolving Kawarau Village (hotel and residential). In a world of spa muzak, the signature Hilton spa, Eforea, is a stand-out: the Melt Away Tension facial peerless.

Sydney

The Darling
80 Pyrmont Street, Pyrmont

What was once a grassy knoll abutting the Star Casino is now The Darling, a slick five-star glass castle that within months of opening boasted George Clooney, Greg Norman, Olivia Newton-John, Seal and Lionel Ritchie as house guests. With views to the city, the harbour bridge or over the rising-star hood of Pyrmont, the suites mix up edgy design, multiple textures (high-gloss Japanese woods, blond sycamore, marble floors, pearly mosaic wall tiles, stencilled glass bathroom screens), the best pillows in town, and sophisticated throw rugs and towels in a signature “Darling plum” colour. There’s a moody, almost gloomy, labyrinthine 16-room spa to massage away the pain of losing your shirt at the blackjack tables in the casino. If you win, though, hit the shops: Salvatore Ferragamo, Bottega Veneta, Gucci and their upmarket buddies are there, waiting. Hot, too, is the fine dining: Sokyo, Momofuku Seibo, Black by Ezard and Balla are all in the zone. It’s a hot evening out and much less kitsch than it used to be. Astral Tower (with its wow-factor two-level penthouse) and the refurbished Astral Residences (where Leo DiCaprio stayed while filming The Great Gatsby) are polished alternatives.

QT Sydney

49 Market Street, Sydney 

With a little 1920s art deco and a touch of Rocky Horror the new QT Sydney recalls a time when some hotels were a little more rock’n’roll than strictly business. Our pick of the 200 rooms is the State Suite, the former Union Theatre chairman’s office, complete with original desk and fireplace. Rather like Pandora’s Box, the one-time Gowings department store site is full of secrets such as lurking gargoyles and an intuitive lift that adjusts its soundtrack for passengers, with large groups hearing a party anthem. Party of one? Expect All By Myself, Bridget Jones-style.

https://www.qtsydney.com.au/

Tasmania

Saffire Freycinet
North east coast, 195km north of Hobart

Off the beaten track and newly inducted into the Relais & Chateaux portfolio, and with a best hotel design award under its belt, Saffire is a seductive sanctuary and a model of architectural sophistication. Designed by Circa Architecture (formerly Morris Nunn and Associates), its form is commanding, with multi-textured stone, celery top pine ceilings, local wood and large tiles. Its 20 suites are private, and spacious with double showers. There are views to the rugged mountains of the Hazards, top-drawer food by Hugh Whitehouse, an excellent spa and an overall sense of entitlement. But the wonder of Saffire is as much about what you can do there. Wade out to the oyster baskets at Giles and Julie Fisher’s Freycinet Marine Oyster Farm; one of Saffire’s guides will knife open the shells, set up a table midstream and uncork a bottle of sparkling white. Walk the trails, or indulge in a unique half- or full-day expedition in a 12.5m boat, nudging both pink granite and dolomite cliffs to Schouten Island, with sightings of Australian fur seals, penguins, a white-breasted sea eagle with a nest the size of a small car, Pacific gulls, and an albatross on patrol along the way.

Stewarts Bay Lodge
6955 Arthur Highway, Port Arthur

A real holiday find for families, couples and individuals alike. Set in bushland by a lake along the coast of the Tasman Peninsula, and just a short drive from the Port Arthur Historic Site, Stewarts Bay Lodge comprises 40 cabins on 9ha, some old, others more modern. Expect to sight wombats, echidnas, black cockatoos, iridescent rosellas and wallabies.

There’s kayaking, tennis, a children’s play area and bushwalking, plus an in-house restaurant and – in the ’hood – horseriding, caves, beaches, a fish market and berry farms. Robert Pennicott’s eco-cruise, which takes in spectacular southern cliffs between Port Arthur and Eaglehawk Neck (including Tasman Island and the Candlestick and the Totem Pole – the formidable rock formations beloved of tightrope-walking adventurers) is mandatory: witness the abundance of fur seals, migratory birds such as black shearwater in their thousands, and possibly more albatrosses than you’ll ever again see in one place.

Lodge cabins are neat and spacious, with kitchen and balcony, and come in one- to three-bedroom sizes.

Uluru

Longitude 131, Uluru
Ayers Rock Resort, Yulara, Northern Territory
Standing aloof from the rest of Ayers Rock Resort is a huddle of 15 luxury villas with one very spectacular view. Longitude 131 is a child-free zone (12 years and under) where life is all about soaking up those views of The Rock as the light shifts and changes during the day, lazing about the pool and wondering what might be served for that night’s three-course dinner under the stars or four-course dinner inside the Dune House. The earth-toned communal dining area is also home to a round-the-clock bar. The villas, elevated on rust-red dunes, have high tented ceilings and one entirely glass wall that faces Uluru.

Each retreat is decorated with memorabilia that pays tribute to either an Australian pioneer, such as Reverend John Flynn, who was the first to realise “flying doctors” could save outback lives, or explorers such as John McDouall Stuart, the first European to gaze upon the continent’s arid red centre.

More recently, one of the villas housed Oprah Winfrey when she toured through Australia in 2010. Stays at Longitude 131 include all meals, sunrise and sunset tours to Uluru and guided walks through Kata Tjuta’s dramatic Walpa Gorge.

Venice

Luna Baglioni Hotel
San Marco 1243
Part of the Leading Hotels of the World portfolio, this is a lived-in slice of luxury just behind the Italian Disneyland that is St Marco Square. It’s a little shabby but that’s compensated for by the location and a window onto the prettiest canal and a breath-takingly ornate breakfast room. The hotel’s Caffe Baglioni bar also offers a (rare) genuine Bellini.