USA | GlobalSalsa: travel writer Belinda Jackson

May

Travel deals: the Playford Adelaide

The Playford Adelaide.

It’s all sweet, chic and boutique this week, with Adelaide’s boutique hotel The Playford on show, Melbourne’s Art Series hotels on offer and a ‘raid the minibar’ deal while in New York.

Otherwise, strap on your fringed white playsuits and head to the Deep South to celebrate the birthday of the coolest octogenarian Elvis Presley (if he’s still with us), in this week’s Sun-Herald travel deals.

GO NOW
SOUTH AUSTRALIA
The Playford Adelaide is now in the boutique MGallery
Collection and is celebrating with a City Getaway package. Get a free
upgrade to a superior deluxe guestroom and $50 hotel credit for food and
drinks. From $175 a night, (08) 8213 8888, theplayford.com.au.

CANADA
Book a Rocky Mountaineer holiday of six nights or more and
get a free hotel night in Vancouver or Seattle until July 31. The
eight-day Journey Through the Clouds Discovery Drive, with car rental
and two days in SilverLeaf class, costs from $3671 a person. rockymountaineer.com.

GO SOONER

QUEENSLAND
Save 30 per cent on four-night stays at Piermonde Apartments’
two-bed apartments, by Cairns harbour. The deal includes use of a
rooftop sundeck and barbecue area. From $201 a night until June 30. (07)
4042 6500, piermondeapartments.com.au.
USA

It is an open invitation to go crazy on the mini-bar at the newly
renovated Loews Regency Hotel in Midtown Manhattan. Pay an extra $30 and
“milk the mini-bar”, from champagne to gummy bears, on two-night stays
until August 31. From $499 a night, loewshotels.com.

The Cullen, one of the Art Series hotels, Melbourne.

GO LATER
VICTORIA
Don’t pay for hours you don’t use. Melbourne’s Art Series
hotels let you check in between 2pm and 6pm, and check out 24 hours
later. Until December 31, Saturday nights only. From $179. 1800 278 468,
artserieshotels.com.au.
JAPAN
It is half-price and seven minutes from the mountaintop at
the five-star Hilton Niseko Village. Stay for seven nights and get
airport transfers and a five-day multi-resort lift pass. Book by June
30, travel January 20-February 22. From $1550 a person, twin share.
Phone 1300 457 843, see ski-resorts-japan.com.

Tour watch:
Rock & soul

If you don’t believe he’s dead, then Elvis should be in the
building for the celebration of his 80th birthday on January 8, 2015.
The Elvis Birthday tour travels from LA down to Studio B in Nashville,
where the King recorded many hits (and you can also hit the mic), and
on to Memphis and his birthplace in a wooden shed in Tupelo,
Mississippi. Take a candlelit vigil at Graceland and visit Sun Studios,
where he was discovered in 1954. Departs January 2, 2015. From $6990 a
person. 1300 884 891, eliteset.com.au.

This travel deals column by Belinda Jackson is published in Sydney’s Sun-Herald newspaper every Sunday.

May

Boasters with the mostest: ultimate travel experiences

The world’s highest bar, Ozone, in the Ritz Carlton Hong Kong

Biggest, highest, most blindingly expensive. Belinda Jackson
rounds up the ultimate travel experiences, from super-luxe to just plain
boastful.

LAND
Longest walking track

The Pacific Crest Trail runs 4264 kilometres from the US-Mexico
border to Canada through California, Oregon and Washington. Budget five
months to walk it entirely, or you can jump a pony, as the trail is also
open to equestrians. Yep, there are bears in there (pcta.org).

Longest train journey
The legendary Trans-Siberian generally wins this category,
with the 9289km journey from Moscow to Vladivostok via Lake Baikal
taking seven days. But as train guru the Man in Seat 61 points out (seat61.com),
the honour for the longest continual journey should go to the No. 53
Kharkiv (Ukraine)-Vladivostok route, about 9714km, another seven-day
epic.

The world’s highest train journey, on the Qinghai-Tibet railway

Highest train journey
More than 550km of the 1956km Qinghai-Tibet railway is laid
on permafrost. Every train has a doctor and enough oxygen for every
passenger, and the highest point is Tanggula Pass, at 5072m. It also
passes through the world’s highest and longest rail tunnels.

Highest bar

Drink in the views of Victoria Harbour at Ozone bar in the
Ritz-Carlton Hong Kong, Kowloon side. Set on level 118, it’s 468.8
metres above sea level (ritzcarlton.com).

Biggest building
Dubai’s Burj Khalifa is the world’s tallest building at 828
metres, with 124 levels. It also has the world’s fastest elevators and
highest restaurant (At.mosphere on level 122, 442m) (burjkhalifa.ae).

It holds the crown until 2018, when the 1000-metre Kingdom Tower in
Jeddah, in neighbouring Saudi Arabia, is complete. Another design by
Burj architect Adrian Smith, expect fewer nightclubs (kingdomtowerskyscraper.com).

Noma restaurant, Copenhagen

Best restaurant
Copenhagen’s Noma restaurant (noma.dk)
is back on top, bumping Spain’s El Celler de Can Roca off the perch as
the 2014 winner of the authoritative San Pellegrino 50 Best Restaurants (theworlds50best.com). Judges name the winter potato cooked in fermented barley as chef-owner Rene Redzepi’s standout dish.

Best ethical travel destination
The Bahamas has been named Ethical Traveler’s greenest
destination, taking into account its environmental protection, social
welfare and human rights.
Others in the top 10 include Chile, Latvia and Mauritius (ethicaltraveler.org).

Most expensive tours
With a spare million dollars, you can spot 18 endangered
species in 12 countries, with one-tenth going toward conservation
projects (naturalworldsafaris.com). Otherwise, $1.5 million will let couples visit all 962 UNESCO
World Heritage sites. Put aside two years. Its other tours include the
10 best photo spots, for $130,000 (includes cameras), and the 10 most
luxurious suites in 21 days for $359,000 (veryfirstto.com).

AIR
Biggest airport
The busiest airport by passenger numbers is
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, US, handling 92
million travellers a year, but yet again, Dubai gets in on the act: on
completion in 2027, its $32-billion Al-Maktoum International airport
will be able to accommodate 160 million passengers a year (dwc.ae).

Best airport
Singapore’s Changi airport consistently rates one of the
world’s best, taking out first place in Skytrax 2014 World Airport
Awards, followed by Incheon (Seoul) and Munich airports.
Sydney Airport was ranked Australia’s best, at No. 21 (worldairportawards.com).

Best airline
Air New Zealand was named AirlineRatings.com’s 2014 airline
of the year, with Qantas the best economy airline, while Skytrax 2013
World Airline Awards rates Emirates as the world’s best, followed by
Qatar Airways and Singapore Airlines, with Qantas coming in at No. 10. (worldairlineawards.com).

Safest airline
Qantas holds the record as the world’s safest airline, with a
fatality-free record since 1951, says airlineratings.com, rivalled by
Air New Zealand, according to jacdec.de.

Most luxurious airline lounge
For those of us fortunate enough to get a look in, Lufthansa
first class lounges were named the world’s best first-class lounges
while Qatar Airways took the business class gong at Skytrax’ 2013 World
Airline Awards (worldairlineawards.com).

Longest flight
Like to watch movies? Qantas’ ultra long-haul flight from Sydney-Dallas is the longest flight by distance, at 13,804km (qantas.com.au).
Should Turkish Airlines enact its plans for an Istanbul-Sydney route,
it would take the crown for its 17-hour, 14,956km flight (turkishairlines.com).

Ultimate airline travel experience: A three-hour flight on
Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo will cost $260,000, taking you 100km
above the earth, travelling at three times the speed of sound. Includes three days’ space training (virgingalactic.com). For a more modest $128,300, you can fly around the world in 24 days on Four Seasons’ new Boeing 757 private jets (fourseasons.com/jet).

SEA

Allure of the Seas, a Royal Caribbean International ship

Biggest cruise ship
The godmother of Allure of the Seas, a Royal Caribbean International ship, is super-sized Shrek ogress Princess Fiona. At 362 metres long and more than 225,000 tonnes, it can take
6295 passengers. The liner has 24 elevators, the first Starbucks at sea
and Broadway hit Chicago on show.
Its position will be usurped by another RCI ship, as yet unnamed, in 2016 (royalcaribbean.com).

Largest superyacht
With two helipads and a missile defence system, you can hire
Eclipse, owned by Russian oligarch and Chelsea football club owner Roman
Abramovich, for $2 million a week, excluding running costs.
At 162.5 metres, it’s the world’s second-biggest private
yacht after UAE President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan’s new
180-metre yacht, Azzam, complete with armour-plated master suite.
The Azzam is not for hire.

Best beach
Brazil’s Sancho Bay on the remote island of Fernando de Noronha wins best beach, according to TripAdvisor.com.

Longest beach
Brazil wins again, with the 241km Praia do Cassino Beach. Gippsland’s Ninety-Mile Beach comes in fourth place. Whitest sand beach in the world: One for the home team,
according to the Guinness Book of Records, the whitest beach is Hyams
Beach in Jervis Bay, 2½ hours from Sydney.

Hyams Beach, Jervis Bay, NSW Australia

Best island
If money is your measure, you can rent the Caribbean’s
Calivigny Island in Grenada, for a cool $1.55 million a week. Sleeping
50 guests, it comes with a 173-metre yacht for your use (calivigny-island.com).More accessibly, the TripAdvisor community has voted Ambergris Caye, in Belize, its top island for the second year running (tripadvisor.com).

World’s highest pool
The Ritz-Carlton Hong Kong’s pool, is the world’s highest at 490 metres (ritzcarlton.com), towering over Marina Bay Sands’ dizzying infinity pool, 55 storeys, or 198 metres, above Singapore (marinabaysands.com).

World’s biggest pool
Running alongside the ocean, the lagoon pool at the San
Alfonso del Mar resort, in Valparaiso, Chile, is 1013 metres long,
earning its Guinness Book of Records entry. The 8 hectare, 250
million-litre saltwater pool is a pleasant 26 degrees and has a
100-metre waterslide (sanalfonso.cl).
Its sister lagoon, in the Egyptian resort city Sharm el-Sheikh,
reportedly covers 12 hectares and a Dubai project, under way, will cover
40 hectares.

The world’s largest pool, San Alfonsa del Mar, Chile

BEDS
Largest hotel
By room count, the three-star Izmailovo Hotel in Moscow,
Russia, with 7500 rooms, is largest. Most of the world’s mega-hotels,
with 4000-plus rooms, are in Las Vegas.

Most expensive hotel room
At $73,177 a night, the Royal Penthouse Suite at the Hotel
President Wilson is on the banks of Lake Geneva, with views of Mont
Blanc. There are 12 rooms, 12 bathrooms, a Steinway grand piano and yes,
it’s bulletproof. More modest rooms start at $483 (hotelpresidentwilson.com).

Tallest hotel
Six of the top 10 tallest hotels are in Dubai, including the tallest, the JW Marriott Marquis Dubai, which tops 355 metres (marriott.com). At 488 metres, the Ritz-Carlton Hong Kong is taller but is ruled out as the building is not solely a hotel.

Smallest hotel
Central Hotel, Copenhagen, 2.4m by 3m, including a minibar and photos of Ronnie Barker (the owner’s a fan), $360 a night. (centralhotelogcafe.dk).

This article by Belinda Jackson was published in the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age newspapers.

Apr

Get going: Singapore on the cards

Sentosa Singapore resort.

GO NOW
SINGAPORE
Sink into the five-star Sentosa Singapore Resort and save 18
per cent, with Wi-Fi and breakfast included. Book and stay by May 31,
and you can layby your holiday for a $5 deposit. From $1174 a room, four
nights. 1800 359 769, lowcostholidays.com.au.

VICTORIA
Stay in Kyneton – some say Victoria’s hippest country town –
and get two nights for the price of one, and a bottle of wine. The new
Piper and Powlett B&B can be rented as a one, two or three-bedroom
house. From $460, one bedroom, two nights midweek, until April 28. 0409 157 857, piperandpowlett.com.au.

GO SOON
GERMANY
Book your German Rail Pass by April 30 and save 20 per cent.
Choose German Rail Pass that gives you five or 10 days’ travel within
one month throughout the country. Available in first and second classes
for travel until May 31. From $253 a person, five-day pass, second
class. raileurope.com.au.

NSW
Hit the road to discover regional NSW in a Maui motorhome and
save up to 25 per cent on pick-ups or drop-offs in Sydney. The Beach
motorhome (sleeps four) costs from $146 a day, minimum five days. Book
by June 26 for travel May 1-June 30. 1300 363 800, maui.com.au.

GO LATER
USA

Lounging, lizard style: Lizard Island, Queensland.

Cosy up for four nights in midtown Manhattan in the newly
renovated Affinia 50 hotel, or any of the five Affinia hotels in NYC and
Washington, DC, and you can save 20 per cent off the best available
rate. Book by April 30 for stays until August 31; quote AUST14. 1800 174 962, affinia.com.

QUEENSLAND
See how the other half lives on luxurious Lizard Island and
stay five nights, pay four. Includes flights to the island from Cairns
and all meals and drinks. Book by June 15 for stays April 29-August 31.
From $3139 a person, twin share. 1800 044 066, travel-associates.com.au.

TRAVEL WRITEAWAY
PEN PAL
Go old-school with this cute travel journal, which encourages
kids to write about their travel adventures, be it a weekend at the
beach or a round-the-world adventure. The hardcover journal prompts them
to record what they ate, animals they saw, cool landmarks and there are
stickers aplenty, to create a fantastic memento to look back over when
they’ve traded sandcastles and hopscotch for Santorini and bar hopping.
kikki.K Explore Travel Journal, $19.95.
See kikki-k.com, phone (03) 9645 6346.

Belinda Jackson‘s Get Going column is published every Sunday in Sydney’s Sun-Herald newspaper.

Mar

Get going: bound for Bali

101 Bali-Legian hotel, Bali.

Hi ho, the summer sun is still only just dipping below the horizon but it’s time to think winter, with all the international resorts releasing their snow deals for the 2014 winter season, or drumming up business for summer in the mountains.

Otherwise, there are olives to pluck in Tuscany and family holidays mixing the Taj with tigers in this week’s international and domestic travel deals.

GO NOW

BALI

Get return flights from Sydney with Virgin Australia and
three nights at the 3.5-star 101 Bali-Legian hotel, with Wi-Fi and one
three-course dinner thrown in. From $600 a person, twin share, on stays
May 14-17. 1300 887 979, wotif.com/packages.
QUEENSLAND

Check into Brisbane’s newest hotel, the Four Points by
Sheraton Brisbane, and save up to 60 per cent on stays until September
3. There is free Wi-Fi, and craft beers in the hotel bar. From $149 a
night. 1800 074 545, fourpoints.com/brisbane.

The best of Colorado, USA.

GO SOON
USA

Discover Aspen’s glorious spring season. Local hotels and
lodges are offering the third night free from May 15-June 16, plus $50
towards outdoor activities such as ballooning, rafting or biking.

See stayaspensnowmass.com/secret.

SOUTH AUSTRALIA

Take one of Australia’s most luxurious hikes and bring a
friend free. The Arkaba Walk is a four-day, 45-kilometre private hike
through the Flinders Ranges, with food, wine and guides. Book by April
11 for travel June 12-August 31. Costs $2150 for two people. 1300 790 561, arkabawalk.com.

The rustic huts of Corinna, Tasmania.

GO LATER

TASMANIA

Explore the incomparable Tarkine Wilderness in winter. Stay
three nights for the price of two, get a brekky hamper, half-day kayak
hire and discounts on the Arcadia II river cruises. Three nights from
$540, queen cabin, $760, family cabin. (03) 6446 1170, corinna.com.au.

CHINA

Celebrate the Year of the Horse with $200 off Helen Wong’s
China and Vietnam group tours; its 12-day China Discovery tour costs
$3930 a person, includes international flights. Book by April 4, travel
May 1-November 30. 1300 788 328, helenwongstours.com.

TOURWATCH

HARVEST IN TUSCANY

Experience quintessential Italy at the annual olive harvest
in San Miniato, Tuscany. Back-Roads Touring’s new seven-day “Harvest in
Tuscany” winter tour takes you into the heart of the region’s cuisine
and landscape, with cooking classes, Prosecco and a night in a
12th-century castle. Tours depart November 11 and 18, 2014. From $2418 a
person, twin share. 1300 100 410, backroadstouring.com.au.

Talking tigers, India.

KIDS DEALS

TAJ & TIGERS

If you’re looking to take the kids into the wild, the
eight-day India Family Holiday package fits the bill. You’ll explore
manic Old Delhi by rickshaw, (hopefully) spot tigers in Ranthambore
National Park, take an elephant ride in Jaipur and witness sunrise at
the Taj Mahal.

Staying in three-star hotels, the tour departs daily
(except July-September). From $1698 an adult, $1443 a child, low season
(April-June). 1300 760 208, selectivetours.com.

Belinda Jackson‘s Get Going column is published every Sunday in Sydney’s Sun-Herald newspaper.

Mar

Get going: Adelaide festivals

GO NOW
SOUTH AUSTRALIA
It’s festival season in Adelaide, with WOMADelaide and the
Adelaide Festival top of the list. Save $20 on a stay in BreakFree
Directors Studios, from $99 a night, or a studio at BreakFree Adelaide
from $268 for two nights, saving 15 per cent, until April 30. 1300 987 602, breakfree.com.au.

JAPAN
Save 10 per cent on World Expeditions’ Japanese adventures,
such as the five-day Kii Hanto Pilgrim Hike along mountain trails to
ancient Buddhist and Shinto shrines. Book by March 31 for travel July
1-December 31. Costs $1791 a person. 1800 567 2216, worldexpeditions.com.

Breakfree Adelaide.

GO SOON

UNITED STATES
Bright lights, big cities – save 25 per cent on US and Canada
journeys departing by June 30, such as the 23-day Best of America trip,
from New York to Nashville and New Mexico, finishing in freewheeling
San Francisco. Book by March 31. From $2471 a person, save $824. 1300 797 010, intrepidtravel.com.

NSW
Pet-friendly Mavis’s Kitchen is 10 kilometres from Murwillumbah on
the NSW north coast. Save $94 and get breakfast for two, a bottle of
organic bubbles and Devonshire tea. Sundays to Thursdays until April 28.
Costs $199 a night, two people. (02) 6679 5664, legendarytweedvalley.com.au.

GO LATER

HONG KONG
Do the city in style with a B&B package at the luxury
Hyatt Regency Hong Kong in Tsim Sha Tsui. Book on the Kowloon hotel’s
website by April 30 and get breakfast for two, free internet access and
2pm checkout. From $365 a night. See hongkong.tsimshatsui.hyatt.com.

VICTORIA
Check into the Vibe Hotel Melbourne, on Little Collins
Street, and get perky. Choose two perks, including 24-hour Wi-Fi, valet
parking, in-room movies or $25 credit at the hotel bar. Valid from April
1 to June 30. From $220 a night. (03) 9622 8888, vibehotels.com.au.

TOUR WATCH
ROAM FREE
This small-group Tauck Roman Holiday raises you up above the
crowds, with an after-hours private tour of the Vatican museums and
Sistine Chapel, a reception in Rome’s Cinecitta film studios and five
nights at The Westin Excelsior. Departs October 18, from $5982 a person.
1300 950 622, traveltheworld.com.au.

KIDS DEALS
CRUISE WITH ATTITUDE
Girls on the move come with a dash of attitude and this
season’s travel luggage from surf label Rip Curl has it in spades.

Forget boring black, the new Heartland range, in stores this month,
comprises 80-litre ($249.99) and 40-litre ($199.99) four-wheel
hard-shell upright cases with a slot for the laptop and an internal
cosmetics case.

Lock in the teen-queen look with a matching beauty case
($49.99). (03) 5261 0022, ripcurl.com.au.

Belinda Jackson‘s Get Going column is published every Sunday in Sydney’s Sun-Herald newspaper.

Feb

Deals: relaxation on a Malaysian vacation

Giraffe Manor, Kenya

Breakfast with well-mannered giraffes in Kenya, motor across the USA, sleep like a king in Malaysia… what’s your mood this week?

On the home front, it’s freshwater lakes on Fraser Island, going remote up at the Kimberley’s Faraway Bay or exploring Kakadu in all its green glory.

GO NOW
MALAYSIA
Modelled on a 17th-century Malay palace, the recently
refreshed Tanjon Jara Resort is on Malaysia’s east coast. Normally from
$350 a night, costs from $276 including all meals until March 31,
minimum two nights. tanjongjararesort.com.
QUEENSLAND
Take a dip in pristine freshwater lakes or swim in the Coral
Sea on Fraser Island. Save $126 on a two-night stay at Eurong Beach
Resort, with vehicle barge transfers included (normally $106), until
April 17. From $310 for two nights, quote “summer days”. 1800 111 808, eurong.com.

GO SOON

Motor across the USA with Apollo motorhomes.

US
Motor in the US for up to 18 days for the cost of fuel only
in an Apollo Motorhome from March 31-April 5, May 6-9 and June 2-6. Pick
up from Forest City, Iowa, and relocate to four cities, including Las
Vegas and San Francisco. April travellers also get $US500 ($570) towards
fuel. 1800 777 779, apollorv.com.
SINGAPORE
Book two nights in a club room in the new Rendezvous Hotel
Singapore by March 16 and save 30 per cent. Included is the mini bar,
internet, airport lounge access, airport transfers and a city tour. From
$185 a night. stayfareast.com/launch30.

GO LATER
KENYA
Go on safari for five nights at Sala’s Camp, Sasaab or Solio
Lodge and get one night free at the Giraffe Manor, outside Nairobi. Book
by February 28, stay until December 15 (excluding June 1-October 31).
From $503 a person a night, +254 (020) 502 0888, thesafaricollection.com.
WESTERN AUSTRALIA
Stay at the Kimberley’s Faraway Bay and save 20 per cent with
a free night in Kununurra or Darwin until April 30. Book by February
28, from $3464 a person three nights, includes meals, tours and flights
ex-Kununurra. 0419 918 953, farawaybay.com.au.

Ancient Athens

Explore the archaeology and culture of Athens, from the
crowd-pleasing Acropolis and the Agorato to Marathon, the shrines of
mysterious cults and the isle of Aigina in the Saronic Gulf.
Promenade Plaka, the city’s Old Town. The walking tour, led
by two archaeologists, also explores the city’s best museums and its
top tables, and your five-star accommodation looks out to the Acropolis.
The tour runs June 1-8, 2014. Costs $4210 a person, twin share. See petersommer.com.

KIDS

Explore art caves, spot wildlife and
watch the sun set with the kids over a remarkable, remote slice of Australia. Kakadu
is glowing green right now, and kids under 12 stay and eat free at the Gagudju
Crocodile Hotel. Stay three, pay for just two nights and get half-price Yellow
Water cruises and other tour discounts until February 28. The hotel is 3.5
hours’ drive from Darwin on sealed roads and up to two kids can share their
parents’ room. Costs $300 a room, three nights, 1800 500 401, gagudju-dreaming.com.

This column by Belinda Jackson was published in Sydney’s Sun-Herald newspaper.

Sep

Flying north for sultry sun in Queensland or Cambodia: travel deals September 15, 2013

Rumba Beach Resort, Caloundra, Qld

Who doesn’t love a sun lounger? Now we can stop moaning about the cold, our ire turns to the rain. Time for us to fly north to Queensland, don’t you think? Or Cambodia or Uluru: it’s nice and warm there, too. A word for snow lovers: time to check out earlybird deals for the US, in this week’s Australian and international travel deals.

Go now: Queensland

Hit the beach with a four-night spring deal in Caloundra,
on the Sunshine Coast. Rumba Beach Resort will throw in fish & chips for a
beach picnic, a bottle of wine, bicycle hire and a dining discount card. From
$796 a couple until November 30. (07) 5492
0555, rumbaresort.com.au.

Go sooner:
Indochina

Save up to 15 percent on a luxury 19-day tour of Laos,
Vietnam and Cambodia, from Vientiane to Cambodia’s dramatic Angkor Wat. Book by
November 13 for travel until November 15. From $4450 a person, twin share. 1300 836 764, coxandkings.com.au/au/15off.

Monks at Angkor Wat, Cambodia

Go later: USA

Ski in California and Nevada for seven nights, pay
for only six. Heavenly resort at South Lake Tahoe costs from $905, including
3-star digs and a six-day ski pass. Book by November 1 for travel January 1-March
29, 2014. 1300 939 414, flightcentre.com.au.

Kids

Show the kids Australia’s heartland with a journey to
Uluru. The family package at Desert Gardens Hotel includes free indigenous
activities such as spear throwing and gentler art classes and bush tucker
yarns. Save 20 percent off and kids under 12 stay free when booked by November
30 for travel September 30, 2013-March 31, 2014. From $714, three nights for
two adults and two kids. 1300
134 044, ayersrockresort.com.au.

Source: Belinda Jackson, Sun-Herald newspaper

Sep

Junior suites: best kids’ hotel rooms

The Plaza, NY, USA

From fire
trucks to cats, hotel rooms appeal to the senses of youngsters by ditching the
boring beige and daring to dream.

Accosted
by pirates and knights or wading in a sea of frothy pink: waking up in the
stomach of a Nintendo game may be your idea of hell … or heaven.

Kids may
not be holding the purse strings, but canny hotels know that thinking small can
make a big difference.

While interconnecting rooms are a given, you’ll now
find alcoves stacked with bunks and stuffed with toys and books that remodel
the room from red-eye traveller to pint-sized revellers.

Here are six of the best.

The Fire Station Inn, Adelaide.

RED HOT

Adelaide, South Australia

Got a wannabe firefighter on your hands? Book a
night’s stay at the Fire Station Inn, Adelaide’s first fire station built in
1866, now a boutique hotel in swish North Adelaide. There’s a fully restored
1942 fire truck at the end of the queen-size bed, a fireman’s pole, lights and
costumes for dress-ups. The room has a king bed and a double sofa bed. Costs
from $275 a double plus $45 for children over two years. adelaideheritage.com.

DREAM BUILD

California, United States

Lego-mad kids can choose to be a pirate,
adventurer, or perhaps a knight at the new 250-room Legoland hotel in Carlsbad,
California. The hotel is made up of millions of Lego bricks and guests get
early entry to Legoland’s rides and attractions. The best thing is you don’t
have to pick up all the Lego pieces. Rooms comprise a queen bed and a separate
sleeping area for up to three kids. Kids stay and play free when booked by
September 30 for stays until November 21. From $179. legoland.com.

EMPIRE OF THE CAT

Jeju Island, South Korea

She’s super kawaii (cute) and pink to the
gills: Hello Kitty hits new highs in the five-star Lotte Hotel on Jeju Island.
Off South Korea’s southern coastline, Jeju is the country’s party island thanks
to its beaches and warm summers. Being Korean, the activities include sauna,
karaoke and hunting, but if your focus is a white kitty cat with a pink flower
in her hair, who appears on the duvets, the carpets and the walls, maybe that’s
not quite your game. Suites from $726. lottehoteljeju.com.

Wanderlust, Singapore

OUT OF THIS WORLD

Little India, Singapore

Step out of the madness of Little India and into a
madness of a different kind at Wanderlust, a super-cool Design Hotel whose two
fabulous space rooms feature a red space rocket and a few friendly aliens. The
kitchenette and bathroom are downstairs, then climb up to the loft bed and
watch the stars as you orbit into sleep. Costs from $298 a double, includes
breakfast and Wi-Fi. Extra beds from $85. wanderlusthotel.com.

THINK PINK

New York

The Fifth-Avenue home for stylish little girls is
the Eloise suite at the Plaza Hotel, dreamed up by fashion designer Betsey
Johnson. As they say: “Think pink and lots of it”. Saucy Eloise, the
heroine by Kay Thompson, who lived at the hotel, was modelled on Thompson’s
goddaughter, Liza Minnelli. The two-bedroom suite is a swirl of zebra print,
sparkly pink and neon lights. The Eloise ambassador will escort guests to the
suite, get their autograph and take a portrait, before presenting you with a
monogrammed Eloise bathrobe and a $100 gift card to the Eloise shop. From $1395
plus taxes. theplazany.com.

CAPITAL KIDS

Canberra

Canberra’s top hotel is currently the swish East
Hotel. Its Kids Cubby connects with the East Apartment for a chic, two-bedroom
option. The cubby has bunks, kids’ furniture, a little dining table and an Xbox
360 as well as other games. Book their Questacon package and get admission for
two adults and two kids into Questacon (the National Science and Technology
Centre), as well as a free in-room movie and popcorn, parking and a half bottle
of wine. From $380 (room only), $410 (Questacon pack). easthotel.com.au.

FIVE MORE COOL KIDS’
ROOMS

SWISSOTEL, PHUKET, THAILAND


	Legoland, California

Set by Kamala beach and a favourite with families,
the hotel can redesign the kids’ room, with age-relevant toys, food and games
for kids two to 17 years. From $154, two-bedroom suite, until November 1. swissotel.com.

FANTASYLAND HOTEL, EDMONTON, CANADA

Sleep in a pick-up truck, stylishly, in truck theme
room. There’s a queen bed in the back, a futon in the cab and fire-engine
toddler bunks. The igloo room has an icy-cool fitout. From $368. fantasylandhotel.com.

SHERATON MACAO HOTEL, MACAU

The largest Sheraton in the world’s two-bed,
two-bathroom suite has a kids’ room with craft tables, games, a Wii and bunk
beds. From $299. sheraton.com/macao.

THE PALMS, LAS VEGAS

For girls, as well as the girlish at heart, The
Barbie Suite is a very grown-up affair that sleeps six, and parties for 40.
From $3000. thepalms.com.

NOMAD XPERIENCE, GRANADA, SPAIN

Sleep in a yurt, a tipi or a gypsy wagon at this
property in the Sierra Nevada. €35 ($51) a person, €25 children three to 16
years. nomadx.es.

Source: Belinda Jackson,
Sun-Herald newspaper

Sep

Of giant mice and free feeds in Bali, Qld and California: travel deals September 8, 2013

Holiday Inn Resort Baruna Bali

Just because you’ve got kids in tow doesn’t mean getaways are goners. It may mean, however, you find yourself surrounded by giant mice or are lured by the promise of feeding the children for free. Here’s a taste of three kid-friendly faves in Bali, Disneyland and Queensland.

GO NOW: USA

Visiting Disneyland Anaheim? Check in for three nights at
the Desert Palms Hotel & Suites in Orange County, only 1km away from the
action, and get the third night free. Includes breakfast and parking, until
September 13. expedia.com.au/promos/usa-sale.

Hamilton Island, Queensland

GO LATER: BALI

Save up to 30 per cent on your stay at the Holiday Inn
Resort Baruna Bali, with breakfast, internet, a massage and access to its
departure lounge for late flights. Kids under 12 eat and stay free, too, until
December 31. From $127.25 a night. 1803 656 888, bali.holidayinn.com.

GO SOONER: QUEENSLAND

If the kids are eating you out of house and home, book a
Palm bungalow on Hamilton Island for four nights, with use of catamarans,
snorkelling and windsurfing gear, and kids eat and stay free. From $679 a
person, twin share. 131 398, travelscene.net.au.

Source: Belinda Jackson, Sun-Herald newspaper

Jul

Play in the snow, on the golf course or in New York City: travel deals July 14, 2013

It’s all about playing: in the snow, on the golf course, in China or New York City, in this week’s travel deals.

KIDS:
Kids 14 and under ski free on July 20-21, August 2425 and
September 14-15 at Thredbo when they’re with a paying adult on a two-day lift
pass. Also, the Learn to Ride week, September 16-20, throws in free lessons and
gear hire on all lift passes. (02) 6459 4100, thredbo.com.au.

GO NOW Bunker
down in the Tasmanian wilderness at the Barnbougle Dunes spa and golf course.
Their winter deal includes 18 holes of golf, a hot stone massage, overnight
accommodation and breakfast for two. Usually $718, save $192 until September 30.
Costs from $526 a couple. barnbougledunes.com.au.

GO SOONER Sleep
sweet in eight New York City hotels: pay for two nights in a suite and get a
third night free until September 2. Hotels include the new JW Marriott Essex
House, hip The London NYC and the Mad Men-esque The Chatwal. nycgo.com/thirdnight.

GO LATER Get
free flights to China when you book a 19-day China Explorer by October 31, for
travel in 2014. Highlights include Kunming’s stone forest and Chengdu’s panda
breeding centre, Beijing and Xi’an. Costs from $7595 a person, twin share. 1300
278 278, aptouring.com.au.

Source: Belinda Jackson, Sun Herald

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Tour watch:
Rock & soul

Ancient Athens