Langham Hotels package presents six nights of indulgence
Take two cities with two distinct personalities and one completely over-the-top way to get the best of both worlds.
Take two cities with two distinct personalities and one completely over-the-top way to get the best of both worlds. That’s what the team at Langham Hotels has dreamed up for guests wanting to splurge on a six-night getaway in Sydney and Melbourne (assuming a certain virus doesn’t scupper best-laid plans).
The Tale of Two Cities package includes three nights in the elegant Observatory Suite at The Langham, Sydney and three in the Chairman’s Suite at its southern sister property. Travel between the two, in either direction, is by private jet plus guests can enjoy more transports of delight: a helicopter flight over the Great Ocean Road and Twelve Apostles, a seaplane jaunt over Sydney Harbour and the Northern Beaches, and a hot-air balloon ride in NSW’s Hunter Valley.
Fine dining features heavily on the itinerary, with a lunchtime cruise on the Yarra River and a 10-course degustation dinner for two at Vue de Monde at Rialto Tower in the Victorian capital, plus lunch at renowned restaurant Jonah’s in Sydney’s Pittwater. Champagne breakfasts in bed are a daily indulgence, along with French fizz, cocktails, caviar, tasting plates and afternoon tea. Other activities include a behind-the-scenes tour of Melbourne Theatre Company, four hours’ exploring Sydney in the hotel’s Pink Taxi (pictured), and climbing Sydney Harbour Bridge.
Throw in two pairs of personalised designer pyjamas and executive airport transfers and there’s not much more you could ask for; from $47,118 for two. If that’s too extravagant, a range of stays at the hotels are discounted by 20 per cent for bookings by June 20 for travel to December 31.
PENNY HUNTER
Book Club
I KNOW WHAT I SAW
Imran Mahmood
How reliable is memory? Not everyone makes a credible witness to a crime. Can a homeless hobo be believed when all the facts suggest his possible guilt? This new psychological thriller by British barrister Imran Mahmood has a well-paced, cleverly constructed plot that turns the classic whodunit template more or less on its head.
Xander Shute is an ex-banker who’s been living rough on the streets of London for years. Or in the heaped leaves and dank burrows of parks, to be more exact, his shabby clothing stuffed with newspaper to ward against the weather. He’s burying himself away from reality and the burden of a deeply distressing childhood and failed romantic past. Seeking warmth one night, he eases himself into a Mayfair flat, the residents return and from a hiding place he witnesses a woman being murdered. Or does he?
Local detectives dismiss Shute’s account of a killing but he maintains he is telling the truth, despite a lack of evidence or even a corpse. “I saw it. He smothered her, pressing his hands on her face. The police don’t believe me, they say it’s impossible ... but I know what I saw.”
To reveal more would be straying into spoiler territory but Mahmood keeps the suspense going until the final (shock-horror) pages. It’s so cinematic that it begs for the return of Alfred Hitchcock and I bet it’ll be optioned for a movie. Even a lame attempt at bringing it to the screen would surely be better than the dreadful movie version of The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn, which also dabbles in damaged souls and the manipulation of memory.
This is Mahmood’s second novel; his first, You Don’t Know Me, is being adapted by the BBC as a series, with an expected Netflix uptake, and the presumption of innocence and legal manoeuvrings are also at the heart of its plot. Back on the streets of London, following in Shute’s footsteps, Mahmood shapes the character of the fabled city as an unkind, lonely place for those whose lives are not blessed by wealth, privilege and corporate status in the shadows of “pinnacles of glass … (with names such as) the Shard, the Gherkin, the Walkie Talkie … All these buildings with names fit for children (that) have sprung up as if from a giant pop-up book.” Fun fact: I am casting Benedict Cumberbatch in the lead, complete with a dodgy overcoat.
SUSAN KUROSAWA
Spend it
How cool and environmentally clever is this Melbourne company? Buy a Mac + Pat hand-poured 100 per cent soy wax candle in fragrances such as black orchid and ginger, fresh pear, black raspberry or even musk sticks, surely everyone’s favourite childhood candy. After hours of burning, repurpose its container. The dishwasher and microwave-safe pots are handmade by Kelly Morgan Ceramics, based on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula. The delightful shades are all the prettiest of pastels, from pale oatmeal to subtle lilac. Use as a mug for hot or cold drinks; holder for toothbrushes, pens or pencils; or planter pot for, say, a petite succulent; $40.
SUSAN KUROSAWA
