Cape Panwa Hotel recognised for Superior Service by TripAdvisor

Cape Panwa Hotel, Phuket, has received a TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence honouring the hotel’s consistently great reviews earned on TripAdvisor over the past year.  The Certificate of Excellence accounts for the quality, quantity and recency of reviews submitted by travellers on TripAdvisor over a 12-month period. To qualify, a business must maintain an overall TripAdvisor bubble rating of at least four out of five, have a minimum number of reviews and must have been listed on TripAdvisor for at least 12 months.

Glamping getaway at Thou Walla Sunset Retreat in Soldiers Point

Opened in April 2016, Thou Walla Sunset Retreat is a luxurious getaway set amidst the natural beauty of Soldier’s Point, in the holiday haven of Port Stephens on the NSW north coast. It’s one of the few locations on the eastern seaboard where the sun sets over the water, creating spectacular nightly sunsets over the bay.

Designed as a “couples retreat”, Thou Walla (pronounced ‘Dha Walla’) allows guests to get back to nature and enjoy all the advantages of camping without compromising on modern-day luxuries. If you are time poor and don’t have the equipment to create your own traditional camping experience, enjoy being in nature but don’t want to ‘rough it’, then Thou Walla Sunset Retreat is the perfect solution. There’s nothing more refreshing than waking up to birdsong and the sounds of the bush and stepping out straight into nature.

Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts announces Kerry Hotel, Hong Kong will open in December 2016

Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts announced today it will open its fourth hotel in Hong Kong on Kowloon’s vibrant waterfront. Offering sweeping views of Victoria Harbour and the Hong Kong Island skyline, the 545-room Kerry Hotel, Hong Kong is scheduled to open in December.

The 16-storey waterfront hotel is situated in the heart of Kowloon at Hung Hom Bay. The unique design of the building’s podium provides guests, meeting/event attendees and diners extraordinary outdoor and indoor space with spectacular views. Over 60 per cent of the guestrooms feature harbour views, with rooms ranging from 42 square metres for a Deluxe City View Room to 294 square metres for Kerry Hotel’s stunning rooftop suite.

Iconic Gold Coast Hinterland Resort re-opens after eight years

One of South East Queensland’s most renowned resorts located in the Gold Coast hinterland has re-opened its doors for the first time in eight years following an $8 million refurbishment under Wyndham Hotel Group’s rapidly expanding Ramada brand.

The newly rebranded Ramada Resort Kooralbyn Valley, formerly Kooralbyn Resort, is owned by Peter Huang of Yong Real Estate and JHC Holdings and will provide tourism and leisure facilities that appeal to a broad demographic, including the international market.

Located on 333 hectares of picturesque countryside in the Scenic Rim region, approximately 80km from the Gold Coast, the 102-room resort offers a variety of activities for guests to enjoy from sky diving, mountain biking and water sports, to a health and wellness centre including a day spa and natural hot spring baths for relaxation.

Crowne Plaza Terrigal announced as a finalist in TAA Awards For Excellence

Crowne Plaza Terrigal has been listed as a finalist in 10 award categories in the 2016 Tourism Accommodation Australia (NSW) Awards for Excellence (TAA).

The TAA Awards for Excellence are recognised as the most prestigious hospitality and tourism awards, honoring the achievement of excellence in a wide range of categories in the accommodation industry. Each year the competition gets tougher as the quality of the services and facilities continues to reach even higher standards throughout the accommodation sector.

New Westin Resort for Sunshine Coast best news for the region in 27 years

Starwood will launch a new five-star Westin hotel at Coolum on the Sunshine Coast in 2021 as part of a $1 billion mixed-use development planned by Japanese real estate giant Sekisui House.

The new 220-room Westin Coolum Resort will be developed on a 20 hectare site at Yaroomba Beach along David Low Way. The new resort will be less than 200 metres from the sea with direct access to the beach.

The new resort will contribute significantly to the Sunshine Coast’s business events sector, with 850 square metres of conference and events space. The resort will also offer four dining venues, a spa with six treatment rooms and extensive leisure facilities.

“The Westin Coolum Resort & Spa will be the first new build five star hotel to open on the Sunshine Coast in 27 years, supporting tourism growth and providing significant employment opportunities to the community,” said Sean Hunt vice president of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Pacific.

Holiday Park purchase complete

In an event at its newly refurbished Byron Bay property, Adelaide based Discovery Parks announced the completion of the final stages of the integration of the Aspen Parks properties into the Discovery Parks portfolio.

“The merger of the Aspen Parks into the Discovery portfolio creates one of Australia’s strongest holiday park groups”, said Discovery Parks CEO, Mr Grant Wilckens.

“The merger of the two business sees the Discovery portfolio grow to 60 quality parks across Australia – represented in every state and territory in some of Australia’s most beautiful and iconic holiday regions.   In all our group provides more than 900 jobs across the country and contributes more than $211 million direct impact into the economy – the majority of that being in key regional centres. Our combined portfolios boast more than 2,500 cabins and nearly 5,000 caravan and camping sites across Australia. The Aspen group of properties are a good fit for the Discovery brand and for our customer base, now providing an even wider selection of great holiday choices and experiences”, he said.

Maldives Island co. launches Finolhu

A stylish and eclectic retreat with a buzzy bon-vivant vibe, Finolhu, opened on June 17th 2016, and is a refreshing, retro-inspired burst of fun for the region, bringing toes-in-the-sand relaxation to fun-loving beach-erati alongside the best DJs, live acts and most fabulously chic parties in the Maldives.

Having shaken up the hospitality scene in the Maldives with the launch of Amilla Fushi, which into its second year is pulling in an elite cult following amongst the cognoscenti, the Small Maldives Island Co. are continuing to make waves with their second venture.

Voyages Ayers Rock Resort showcases Indigenous art and crafts

In the coming months, Ayers Rock Resort will feature a fascinating line-up of Indigenous Australian and Australian artists as part of its popular Artist-in-Residence program. Each month, the highly successful program features an artist and craftsperson to create art in situ at the Resort, as well as to exhibit and sell their work.

The line-up of artists for the rest of 2016 includes sought-after Indigenous artist Raymond Walters Japanangka, who will be in residence at Wintjiri Arts & Museum throughout September, and up and coming artists from the Indigenous art communities of Yuendumu and Utopia (1 July-31 August), and Ninuku (1-30 November).