There are so many offers, updates and openings in this week’s Hotel Wrap that it took our journo three hours to put it together. Well, that may also be because she spent two-and-a-half hours playing with the office dog.

Accor grows its luxury presence in Australia with the announcement of SO/Melbourne

Accor announced the continued expansion of its luxury portfolio in Australia, with the debut of the vibrant and playful SO/Hotels & Resorts luxury brand in Melbourne, Australia. Slated to open in 2023, SO/Melbourne is set to be a bold, fashionable and luxurious designer hotel, located in a prime CBD position overlooking Flagstaff Gardens.

Positioned on the corner of William and Franklin Streets, the hotel is within close reach of Melbourne’s key commercial, retail and leisure attractions. The first SO/ branded hotel for Australia and second in the region following SO/Auckland will boast 288 avant-garde guestrooms and suites, some with outdoor terraces, combined with exceptional signature services, social events and opulent experiences. The hotel will form part of a mixed-use development including 20,000sqm of office and co-working space.

TFE Hotels announces opening date for Vibe Melbourne

TFE Hotels has the Vibe Hotel Melbourne will open its doors on 16 April 2020.

With bookings now live from 16 April onwards, guests are encouraged book now to also receive a 20 per cent Opening Special. As the first of the new generation Vibe Hotels, the hotel is already making a splash with the brand’s reintroduction into the Melbourne market as the ideal hub from which to eat, see, play or meet, in the city.

Featuring 206 rooms and an upscale pool and fitness area, Vibe Melbourne’s sleek 24-storey glass-fronted accommodation tower is thoughtfully designed to blend with the city’s colonial past and the historical Fletcher Jones building façade on the ground floor fronting onto Queen and Flinders Street. The hotel’s floor to ceiling windows offer uninterrupted views of the Yarra River and Southbank.

Vibe Hotel Melbourne is positioned to access Southbank’s casino and shopping precinct, whilst Melbourne’s grand old arcades and theatre district add a playful spin to any stay.  The meetings industry is also well serviced with more than 200 metres of modern, light and inviting meeting space and walking distance to the Melbourne Convention Centre.

Australia’s first cross-laminated timber hotel to open in 2020

TFE Hotels and Hume Partners Property will launch Australia’s very first cross-laminated timber (CLT) hotel and the tallest timber adaptive-reuse project in the country – the ultra-modern Adina Apartment Hotel Melbourne Southbank – later this year.

Just six months out from opening, the striking 220-room Bates Smart-designed apartment hotel, at the intersection of Southbank Boulevard and City Road in Melbourne’s bustling cultural precinct, is turning heads as much for its edgy architectural design as its pioneering use of sustainable construction technology.

When it comes to the hotel’s five-star green credentials, cross-laminated timber shines as a viable building material. It is a non-toxic, renewable resource that has a long-life cycle, is fire resistant, highly sustainable (since wood is renewable) and offers superior strength and stability when compared to common structural materials.

The hotel is located less than 500 metres from the city centre, with the Yarra River separating the CBD from Southbank, 300 metres from the Crown Casino Complex and 700 metres from the Melbourne Convention Centre.

W Hotels hosts special guest Alyssa Edwards to LOVE OUT LOUD at Mardi Gras

With inclusiveness at the heart of W since it debuted over 20 years ago, the global, trailblazing lifestyle hotel brand is teaming up with Australia’s longest-running LGBTQI organisation, the Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras, to celebrate equality and inspire travellers to love out loud.

For the first time, W Hotels will be a major partner of the Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras celebration, showcasing its first-ever float in the 2020 Parade taking place on February 29.

Choreographed by Sydney born Ame Delves, 80 guests – including 20 staff from W Brisbane and the soon-to-open W Melbourne, as well as Marriott Bonvoy members – will dance and march alongside W’s LOVE OUT LOUD float, a super-charged fluoro boom box that celebrates the brand’s bold and playful personality with a colorful, musical homage to individuality and inclusion.

Atlantis, the Palm reflects on 2019

Upon completion of a three-year makeover, Atlantis, The Palm has reported record-breaking 2019 with an average occupancy of 90 per cent. This increase in visits as a result of strong footfall from top source markets as well as from diversified markets and is in line with the tourism strategy set out by Dubai Tourism (DTCM).

Australia continued to be an important market for Atlantis, The Palm, with guest numbers remaining stable throughout 2019. Significantly bookings from the UAE were up by 39 per cent, while Norway experienced a 24 per cent growth in bookings, China an increase of 16 per cent and Russia 14 per cent. Closer to home for the resort, bookings from Saudi Arabia surged by 25 per cent, while bookings from the rest of the resort’s top markets, including the UK, USA and India, remained robust.

The Fullerton Hotel Sydney to celebrate women in March

To demonstrate The Fullerton Hotels and Resorts’ commitment to supporting women, The Fullerton Hotel Sydney has curated a purple-themed International Women’s Day Afternoon Tea and will be introducing a wine list featuring wines sourced from female winemakers from South Australia and Victoria.

COMO Hotels and Resorts announces Tuscan photography retreat at Como Castello del Nero

COMO Hotels and Resorts has announced a new collection of experiences for 2020, focused on the discovery of destinations and the development of guests’ creative identity through the lens of a camera.

COMO Photography Retreats have been designed as the ideal environments where participants are taught how to convey a sense of place and storytelling through photography. The retreats, going beyond equipping participants with the tools they need to capture striking images, will inspire guests to slow down and engage in the present moment to observe the world more mindfully.

In May 2020, COMO Photography Retreats will continue in the rolling hills of Tuscany at COMO Castello Del Nero. The five-day retreat, available to just eight participants, will offer daily photography workshops that capture the people, Renaissance architecture and verdant vineyards of Chianti that make the destination so unique.

Guests will learn how to optimise photos through ISO, aperture, shutter speed and post-production techniques as well as head out on assignments to hone their originality and creative eye, all under the mentorship of award-winning photographer Martin Morrell. Morrell, COMO’s key contributing photographer for over 20 years, has shot for many of the world’s leading magazines including Vogue, the New York Times, Harper’s Bazaar and Condé Nast Traveler.

Holiday Inn® Melbourne on Flinders reveals new Glamp-Inn experiences

The Holiday Inn Melbourne on FlindersThe award-winning Melbourne hotel is expanding its popular Glamp-Inn experience by opening its city rooftop terrace to families for the first time for a two hour Glamp-Inn Brunch.

Kids will enjoy a world of make-believe at the Temple & Webster styled tee-pee village at the Glamp-Inn Brunch for two hours of fun on Thursday 2 April from 11am to 1:00pm. The sun-drenched astroturfed pool terrace is the perfect place for parents to get their friends together for a great day out with the kids for only $45.00 for adults (adult ticket includes 2 children aged from 0-5 years old) And $20 for kids aged 5-15 years. Parents and kids will enjoy a buffet and the grownups will be spoiled with free-flowing mimosas.

Each parent who attends will go home with a Garnier gift pack which includes a Micellar Cleansing Water, Fresh-Mix Tissue Mask and Hydra Bomb Eye Tissue Mask. Of course, the kids won’t miss out on the free swag – they will get a special Holiday Inn Melbourne ‘Little Big Travellers’ kids pack.

For the families that would like to extend the Glamp-Inn experience, they can do so with the newly launched ‘Glamp-Inn Suite Escape’ styled by Australian retailer Temple & Webster. Parents will be able to escape and enjoy the luxury of the Spencer Suite and beautiful Melbourne City views. The kids will be occupied with their own tee-pee filled with toys, books, blankets and pillows. Buffet breakfast has been included and kids 12 years and under eat free.

New rooftop bar for TRYP Hotel Brisbane

TRYP Fortitude Valley Hotel, Brisbane has a new rooftop bar with Dirty Sultan now open. It is also Brisbane’s first Turkish shisha (also known as water pipe or hookah) lounge.

Nordic Inspiration: Mantra Chatswood Sydney gets a multi-million dollar makeover

Mantra Chatswood Sydney has received a multi-million dollar refurbishment.

All of Mantra Chatswood’s 144 guest rooms have been rejuvenated and now combine the ultimate in guest comfort with a modern and homely Scandinavian style.

Inside the hotel’s selection of studio and one and two-bedroom apartments, rooms boast splashes of navy with timber, upholstered bedheads dressed in crisp white linens and luxurious textured cushions, and stylish new window furnishings.

One and two-bedroom apartments feature a gourmet kitchen with depth in colour of the cabinetry tones paired with a contrasting light stone to create a fresh aesthetic.

The hotel’s multifunctional public spaces also received a makeover and are filled with stone and timber detailing, which seamlessly connects with its onsite hotel restaurant.

NSW outback resort introduces deluxe swags so city-slickers can sleep under the stars – Only $30 per person a night, all set up with linen

For travellers keen to support the bush at this time, Broken Hill Outback Resort has unveiled 12 deluxe, king-size swags so city-slickers can sleep under bright, desert skies and see more stars than ever before away from crowds and the bright lights of urban areas.

Opened in August, 2018, and nestled amongst sand dunes 13km east of Broken Hill in far west NSW, Broken Hill Outback Resort already boasts 12 luxury spa studios and a camp and caravan ground grouped around a charming, 130-year-old pub completely restored by the resort’s owners, Out of the Ordinary Outback, to offer a bar and restaurant.

The 12 spacious, new swags, which are set up before guests arrive, offer a top flyscreen so campers can admire the stars while lying on the thick mattress and provided linen. A campfire is also set up for guests to gather around each night and roast marshmallows and there’s no need for guests to pack up the swag the next day – all the ingredients for a fun, hassle-free camping experience in the desert.

The swags are available for $30 per person, or $60 per couple, including use of a headlamp.

Vakkaru Maldives partners with The Marshmallowist to sweeten the deal for guests this Easter

Vakkaru Maldives is teaming up with the biggest name in gourmet marshmallows, The Marshmallowist, to bring an unforgettable and traditional Easter experience to the tropics from 11 – 16 April 2020.

Founded by Oonagh Simms, The Marshmallowist is renowned as the first producer of gourmet marshmallows in the UK. Using premium ingredients – only whole fresh fruits, organic herbs and spices and boutique alcohol – The Marshmallowist combines classic confectionery with unexpected flavours like raspberry and champagne, strawberry and basil, charcoal and jasmine tea and more.

Marshmallows are as synonymous with Easter as chocolate, and throughout her ‘From Fluff to Cut’ partnership with the five-star resort, The Marshmallowist will be popping up all over the island to treat guests to a mouth-watering array of bespoke activities and indulgences.

Guests can book their stay with Vakkaru’s Holiday Offer.

Holiday Offer
• Stay 5 & Save 40 per cent
• Plus receive complimentary half board for two
• And complimentary shared return transfers for two
• Guests booking a Beach Spa Pool Villa will also receive a complimentary upgrade to an Over Water Villa
• Book through your preferred travel professional

MAFS shoots series seven at Skye Suites

The couples of Australia’s most popular reality show, Married at First Sight, enjoyed an extended stay at Sydney’s most Insta-worthy hotel, SKYE Suites on Kent Street, while they filmed season seven as part of a partnership agreement with the show.

The couples enjoyed a luxurious temporary new home at the plush boutique apartment hotel in the heart of the city. The hotel and the rooms they stayed in will feature in the program as viewers follow the couples’ journeys throughout the experiment.

Fogo a-go-go at Peppers Silo Hotel 

Launceston’s Peppers Silo Hotel is leading local industry in the battle against food waste by turning kitchen scraps into compost.

As one of the early commercial adopters of Launceston City Council’s Food Organics and Garden Organics (FOGO) system, the hotel is on-track to divert around 24 tonnes of waste from landfill per year.

The collected FOGO material is sent to Launceston Waste Centre’s purpose-built Organics Processing Facility to be turned into compost, which is then used on local parks and nature reserves.

Bawah Reserve introduces Elang Private Residence

Bawah Reserve, one of Indonesia’s most exclusive off-grid resorts, is set to launch Elang Private Residence. Opening in May 2020, Elang is the second of Bawah Reserve’s six islands to be developed with the discerning earth-conscious traveller in mind.

Developed as the owner’s residence with a small village to accommodate family and friends, Elang offers an exclusive island experience for travellers who desire the utmost in privacy and sustainable travel. Every detail is designed to fit seamlessly into the local topography, Elang is suitable for guests to book as a single lodge stay or, for the definitive private isle experience, a full island.

Featuring six cliffside lodges all with personal butler service, Elang also offers a guest-only clubhouse with dining room and bar, salt water infinity pool with slide, the Beach House restaurant, Kayu Spa, and an activities lawn. In addition, guests are free to enjoy the restaurants and amenities of Bawah’s main island, located just three minutes away by boat.

Leopard Safaris by KK Collection

Sri Lankan hotel group, KK Collection has announced acclaimed Noel Rodrigo Leopard Safaris has become the latest member of its prestigious tourism portfolio.

Leopard Safaris by KK Collection, which offers wonderful eco lodging and wildlife glamping experiences in Sri Lanka’s Yala and Wilpattu National Parks, joins luxury Galle boutique hotels, Kahanda Kanda and KK Beach under the impressive KK Collection banner.