Signature Luxury Travel & Style

As we go to print with this issue, all of us in Australia are devastated by the fires and the loss of lives, including some of our firefighters. Homes have been burnt to the ground and many other structures severely damaged. An extraordinary number o

After a 10-month renovation, andBeyond Sossusvlei Desert Lodge has finally reopened in Namibia. And while the fresh design by South Africa-based Fox Browne Creative is magnificent, it’s the new activities that will really impress travellers. Highligh

Since it launched in 2012 with its first season of Verdi’s La Traviata, Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour has attracted more than 400,000 attendees from across Australia and around the globe, marking the beginning of an annual event that has become one o

Aman Resorts has made travelling to remote regions significantly more comfortable with the launch of the Aman Private Jet. The brand’s Bombardier Global 5000 is available for charter with bespoke itineraries between Aman properties around the world,

It was easy. Mauritius wants to be discovered; its people are natural hosts. On arrival at my hotel, SALT of Palmar, I was welcomed by Melanie and a burst of Camille Walala colour. Check-in was fast and informal, and I learned that Melanie is a forme

Located in the village of Deià, Belmond La Residencia is one of Europe’s most idyllic hideaways. Owned by Richard Branson in the 1980s and a preferred refuge of Princess Diana and (today) Leonardo DiCaprio, the secluded resort is flanked by steep hil

On the other side of the glass – in a seawater filled tank illuminated by soft LED colours and fitted out with sand, pebbles and swaying aquatic plants – eyes stare. Gills flap. The tendrils on a gleaming green disc twist; a rock shaped like a brain

The Riviera sun floods the cream-and-chrome interior of L’Hirondelle, a waterside eatery with views of a yacht-bedecked port and the soaring promontory known as the Rock. It’s lunchtime, and sunglasses are donned since it’s bright – and, well, becaus

Most trips to Greece will involve a visit to Santorini, where dreamy sunsets are glimpsed over whitewashed, cliff-hugging villages and bougainvillea drapes over bluedomes churches. From 20 May 2020, getting here will be even easier, with Qatar launch

While Lebanon has been mostly tourist-free in recent years, momentum is gathering in this ever-changing country, a place that – like Turkey – is a nexus point of the West and the Middle East. “For such a small country, Lebanon has so much to offer,”

A veil of ochre-hued dust glitters the perspiration beading our brows as we shave the crests from the dunes. Tube scarves save our nostrils from the sandblasting, as we joyride the sinuous folds of Wadi Rum, Jordan’s lunar-like desert. Bouncing on th

“Turtle call!” Just before midnight, I’m startled awake by a WhatsApp ‘ding’. The message is from the unflappable conservation duo Spencer Wyand and Liz Brammer-Robbins, who are nearing the end of their six-month night-patrol stint for the Hawksbill

We slow to a standstill, our road blocked by a herd of water buffalo. I’m riding pillion on a vintage Vespa, our group of six embarking on an evening Streets & Eats foodie tour. We are on the outskirts of the Vietnamese port city of Hoi An, surrounde

At Santani Wellness Resort & Spa, Sri Lanka’s first purpose-built wellness resort and one of the world’s best, everything is geared toward nurture. Tucked into the side of a hill and enjoying uninterrupted valley views, the destination spa is deliber

The most photographed image of Raffles is of the doormen that greet us as we step out of our limousine transfer from the airport. Resplendent in their traditional uniforms, complete with white turbans, they are indeed a welcoming sight. Our butlers g

Slurping is the best way to eat your soba noodles, my guide Mari explains as we sit barefoot in a beautiful private dining space that once belonged to a wealthy Japanese baron. And although I was taught quite the opposite when it comes to table manne

For decades, Sri Lanka has been hiding in plain sight. Years of uncertainty kept the country off travel itineraries, but 10 years after the end of its civil war and following the aftermath of the Easter bombings in early 2019, the country is moving f

“Can you turn down the sea, please?” jokes Bella, one of our travelling party. It’s late night and the sea in question, the Andaman, is tapping on this jungle shore at remote Kyun Pilar Island. The night silence is so deep that even the slap-and-dash

Shrouded in history and mystery, Venice’s crumbling beauty is impossibly exquisite. We sigh at the gilded Saint Mark’s Basilica and the lacy architecture of the Doge’s Palace, its gleaming duomos and gilded spires having inspired as many sonnets as t

Research shows that being amid nature – whether water, forest or rolling hills – benefits your mind and body, lowering stress and anxiety levels, increasing wellbeing and happiness, and slowing down heart and breathing rates. For meeting and event pl

Louis Vuitton’s Sydney Maison celebrated its highly anticipated re-opening in style on the evening of 27 November 2019. The latest cruise collection was displayed across the store, redesigned by renowned New York based architect, Peter Marino, while

An Antarctic expedition cruise is about doing, not just seeing. Snowshoeing up a mild mountain to watch humpbacks in the neighbouring bay, kayaking in iceberg-laden waterways, hiking to a mountaintop chinstrap penguin colony or stripping down to take

Who would have thought a submarine had a dress code? It’s one of the first things guests are informed of when they sign up for the underwater experience on Scenic Neptune, a six-passenger sub that explores the depths of the sea in search of marine li

The day begins with a whisper, the wings of a sacred kingfisher skimming the Hunter River for the briefest of seconds. The quiet is heavy, making everything else in the world seem insignificant. Or maybe that’s due to the surrounding immensity, our b

Come 2021, Silversea will launch its 10th ship, Silver Dawn, with a maiden season exploring the Mediterranean. The 596-passenger vessel will begin sailing between Civitavecchia (Rome) and Venice from 22 September, its nine-night journey stopping in G

In a cellar with a cathedral-like Gothic ceiling, we are blessed to be tasting one of the finest wines in France, swirling the ruby Châteauneuf-du-Pape around in our glasses before sampling its earthy, berry flavours. Our private tour has taken us to

This seasonal retreat mixes rowdy good times with fervent self-improvement. Surrounded by turquoise sea, the pine-scented private islet – a tiny speck of land around 10 kilometres off the Croatian coast of Šibenik – is devoted to adult-only glamping.

Seabourn Venture and a yet-to-be-named sister ship will set sail in June 2021 and May 2022, respectively, designed to tackle the world’s harshest seas. Luxury liner specialist T. Mariotti was charged with delivering the two ships, which will cater sp

After great success during a six-year Sydney residency, the team at NOMAD will be expanding to Melbourne in June 2020. Though forging its own look and feel, the new restaurant will maintain its original philosophy, which is rooted in exceptional loca

After a two-year hiatus due to an extensive renovation schedule, The Great Escape Charter company will be returning to Australia’s West Coast. The 10-night West Coast Adventure cruise is highly exclusive, running only once a year from Geraldton to Da

You might pick frozen olives exploding with flavour from a bonsai tree, devour veal marrow with charcoal-grilled sea urchin and bok choy and, most astounding of all, savour butter cookie puff pastry filled with cream of Darjeeling tea, lemon madelein

Australia has had a long love affair with Louis Vuitton. Back in 1986, the star player of France’s LVMH group was the first luxury brand to open a freestanding store in this country: an imposing, multi-level store on the corner of Castlereagh and Kin

Humans have looked to the sky since time immemorial. The sun and rain for life-giving sustenance; the planets and stars for navigational guidance; the soft and vibrant hues of dawn and dusk for artistic inspiration. Now one of the world’s most storie

The view is simply sublime. Reclining on chic grey-and-yellow cushions set in a sunken lounge pavilion, I cast my eyes across a white-tiled terrace, over an L-shaped infinity pool and beyond to the Gulf of Thailand. Perched on a steep slope swathed i

The Twist, Kistefos Museum, Norway | 24 May – 11 October A dramatic conversion of a wood pulp mill, Kistefos sculpture park outside Oslo has been attracting art lovers for more than 20 years. It now offers a new reason to visit: The Twist, a museum t

There’s a wonderful old story in the motor trade that’s still cited by sales staff at Aston Martin, the exclusive sports car brand. It was the early 1960s, and a potential customer was nosing around Aston Martin’s then-new DB5 coupé – destined to be