December travel hot list: Real Grand Budapest Hotel is a feast of excess
Take a look at the hottest new hotels and attractions to put on your travel wish list.
★★★★½
The real-life Grand Budapest Hotel is excessive in the best ways
This palatial Anantara outpost feels like I’ve stepped onto a Wes Anderson film set.
- by Sheriden Rhodes
Iconic Singapore hotel unveils $152 million transformation
The much-loved Mandarin Oriental landmark hotel has been reimagined in an epic six-month overhaul.
- by Jane Reddy
Luxury fashion house’s new Rome hotel
Two thousand years may have passed but Bulgari’s new outpost pays homage to its first emperor and Roman antiquity.
- by Maria Pasquale
★★★★
Swish Bangkok hotel has genuine wow factor (and glass-bottomed pool)
With a sensational pool and bar, this is a notable new addition to Bangkok’s hotel scene that offers a taste of the high life without the hefty price tag.
- by Rob McFarland
After being destroyed by fire, iconic Aussie lodge finally ready to reopen
The rebuilt Southern Ocean Lodge bears great resemblance to the original, but with some considered additions and adjustments that elevate the landmark for a new era.
- by Julietta Jameson
★★★★★
Steep at over $2000 a night, but easily London’s most memorable stay
Prices are steep at the new Raffles but what else would you expect at such a remarkable property?
- by Ute Junker
★★★★
Australia’s oldest wine region has a slick new retreat
Despite the Hunter Valley vineyard setting (with vines first planted in 1968), it’s all mod cons here at The Lane Retreat.
- by Trudi Jenkins
★★★★★
Supremely located hotel has two Rome icons on its doorstep
Rome wasn’t built to be seen in a day, so it helps to have a hotel in such a central and convenient location.
- by Jane Richards
★★★★
Brilliant, if expensive: The verdict on Sydney’s giant new W hotel
How’s the serenity on a five-star hotel dissecting four busy arterial motorways? In W Sydney’s case, quite good, actually.
- by Katherine Scott
★★★★½
This legendary New Zealand hotel is an attraction in itself
Admiring one of the world’s most dramatic alpine landscapes from The Hermitage’s refurbished Aoraki Wing is an unmatched experience.
- by Jim Darby
★★★★½
Aussie wine lovers can now sleep inside a luxurious oversized barrel
Serene, individual, and refined, this retreat offers everything you need to explore an often-forgotten Queensland wine region.
- by Alex Mitcheson
★★★★
Ten years on, flagship Sydney hotel still feels cool and fresh
It’s been just over a decade since the red-wigged, red-lipped, leather-clad “Directors of Chaos” first enticed guests into the QT Sydney.
- by Jane Reddy
Luxury brand pulls out all the stops for Tuscan hotel villas
Two new standalone villas designed by Tuscan-born, in-demand designer Alessandro Moriconi seek to wrap guests in Tuscan charm.
- by Julietta Jameson
Aussie couple will sail every Queen of the sea (including the retired ones)
The duo will sail an extraordinary six Cunard ships next year. Why the devotion? Butlers, dress-ups and maiden voyages are just the tip of the iceberg.
- by Julietta Jameson
The surprising places you’ll find Australia’s best new bars
You only have to look to Dean & Nancy on 22 at A by Adina in Sydney’s Hunter Street to know hotel bars in Australia are having a moment.
- by Julietta Jameson
New hotels open in ‘world’s most overcrowded destination’
Phuket tourism has come roaring back this year to pass pre-pandemic levels.
- by Julietta Jameson
‘Most complex design ever’: Qantas unveils its first Airbus A220
Qantas passengers travelling Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane to smaller cities will soon be on board Airbus A220s.
- by Amelia McGuire
Singapore is converting old buses into stylish hotel rooms
Sumptuous beds and full-sized bathtubs are just the beginning at The Bus Collective, a new unique stay in the heart of Changi Village.
- by Julietta Jameson
Foodies, if you haven’t heard of this region, that’s about to change
The Ayrburn project – a $184 million playground for devotees of good food and wine – is set to open on New Zealand’s South Island.
- by Trudi Jenkins