The best thing about this hotel wrap is that our room looks just like this picture! Only joking – our place looks like a soggy cardboard box compared to these beauties.

AccorHotels win six accolades at 2018 NSW Tourism Awards

AccorHotels is celebrating six prestigious award wins following last Friday night’s 2018 NSW Tourism Awards presentation, held at Luna Park (22 November 2018). The hotel group was triumphant in the categories of Luxury Accommodation, Deluxe Accommodation, Unique Accommodation and Business Event Venues.

Taking home two GOLD awards in the categories of Luxury Accommodation and Business Event Venues, Elements of Byron, part of the MGallery by Sofitel Collection is continuing its award-winning streak since its opening two years ago.

Iconic Blue Mountains hotel, The Fairmont Resort Blue Mountains, also a member of the MGallery by Sofitel Collection is on cloud nine after scooping GOLD in the Deluxe Accommodation category and SILVER in the Business Event Venues – a double win for AccorHotels in this hotly contested category. These awards are a testament to the successful relationship between the hotel team and its owner Dr Jerry Schwartz, and his continued investment in the property as it celebrates its 30th anniversary and new Ubika Day Spa.

Novotel Lake Crackenback Resort & Spa was bestowed SILVER in the Deluxe Accommodation category, while Q Station Sydney Harbour National Park Manly took home SILVER in the Unique Accommodation category.

World Resorts of distinction adds World’s Best Resort to portfolio

Indonesia’s luxury wilderness resort, Nihi Sumba – which has been voted the best hotel in the world in all categories by Travel & Leisure readers for the past two years consecutively – is the latest addition to World Resorts of Distinction’s (WRD) stable of world-leading resort brands.

Located 400 kilometres east of Bali on Indonesia’s most unexplored island, Sumba, the resort is easy for Antipodean travellers to access. Nihi Sumba was originally developed as a surf resort to provide guests with access to the region’s most sought-after waves.

Today, as the brainchild of American entrepreneur, Chris Burch and South African-born hotelier, James McBride, it has been reborn as a luxury resort with a conscience, featuring 27 pool villas built in the traditional Sumbanese style; set on 467 acres of tropical forest, rice terraces and grasslands wrapped around the stunning 2.5 kilometre long Nihiwatu beach.

Nihi Sumba has evolved into one of the most coveted resorts in the world and is an example of a sustainable operation in harmony with the environment and the Sumbanese people.

Hotels & Resorts around Asia reach the last straw

“There’s a great future in plastics,” or so Dustin Hoffman was told in the classic American movie The Graduate. Fifty years since the movie’s debut we’ve realized plastic is not as fantastic as the film had us believe.

This month in Indonesia a dead sperm whale washed ashore with close to 6kg (13 lbs) of plastic waste in its stomach – which included 115 drinking cups. Each year up to 13 million tonnes of plastic leaks into our oceans, according to the United Nations Environment Programme.

When it comes to plastics, many have reached the last straw. Here are seven resorts and hotels around Asia that are putting their money where their mouth is:

• Grand Hyatt Taipei (Taipei, Taiwan)
• Banyan Tree Samui (Koh Samui, Thailand)
• Paradise Cruises Halong Bay (Halong Bay, Vietnam)
• The Anam Cam Ranh (Cam Ranh, Vietnam)
• Awei Pila, Myanmar (Pila Island, Myanmar)
• Fusion (Da Nang, Phu Quoc and Cam Ranh, Vietnam)
• Laguna Lang Co (Lang Co Bay, Vietnam)

Crowne Plaza Melbourne says ‘Good Night to Hunger’ and commits 40,000 meals to charity

Crowne Plaza Melbourne has committed to providing 40,000 meals to Fareshare and is inviting guests to make a small donation during their stay in order to reach their goal of providing 100,000 meals to locals in need.

Having recognised the need to support frontline food relief charities and the growing demand for emergency food, Crowne Plaza Melbourne is asking guests to donate 50 cents as part of the hotel booking to help feed those in need. Guests can also make a small donation at one the hotel’s restaurant outlets and upon check-out.

Fareshare works in conjunction with The Feed Melbourne Appeal, and takes surplus food that would otherwise go to waste and uses it to cook more than one million free, nutritious meals a year in one of Australia’s largest charity kitchen.

Nearly 105,000 Victorians are provided food assistance each month, while thousands more are unable to be assisted. This is the Feed Melbourne Appeal’s 10th year in operation and the organisation has a target of generating enough funds for two million meals.

Sofitel Fiji Resort and Spa announce multi-million dollar rejuvenation project

AccorHotels Pacific announce a major multi-million dollar refurbishment project is scheduled to commence in late November at Sofitel Fiji Resort and Spa, Denarau Island Fiji, including expansion plans for the resort’s exclusive adults-only, Waitui Beach Club.

To enhance the overall guest experience, the rejuvenation project centres around increasing the footprint of the resort’s popular Waitui Beach Club, with the addition of 24 new beach cabanas, a welcoming arrivals area, a new beachside cocktail bar to capture Fiji’s famous sunsets, and an undercover dining space for up to 40 guests. Waitui Beach Club’s guestrooms and suites will also undergo an entire refresh as well as its restaurant space.

In addition, a new offering for children will see the development of an “Adolescent Zone” and a Waitui Beach Club for Kids. Sofitel Fiji Resort and Spa will also embark on an upgrade of its Luxury guestrooms between April and June next year, whilst upgrades to Superior and Family guestrooms will follow in the second half of the year.

The multi-million rejuvenation of the resort includes the upgrade of all five restaurants and four bar outlets with new and exciting concepts, soon to be announced. Sofitel Fiji Resort and Spa’s main restaurant Lagoon will undergo a revamp to a fully interactive experience for both breakfast and dinner.

Kahanda Kanda, Sri Lanka unveils two new luxury pool villas

The KK Collection has announced the addition of two new luxury pool villas at its flagship property Kahanda Kanda, located near the thriving tourist capital of Galle on the Southern Coast of Sri Lanka.

The ‘Kadju’ villa has been designed to take in the sweeping views of the on-site tea estate and lush jungle on which the property sits. Featuring French Windows, intricate Indian prints and a dramatic metal four-poster bed with a canopied top, its unique design consists of a shaded entry pathway and lobby with banquette seating. Boasting classical, tropical interiors and an infinity-edge pool, Kadju has been defined as the perfect opportunity for travellers to experience the best of tropical luxury living.

The ‘Kumbuk’ villa has been designed as a cottage-style retreat, set in its own large private walled garden – this villa is the ultimate private getaway. Featuring an outdoor, ‘under-the-stars’ shower and four sets of French Windows, framed by light lime-yellow walls, this exquisite villa overlooks the pool and garden, offering the ideal haven for rest and relaxation.

AccorHotels partner with the Art Gallery of NSW for ‘Masters of modern art from the Hermitage’

AccorHotels invite guests to immerse in Sydney’s vibrant arts and culture scene during the Sydney International Art Series exhibition Masters of modern art from the Hermitage, exclusive to the Art Gallery of NSW until March 3, 2019.

Masters of modern art from the Hermitage presents a magnificent selection of works from the towering figures of modern art. Drawn from the unparalleled collections of the State Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg, the exhibition captures the ebullience, idealism and confidence of artists as they freed themselves from tradition.

Exploring the origins of modern art, from the bold experiments of Cézanne, to the radical innovation of artists like Matisse and Picasso, this exhibition documents the seismic shifts that took place in European painting in the years after 1900 and encapsulates a defining moment in art history.

AccorHotels is offering exclusive cultural packages at Sofitel Sydney Wentworth, Novotel Sydney on Darling Harbour, Mercure Sydney and ibis Sydney World Square starting from $200 per night, including buffet breakfast and tickets for two to Masters of modern art from the Hermitage at the Art Gallery of NSW.

The Savoy Hotel on Little Collins unveiled

The grand hotel at the corner of Spencer and Little Collins Street has been reborn this week as The Savoy Hotel on Little Collins, Melbourne, following a multi-million-dollar refurbishment of the former Vibe Savoy Hotel Melbourne which TOGA has managed since 2004. The hotel now falls under the TFE Hotels Collection brand – a portfolio of beautiful discovery hotels with a sense of story, place and purpose.

Previously known as the Vibe Savoy Hotel Melbourne, the iconic hotel has been relaunched as The Savoy Hotel on Little Collins with a stunning new design by Woods Bagot. The new design has a modern and inviting appeal that pays tribute to the Art Deco era of the original Hotel Alexander built on the site in 1928. The sophisticated address is in the heart of cosmopolitan Melbourne, with the city’s best boutiques, cool laneways and bars on its doorstep.

The Savoy Hotel on Little Collins has 163 beautiful guest rooms with plush furnishings in a classic palette of dove grey, blue, white and charcoal, with full-length mirrors and custom carpet featuring period motifs. Each bathroom has white subway tiles and chequerboard black and white tiled floors, contrasting with chrome tapware that reflect the heritage elements of the building.

The sophisticated lobby creates an inviting sense of arrival with its warm timber, smoked mirror and brass elements complemented by luxurious soft furnishings with colourful custom rugs. The Alexander Bar is now the elegant ground floor attraction, a cosy yet stylish space providing the perfect place to catch up with friends, meet a business contact or simply sit back and relax. Throughout the day, the bar is open for drinks and in-house dining.