Gorgeous Georgian sandstone warehouses located in Hobart’s historic Salamanca Place have now been transformed into a new 41-room boutique hotel. With the simple title of Moss, the newest property from Behrakis Group is seeking to bring a bit of Tasmania’s wild natural landscape into these buildings with design that makes full use of vertical internal…
Over the weekend, I flew on Air Canada‘s long haul service from Hong Kong to Vancouver on the Boeing 777. On the flight, I enjoyed an upgrade to the airline’s “Preferred Seating”, which is essentially any seat in economy with extra leg room, which will normally set you back an extra C$130 or so. Those…
July 20th marks the 50th anniversary of the historic Moon landing in 1969 – a feat which would be as remarkable today as it was back then. Many of the sites around the world which played a part in this achievement of human engineering, against the backdrop of the Cold War, are celebrating the anniversary…
Sydney travellers will soon have direct access to Santiago on LATAM as the airline introduce a non-stop service between the two cities. Commencing operation from 27th October 2019, with tickets on sale now, the Oneworld airline plan to make this a substantial change to their existing daily Sydney to Santiago service, which currently has a…
Looking for a way to beat back those winter blues and bring some warmth back to your soul, in the way only a piping-hot, brothy bowl of goodness can? From now until July 20th, Wednesday through Saturday, the discerning team at Japanese izakaya Osaka Trading Co. are performing a little takeover of Sydney’s historic Tramsheds,…
The Waterfront Blues Festival, now in its 33rd year, was held from July 4th to the 7th in Portland, Oregon. The venue was Tom McCall Park, a narrow green strip on the western edge of the Willamette River in the city centre. With four stages and dozens of performers, this is the largest festival of…
As part of the “Secret Menu” function on the KFC Smartphone app, the fast food giant has introduced what is being described as the biggest (non-customised) burger it has ever had. As always, Australia gets to be guinea pigs for this monstrous creation, which has now rolled out nationally. Dubbed The Triple Stacker, its a…
If you’ve ever tried to fly one way to North America from Australia, chances are you’ve noticed that a flight one way is often more expensive than a return flight. There are a number of reasons for this we won’t get into here – but what if you do need a one way flight? Here’s…
Built into an unassuming front, situated in the heart of Hobart and boasting water views from many of its rooms, the Mantra Collins Hotel delivers everything one may want from a visit to Tasmania’s capital. The rooms themselves boast a contemporary design with a touch of luxury, and a taste of the practical, with a…
Name any city around the world and you’re bound to find a cluster of its best hotels lying around the central business district or the bucketlist landmarks. Very few tend to play outside of these invisible borders, and when they do, they’re often of the “you get what you pay for” compromise. For visitors, this…
Jordan is a suburb you’ll find in Hong Kong’s Yau Tsim Mong District, and a lot like the rest of the city, it’s densely populated, with tens of thousands living in an area roughly one square kilometer in size. But it also is among the most diverse areas you’ll find in the entire country. With the…
Back in 2017, I flew from Australia to the US with Hawaiian Airlines. At the time, they were the only airline offering a complimentary meal on a domestic US services. But this trip coincided with a couple of airlines bringing meal services back to certain routes – in particular the trans-continental route from California to…
If you haven’t heard about the new addition to California’s Disneyland, Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, by now, it’s likely you have been living under a space rock. The level of hype about the new attraction – which as we pointed out when it opened was just one single ride – has been the highest I’ve…
Saying a hotel had a “motel vibe” used to be a dirty word, but now it’s a bit chic, with clever hoteliers renovating outdated accommodation options into hotels bursting with sophistication and modern comforts – all with a touch of nostalgia. One such hotel is The Burrard, located less than 15 minutes walk from Vancouver…
Two months back, I talked you through the transfer process at Toronto’s Pearson. One way to bypass some of these difficulties is by flying one of the WestJet “Simplicity” routes, which are their short haul services between Toronto and either New York, Ottawa or Montreal. They promise priority access in the queue, a snack with…
It looks like Splendour in the Grass are going ahead with their successful pop-up dining experience series, with the forthcoming 2019 iteration of the famous three-day festival set to welcome restaurateur Maurice Terzini and his iconic Icebergs Dining Room & Bar. The historic Sydney restaurant will follow in the footsteps of The Unicorn by offering…
James Squire have gone and pulled something very, very old from a shipwreck that dates back to 1797, the year in which merchant ship “Sydney Cove” went down just off Preservation Island north of Tasmania. The brewing team behind Squire have extracted a 220 year old bottle of beer recovered from the shipwreck and used…
So, you’ve just been upgraded to Platinum on Virgin Australia’s Velocity Frequent Flyer program. A congratulations is in order. The jump up to Gold was exciting – getting international lounge access for the first time, priority boarding, upgrades and more. But at first glance, apart from an extra 25% in points when you travel on…
Frequented by Australian travellers at all times of the year, the Thai island of Phuket remains one of the most accessible and affordable holidays for those down under. Though a truly luxe stay can still be quite costly on the island, which leaves a sweet spot for new mid-range hotels like OZO Phuket. The brand…
After a successful venture into fried chicken sandwich territory in collaboration with Belle’s Hot Chicken, the team behind Malaysian chain PappaRich have announced a different kind of indulgent carb-loading treat to be introduced to their 29 Australian stores in July. It’s the triumphant return of their incredibly popular Nasi Lemak Burger, which first debuted in…
Across the entire 31-day stretch of August, New Zealand’s trendy capital of Wellington will once again host Visa Wellington on a Plate (VWOAP). The long-running food and wine festival, which touches everywhere from Wellington City to the Kāpiti Coast, picturesque Hutt Valley, and Wairarapa, is set to reach unprecedented levels in 2019, thanks to an…
In an effort to offer a more immersive and quirkier experience for Sydney’s cinema enthusiasts, the team behind Event Cinemas George Street in the CBD have launched two brand new concepts collectively dubbed Australia’s “first Instagrammable cinema” as Event Boutique. Marrying Event Cinemas with the rich heritage of the EVENT-owned State Theatre and the signature…
The team behind the seductively playful QT Sydney have recently overhauled the hotel’s street-level diner and transformed it into the city’s newest Italian eatery, Parlour Cucina. Inspired by the café scene in Milan during the 1960’s, the space moves away from the beloved Parlour Lane Roasters and onto something entirely dedicated to traditional, uncomplicated Italian…
The 2019 Barunga Festival wrapped up last Sunday, and it was a jam-packed 3 days of music, arts, sport and culture. Approximately 4000 people travel to the festival at Barunga, which is 80 km south-east of Katherine. Away from the music stages there was plenty going on. Sporting teams from all over the Northern Territory…
Last month, I jumped on board Virgin Atlantic’s red eye service from New York’s JFK Airport through to London’s Heathrow. As a Platinum member of Virgin Australia’s Velocity frequent flyer program, this gave me access to one of the best features of the Virgin Atlantic network – the “Revivals Lounge” at Heathrow. Given the airline’s…
Over the weekend I headed to Flagstaff, Arizona for the city’s 7th Annual Blues & Brews Festival – unsurprisingly, a celebration of Blues music and, well, beer. This year marked the first year that the event, which is held in the cooler, mountainous region of Arizona, a few hours north of Phoenix had been expanded to…
There’s a reason Tasmania’s capital was known as “Slowbart” long before Dark Mofo (6-23 June) livened up those long winter nights. It gets seriously cold, and without a mental map of places to stay warm, navigating the city in the depths of winter can be a challenge. Fortunately Hobart’s many bars know how to put…
One of the newer locations for the international Intercontinental chain finds itself in San Diego; a luxury 400 room, 19 floor hotel which opened in September last year. The brand’s 3rd property in Southern California, the hotel sits right on the revitalised San Diego Bayfront. About the Room I stayed on the 15th room in…
As one of the top rated boutique hotels in Victoria, British Columbia, The Oswego Hotel gets by beautifully on the simple pillars of good hospitality, great guest rooms, and excellent food and wine. Although you’d expect nothing less; as BC’s capital and one of the most pleasant small cities in the world (something that’s been…
From wild citrus gin and caramel vodka to natural wine and sparkling blends, here’s a wrap up of what we’ve got on our shelf this season. In this instalment of ‘On the Shelf’ we’ve started it off by putting the spotlight on three Aussie gins to try in celebration of World Gin Day this Saturday 8th…
