Travel Weekly brings a great sense of pride and joy to every wrap we create. Just kidding, we’re all about efficiency and cute animal pictures.

Earth Week celebration at InterContinental Fiji Golf Resort & Spa

InterContinental Fiji Golf Resort & Spa is excited to announce the arrival of Earth Week on 16th of April, 2018. With the planning of an exciting itinerary for the resort team and guests, there is a lot of focus on the natural surrounds around the resort to bring awareness of how everyone plays a vital role in conserving the environment.

The first two days will concentrate on the marine ecosystem with educational overviews by on-site Marine Biologists from the resorts dive operation team, Reef Safari. There will also be exciting activities with a snorkel and dive session

The new two days features a competition that runs resort wide showcasing recycled art and concepts created by passionate employees who will demonstrate their efforts to the three R’s: “Reuse, Reduce, Recycle”.

To conclude the week, the resort team, their families and the students from nearby schools will congregate to have a massive beach clean campaign on Natadola Beach, which will be the biggest group yet to have done so.

Veriu Central Hotel officially launches in Sydney’s Surry Hills

Veriu Hotels & Suites officially launched the Veriu Central hotel in Sydney’s Surry Hills last night (12 April), showcasing the art deco inspired heritage hotel situated in one of the city’s popular dining hot spots.

The new 112-room hotel is a $15 million conversion of the heritage listed ‘Wentworth House’ and will add to the thriving dining scene of this inner-city precinct by offering a selection of restaurant and bar venues on-site.  Food & beverage operations at Veriu Central and across selected future developments will be managed in partnership with James Metcalfe of JRM Hospitality, one of Sydney’s most respected chefs and consultants.

Veriu Central’s design and decor remains true to the eccentric character of the building, combining old world elegance with contemporary style that exudes the past and embraces the energy and personality of modern day inner Sydney.  Just as Veriu Broadway- which opened in July 2017 –  captured an industrial warehouse feel, Veriu Central embraces the characteristics of its turn of the century architecture.

Tangalooma Island Resort – Explore one of Queensland’s holiday icons, Tangalooma on Moreton Island

• Three-Night Island Escape
• From $597 pp twin share

Receive a bonus $200 resort credit and free return boat transfers when you book a three-night escape at Tangalooma Island Resort. With a range of room-types available, enjoy an endless summer with bucket-list encounters and experiences such as; wild bottlenose dolphin feeding, snorkelling through 15 sunken ship wrecks which are home to over 200 species of tropical fish, or partake in over 50 island based tours and activities (including quad biking, 4WD tours, desert safari, sea scooters – and more).

Only a 10 minute taxi transfer from the Brisbane domestic airport to the Tangalooma wharf and a 75 minute ferry ride to the resort. Valid for travel from 30 April – 30 August, 2018. Ph 1300 652250 or see https://www.tangalooma.com/3nightescape to book. Subject to availability. Further conditions apply.

A new era of Digital Wellness At Chiva-Som

Chiva-Som International Health Resort which enjoys a reputation as a pioneer in global wellness, is proud to unveil its new website.

This is the latest enhancement to be announced in a series of developments at Chiva-Som, which includes a resort-wide renovation occurring in short periods of closure from 1 May to 31 October 2018 and the same period in 2019, plus a new visual identity.

Tour operators will benefit from a GDS reservation system on the new website which will enable them to book client stays online 24 hours a day. The site has a clean, elegant look that is reflective of the calm and serenity guests find at this acclaimed resort situated in Hua Hin, Thailand. Navigation is simplified with enhanced information about all elements of the Chiva-Som journey.

Beautiful new imagery has been commissioned to inspire and digitally transport users to the ‘Haven of Life’. A Live-Chat function ensures that Chiva-Som’s famed personalised hospitality is available at all touch points. As part of Chiva-Som’s dedication to offering wellness retreats tailored to each guest, users will be able search the new ‘Explore’ feature using a series of pre-programmed wellness goals which then intuitively provides suggestions based on their selection.

The Library celebrates Songkran with new Secret Pool Villa Offer

The Library in Koh Samui is celebrating Thailand’s Songkran Lunar New Year on 13 April by announcing an extension of the resort’s introductory Secret Pool Villa offer through to 15 July 2018.

The special offer of THB22,800 (or AU$940) per night will apply for two people staying a minimum three-nights in a one-bedroom Secret Pool Villa during this period and will also include daily breakfast and a roundtrip Samui airport transfers.

Guests staying five nights or more will also enjoy a fabulous barbecue served inside their Villa. Bookings of the Songkran Villa offer will be commissionable 15 per cent to travel agents.

A member of Design Hotels, The Library commenced unveiling the beautiful new one and two-bedroom Secret Pool Villas in November 2017 with the special villas – The Editor and The Writer – due to be available for booking later this year.

Guests invited to ‘choose different’ at Sydney’s new The Collectionist Hotel – opening May 2018

Sydney is set to welcome its first authentic custom design hotel – The Collectionist Hotel – where no room is the same and the choice of room is firmly in the hands of the guest. Described as a real-life “choose-your-own-adventure”, the eclectically designed hotel is setting a new standard in individualised guest experience.

Harnessing the talents of seven designers from four leading design firms and 13 artists to create 39 uniquely designed rooms, The Collectionist will open its doors early May 2018 in the emerging inner-city precinct of Camperdown – bordered by the established lifestyle precincts of Glebe, Annandale and Newtown. The non-descript former warehouse space has provided the perfect blank canvas for the designers to create a diverse range of rooms designed to appeal to varying tastes and preferences.

Guests at The Collectionist will be welcomed with a drink at the bar which will serve as an informal check-in area, and invited to peruse available rooms to make their selection based on the style, colour, texture and design – just as they would a work of art. A revolutionary change to the traditional hotel check-in process where rooms are pre-allocated and room design is limited.

Fitzroy Island Resort to expand

Fitzroy Island Resort will undergo a $2.5 million refurbishment and expand its Great Barrier Reef experiences to include diving and sunset cruises.

Managing Director Doug Gamble said the locally-owned Cairns tourism operation had added a catamaran to its fleet and purchased a half share in the Cairns Dive Centre operations on the island. The $2.5 million refurbishment will be rolled out gradually over the next 12 months so there will be no disruption to guests. It will give the resort a new lighter, contemporary styling with blue and white accents to reflect the spectacular ocean surrounds of Fitzroy Island.

Rainforest-clad Fitzroy Island is just a 45-minute boat ride from Cairns city and where you will find secluded Nudey Beach, Australian’s Best Beach for 2018.

A National Park with rainforest walks and a summit hike to the lighthouse, the island is home to the volunteer-run Cairns Turtle Rehabilitation Centre where visitors can meet Jet, an eight-year-old green sea turtle rescued off Fitzroy Island in July 2017.
Fitzroy Island Resort is also supporting the Reef Restoration Foundation with the establishment of the Great Barrier Reef’s first offshore coral nursery in the island’s waters.

TRYP Fortitude Valley Gets a Fresh Lick of Paint from international Artists Bao Ho and Gris One

Brisbane’s only street art hotel has received a fresh lick of paint with two very different new murals added by international artists this week.

Hong Kong artist Bao Ho, the first woman to add to TRYP Fortitude Valley Hotel, Brisbane’s collection, and Colombian artist Gris One took to the walls to wrap up the Brisbane Street Art Festival.

Bao Ho creates freestyle murals and illustrations featuring animated characters. She has collaborated with various international brands and worked on projects across the world, including in Australia, China, Japan, Indonesia, Italy and the Czech Republic.

Gris One works around the world creating multi-colour compositions inspired by nature and day-to-day city life. Each floor at TRYP Fortitude Valley features works by a different artist, including Fintan Magee, Beastman, Rone and Numskull.

Beck at Brown’s from Heinz Beck is now open in Mayfair

Michelin starred Chef Heinz Beck officially opens his much anticipated new restaurant Beck at Brown’s today in the heart of Mayfair at the iconic Brown’s hotel. The restaurant, freshly redesigned by Olga Polizzi, offers a brand-new casual dining menu of classic Italian dishes, reinvented using the finest seasonal British ingredients, uniting Heinz’s inimitable style with the hotel’s British heritage and careful balance of classic elegance and contemporary flair.

Beck at Brown’s comes to Mayfair on the heels of Beck’s hugely successful takeover of the space last December as part of the hotel’s celebration of Italian conviviality where he took up residence alongside drinks maestro Salvatore Calabrese. The restaurant has, at its epicentre, Heinz’s Italian pedigree, refined over his years running kitchens in Rome, in the lauded La Pergola and Attimi, his recently opened more casual outpost.

With a focus on a light, healthy menu featuring the highest quality produce, with Norfolk chicken and lamb from the organic Rhug estate. Each dish is crafted by Heinz to create a hearty Italian menu perfect for a swift lunch, formal dinner or private party. Beck at Brown’s brings dishes from throughout Italy, showcasing the diversity in cooking techniques throughout the country, from the hearty meat and fish dishes found in the mountainous north to the fresh citrusy flavours in the sun-drenched south.