Travel Challenge: Health retreats
EACH week we invite three competing companies to give us their best deals for a particular holiday. The result is great offers for our readers.
Luxury
Long lunch? Just get a seaplane home
WHO needs to catch a cab after a long lunch? A restaurant on Sydney’s northern beaches offers a trip home via seaplane.
Hey high flier – take a seat in airport luxury
TRAVELLING can take its toll on even the most frequent of flyers, so it’s good to know there’s a place to kick back and relax.
Spring: the season for renewal
RELAX, lie back and spring-clean your body at one of the invigorating spa resorts.
Point to point in paradise
IT SEEMS that in the internet world everyone has a claim to Shambhala, a mythical kingdom in Asia which also shares a name with Byron Bay’s luxury resort.
Warm up and chill out in the forest
THE first chills of winter have hit, so it’s time to head for the hills – and where better than the luxurious mountain playground of Tamborine.
Welcoming hands in Port Douglas
I’VE only been in Port Douglas half an hour and a woman I just met can’t keep her hands off me.
Discover India’s ancient treatments
UNVEIL the healing wonders of cotton bags filled with rice, baked banana leaves and turbans drenched in oil in this traditional Indian spa resort.
Explore Asia’s next big thing
SLIP into a private infinity pool, gaze over unblemished beaches and marvel at how this city’s resorts have changed over the past 20 years.
Spa like a celebrity
FOLLOW in the plucked, preened and pedicured footsteps of the beautiful people in search of the best spa experiences in New York and Los Angeles.
WA’s isolated, luxury retreat
THIS is the kind of place which sends spa junkies gaga – and the best part is, it’s right in our own backyard, with all the privacy you’ll need.
The new, luxurious Noosa
SPACE. Time. Relaxation. The Outrigger on Little Hastings Street is breaking all the Sunshine Coast capital’s rules, but it’s well worth it.
A weekend in the Hunter, without wine?
CAN the Hunter Valley, which is synonymous with wine, be enjoyed without drinking? A pregnant woman and her hesitant husband take on the challenge.
Shop like a true fashion icon
INDULGE your inner fashionista in Paris, where bargains abound and hotels offer treatments to ease leg fatigue – a condition caused by too much shopping.
Zen in New Zealand
FOR a luxury retreat full of Eastern promise where you can rest your weary soul, you don’t have to travel further than across the Tasman.
Luxury like no other in Thailand
THE island paradise of Koh Samui is a stunning contrast between luxury and simplicity.
Tahiti tour for the pampered
IT’S not hard to adjust to the rhythms of a decadent life aboard a luxury catamaran crusing the waters of Tahiti, writes Melissa Stevens.
Sanctuary delivers on bliss
AN exclusive sanctuary styled on Bali’s high-end resorts in Port Douglas delivers on the necessary luxuries for Tracey Ferrier.
Several shades of paradise
LAIDBACK luxury or heartbreak hotel? Brian Johnston gives us the low-down on the best and the worst of the French Polynesian resorts.
Here’s mud in your eye
FORGET fancy seaweed wraps, Brian Johnston swears a bloke likes nothing more than a good wallow in a thermal mud bath.
Hottest hotels for 2008
LOOKING for a hotel that really stands out from the crowd? Travel + Leisure magazine shares its nominations for 2008’s best new hotels.
Broome sweeps in luxury
LUXURY rooms, a day spa and a soothing Buddha yoga sanctuary Broome’s Cable Beach Club Resort splashes out with a $20 million makeover.
‘Glamping’ it up in outdoor luxury
KICKING back on a queen-size bed in the heart of the New South Wales bush, Brad Watts discovers a tent with life’s little luxuries.
Rent your own island
YOU, too, can holiday like a celebrity, writes Anthony Deceglie when you can rent a whole island off the coast of Africa at this price.
The Ghan upgrades to platinum
A LUXURY upgrade takes comfort aboard Australia’s legendary Ghan to a new level. Mike Smith trials the new premier carriages on the famous outback train.
Get with the program
BYPASS the cocktails and consider a little detox on your next break at one of a new breed of life-changing health retreats in the Asia-Pacific.
Green and serene in Bali
YOGA, jungle walks and a healthy approach to eating make Ubud’s Como Shambhala a blissful place to stay, reports Christine McCabe.
Bali, body and sole
BALI may be teeming with willing masseurs but for a really exquisite massage, Sian Powell points the way to go in Kuta and surrounds.
Be Carrie Bradshaw for $24,000
FOR $24,000, Sex and the City fans can live the life of Carrie Bradshaw on a four-day tour of New York where splurging on Manolo Blahniks is par for the course.
Relax in the Kiwi thrill capital
QUEENSTOWN is the home for thrillseekers in New Zealand but Alison Cotes found a way to avoid any sudden attacks of adrenalin.
Luxury bed, breakfast and bush
SNUGGLED in beneath Queensland’s huge forest gums, Lyola Pavilions has an air of luxurious elegance that’s hard to resist.
Hot under the Hilton covers
OYSTERS, a feather tickler and Madame Lash Sydney’s Hilton Hotel knows how to get couples in a sexy mood.
Billionaire playgrounds
FIND out where the super-rich go to have fun with Forbes Traveler’s list of billionaires’ holiday destinations.
Move over Dubai
ABU Dhabi is where the Arabian action is, not Dubai, writes Toni Salama of the city widely regarded as the world’s richest.
The beautiful race
SIPPING champers with European billionaires, David May discovers Switzerland’s White Turf St Moritz race is not just for the beautiful people.
Touch of class at Ningaloo
SOAKED in shore-line luxury, the award-winning Novotel Ningaloo Resort is more than a match for its stunning surroundings.
The world’s first sleep retreat
TIRED of being tired? Lounge in seaside luxury and enjoy the best night’s sleep you ever had in the world’s first sleep retreat.
Inside the Playboy Mansion
THERE is a time in everyone’s life when they cannot believe where they are or what they are doing. For Liz Walsh, that moment came at Hugh Hefner’s Playboy Mansion.
Soaked in Swiss bliss
STILL feeling the effects of festive season shenanigans ? Why not purify your soul and body in the cool, clean climes of the sexy Swiss Alps?
Stop, revive and survive 2008
NEED a tune-up after the festive season’s excesses? Jane Fraser finds the perfect retreat on the Gold Coast to prepare for whatever the new year has brought.
Game time for Beijing
THOUSANDS of hotels in Beijing will be empty after the Olympics in August, which means five-star bargains for those who wait, writes Greg Hackett.
Lazing in a luxury island paradise
IF you are planning an escape to paradise in 2008, look no further than the coral reefs and palm-fringed white-as-white sand beaches of Aitutaki in the Cook Islands.
Australia’s best spas
IF the rat race is running you down, then it’s time to kick back, peel off your clothes and be pampered back to life with our pick of Australia’s best spa experiences.
Peninsula springs a hot one
SOAKING in a natural hot mineral spring is the ultimate way to relax, as Carmen Scaduto discovers on the Mornington Peninsula.
Caribbean dazzles A-listers
ONCE a colonial backwater, Anguilla is now a playground for A-listers and the seriously cashed-up, says David Whitley.
Soak up luxury at Qualia
HAMILTON Island’s ultra-glam resort Qualia has brought a new level of luxury to Queensland, writes Susan Kurosawa.
Best ‘extreme design’ hotels
FROM Greek Orthdox-style chapels, to villas along the Great Wall of China it’s time to drool over the world’s most stylish hotels.
The coolest carry-ons
FROM luxurious Louis Vuitton to a sizzling Samsonite number. Be the envy of the airport and travel in style with the world’s coolest carry-on luggage.
Tale of two spas
IN Cairns and Port Douglas, scrubs, rubs, wraps and rolls are more popular than sunbaking and a swim in the sea, writes Susan Kurosawa.
To the Bund
MUCH of 1930s Shanghai may be gone but in this emphatically 21st-century city there’s plenty of pre-war hedonism to be found in its nightclubs and restaurants.
Soaking up Japanese tradition
BRIAN Johnston immerses himself in Japan’s thermal baths and discovers a rich and age-old tradition that soothes away stress in superb surroundings.
Di-vine intervention
IN an indulgent mood, you can make a luxurious getaway in the ever-evolving Barossa Valley work the same magic as an extended holiday.
California’s chill-out zone
PEOPLE often come to reclaim their souls, and as one of America’s favourite spa destinations, California’s Big Sur has many ways to revive even the most jaded.
Rainforest’s burbling beauty
JENNY Stevens marvels at the sights and sounds of Far North Queensland’s Daintree Rainforest from her treetop guestroom at the Silky Oaks Lodge.
Just for the love of it
IN an edited extract from his new book, Hotel Heaven: Confessions Of A Luxury Hotel Addict, Matthew Brace reveals his top ten romantic hotels.
Hamilton Island fires up
HAMILTON Island, once the playground of rich and famous souls including Beatle George Harrison, is enjoying a cash-fuelled revamp, writes Mike O’Connor.
Luxury adds to camping bliss
WHEN gourmet food, champagne and a carpeted tent with a decadent queen-sized bed is on offer, Ellen Connolly discovers that she does like camping after all.
Wok and roll in Phuket
IN a girls-only trip through Thailand seeking luxury, pampering and adventure, Maria Visconti finds a cooking class in Phuket to be a very tasty diversion.
Into the deep
AT $67, the dim sum is no steal at Dubai’s most extravagant restaurant but Al Mahara’s dramatic underwater setting is a real drawcard, writes Susan Kurosawa.
Lunch on the Hawkesbury
A LUNCH cruise on the NSW Hawkesbury involves oysters, crabs and buckets of fun, writes Graeme Blundell.
Paris by pastries
PASTRIES are an essential part of the good life in Paris so what better way to tour the city than by eating at its patisseries. Garry Marchant tries some of the best.
Eau la la … I’ve been sprung!
KEVIN Pilley travels along France’s famous Water Route to taste the curative spa waters at their source and discovers the meaning of the term ‘water retention’.
Water log from Kerala
SUSAN Kurosawa journeys through the lakes and canals of tropical and prosperous Kerala in southwestern India on a converted rice boat.
Celebrity chic on a budget
VISITING a playground of the rich and famous does not have to be a budget-buster, writes Ellen Connolly.
Small taste of heaven
AN exclusive chauffeur-driven tour of the Barossa Valley’s small wineries is a corker of an idea, writes Christina Pfeiffer.
Thrills and spills in Oman
OMAN is fast becoming a hot spot to visit, discovers Veronica Matheson after a sneak preview on a new luxury resort on a remote peninsula.
Orange loosens belt for winefest
CORKS are popping in the central NSW town of Orange as Australia’s coolest climate winemakers celebrate with a food and wine festival.
Licence to thrill
THOUSANDS of Bond fans travel the world seeking out the exotic locations touched by the famous spy, writes Kevin Pilley.
Original URL: https://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-ideas/luxury/page/8