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Paul Chai

Paul Chai has been a travel writer for over two decades. He has dived with great white sharks in South Australia, walked the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival and stuffed himself with enough food and wine working on the Good Food Guide to make his GP shake his head. Chai is currently managing editor of Dream by Luxury Escapes.

AustraliaVictoria

Witty Fashion-Photography-Themed Stay Draws Focus to Spencer Street Area; Hotel Indigo Melbourne

This one-time Holiday Inn has undergone a $20-million facelift to turn it in a groovy new art hotel inspired by the photography of German fashion snapper Helmut Newton, whose work in the 50s and 60s in London and Paris became world famous. Helmut Newton, whose stylistic black-and-white fashion snaps defined an era, spent a lot […]

AustraliaVictoriaExploreReviews

French-Inspired Luxury at the Paris End of Melbourne, Sofitel Melbourne on Collins

Sofitel Melbourne on Collins has an intimacy despite being a large hotel chain through unique position, love of the arts and creative passion. Sofitel is celebrating its diamond jubilee this year, 60 years of adding a little French luxury to what is known as the Paris end of Collins Street. Despite its 363 rooms, the […]

AustraliaVictoria

Let Us Après: the Best Fun You Can Have in Mt Buller With Your Skis Off

Mt Buller is known as Melbourne’s Mountain due to its proximity to the Victorian capital but with pop-up container bars, bluesy basement speakeasies and fine French diners it also channels the city’s party spirit. As if Mt Buller didn’t already have some of the best apres-ski in the High Country, this year the mountain is […]

AustraliaVictoriaReviews

Sun, Fun and Spa in a Revamped Retro Motel, Sunnymead Hotel on the Great Ocean Road

Sunnymead Hotel is part of a growing trend of old motel’s getting a glow up, and it now embodies the sunny disposition of a great beach break. Located in Aireys Inlet, Sunnymead feels like driving into a sunny summer afternoon with all the hues of a Bellarine sunset, a pool bar straight out of Barbie […]

Victoria

A Weekend in a Multicultural Melting Pot & One of Melbourne’s Best Produce Markets at Holiday Inn Dandenong

Celebrating its first birthday, this hotel is perfectly placed for a Dandenong Market tour or a deep dive into the local multicultural food scene. Holiday Inn Dandenong is part of a new push by the well-known hotel chain, and its owner IHG Hotels & Resorts, into properties that embrace their surrounds. For Holiday Inn Dandenong […]

AustraliaVictoriaExploreReviews

A Riverside Staycation with Dive Bars and Classic Bistro Fare at Crowne Plaza Melbourne

Crowne Plaza Melbourne is the only Melbourne stay that sits on a prime piece of absolute riverfront real estate, giving your stay a very different view of the city. Although the curved building is known to many who wander this part of the riverfront, what is less well known is that Crowne Plaza Melbourne underwent […]

AustraliaVictoriaNews

Sofitel Melbourne on Collins Sparkles with a First Nations Fashion Show at Diamond Jubilee Party

The French hotel brand celebrated 60 years with First Nations fashion brand NGALI and bottles of specially made Champagne. Marking the hotel brand’s diamond jubilee, Sofitel Melbourne on Collins chose to celebrate its 60th birthday by combining with 60,000 years of First Nations creativity at an event on July 1 at the hotel’s Club Lounge […]

AustraliaVictoriaExploreNews

Largest Australian Hotel Opening of 2024 Lands at Melbourne Airport

The new-build Novotel & ibis Styles Melbourne Airport also boasts Melbourne Airport’s first health and wellbeing club. Melbourne Airport welcomed its first new hotel in 20 years this week with the launch of Accor’s Novotel & ibis Styles Melbourne Airport. The dual-branded hotel is a much-needed addition to the airport which has already returned to […]

ExploreNews

Australian Icon: Neil Perry Honoured at World’s 50 Best Restaurants, the “Oscars” of the Food World

In a list otherwise devoid of Australian entries, veteran chef Neil Perry took home the Woodford Reserve Icon Award for his services to the industry. Veteran chef and creator of the Rockpool restaurant group, Neil Perry was the sole Australian to receive an honour at the World’s 50 Best Restaurants Awards held in Las Vegas […]

BaliExploreFlightsNewsQueensland

Bali for Less: AirAsia Indonesia Launches its First-Ever Flight from Cairns to Bali

Queensland travellers will find it easier than ever to get to Australia’s favourite Indonesian island with a new route from the low-cost carrier. AirAsia Indonesia has announced its first-ever direct flights between Bali and the gateway to Tropical North Queensland with the Cairns flights starting on August 14. The flights mark the first time that […]

ExploreFlightsNews

Capital Gains: Vietjet Launches New Direct Route from Melbourne to Hanoi

Melbourne this week welcomed the inaugural flight from Hanoi to Melbourne by low-cost carrier Vietjet, part of a huge push by the airline into the Australian market. Vietjet cemented a big year in the Australian market by launching a new route from the Vietnamese capital to Melbourne, with Sydney launching just a few days later. […]

AustraliaVictoriaTravel Guides

Coast Modern: The Perfect Food-Lover’s Weekend on Victoria’s Bellarine Peninsula

Just over an hours’ drive out of Melbourne, the Bellarine region, with Victoria’s second-city of Geelong at its heart, has long been popular with Melburnians fond of sand dunes and salty air, not to mention fish and chips. But, in the past few years, a new wave of Bellarine fine diners has been attracting a […]

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