Besotted – Drop Dead Gorgeousness at Six Senses Con Dao Resort!

Oh, chihuahua!! What a drop-dead, over-the-moon, gorgeous beach! Don’t we just have to pack our bags and shuffle there as quickly as our flat feet can take us?!

Drink in the view, girls! This is the Six Senses Con Dao resort in Vietnam which was just opened just last month. Huh? Where? Con Dao is part of a cluster of 16 islands 100-odd miles off the south east coast of mainland Vietnam about an hour’s flight from Ho Chi Minh City. It’s the only five star resort in the archipelago so if you’re going out to embrace nature here, this is the only place to stay.

 

Check into one of their 50 villa, laze on the mile-long stretch of pristine beach, go to the spa, swim at the pool and eat at their three restaurants including one serving local Vietnamese food. The archipelago is 80% a national park which includes a marine reserve, so go explore Mother Nature and see hawksbill turtles, dugongs, black haired goats, wild pigs and macaques. For sea activities, ride on the Vietnamese, round ‘basket’ boats, snorkeling around the best coral reef in Vietnam, take boat rides to other islands Turtle, Bird and best of all, wait for cocktails served by waiters on beach bikes. Cool!

If you're planning to potter off for CNY, they are offering a promo package. Three nights start from US$1550 per villa, and five nights from US$2550 for Ocean Front Villa. This includes brekkie for two. Kids are 6 eat for free while those 12 and under are charged $15. This package is available from now til end February 2011.  

Tel : +84 64 3831 222

E-mail : reservations-condao@sixsenses.com
 
- Ee Waun

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Breakaway Shanghai – Luxe Out in Shanghai's Iconic Fairmont Peace Hotel

If you want to go Shanghai the luxe way – and there’s no other way to do Shanghai – check into the recently reopened Fairmont Peace Hotel, a cut from the city’s checkered history and one of the most noticeable buildings along The Bund. Interiors are deliciously art deco glam which transports you to the jazzy days of 1930s Shanghai (which while lovely when seen through rose-tinted nostalgia, probably had the colonials shamelessly discriminate against the Chinese then!).

Overlooking Shanghai’s Huangpu River with a view of Pudong if the pollution index allows, the hotel boasts 270 guestrooms and suites, six restaurants and lounges, and the Willow Stream Spa. Look out for the art deco revolving doors and memorabilia of historic occasions and personalities that have swung through them.

Now that it’s undergone three years of renovation, the hotel is serving up a Discover Winter with Peace Package starting at RMB1929. It includes a one-night stay in a Fairmont room, daily breakfast for two in The Cathay Room, welcome cocktail for two persons in The Jazz Bar, high tea for two persons in the Jasmine Lounge, complimentary access to the Fitness Center, and a complimentary guided hotel tour to discover the hidden treasures of the Fairmont Peace Hotel. This rate it available from 15 Nov until 31 March 2011.

See the pretty pictures and soak up the gorgeousness! Don’t we wish we were there.

20 Nanjing Road East, Shanghai

200002, China
Tel: +86 21 6138 6950 
Email PeaceReservations@fairmont.com

Fairmont Gold

Speaking of Fairmont, the hotel chain has recently launched Fairmont Gold in Fairmont Yangcheng, Fairmont Beijing and Fairmont Peace Hotel. Essentially it’s a club room concept just taken a step further and great for those who like a little more exclusivity when they travel and the complimentary cocktails before din-dins. Check into a Fairmont Gold room and you get the services of a Fairmont Gold Butler who will cater to needs ranging from packing and unpacking to drawing a bath and ensuring the morning tea is just right, private floors for checking in, and the run of the Gold Lounge. Enjoy an honour bar, complimentary breakfast, afternoon tea and canapés, late night desserts, free Internet usage, and of course, the raison d’être for its existence and our patronage - complimentary evening drinks with hors d’oeuvres service from 5pm - 7pm daily! (Make sure you return from your sightseeing in time for chin chins!)

Fairmont Gold rooms are usually larger or have better amenities. For example, such rooms at Fairmont Beijing, include a 41-inch TV with DVD player, BOSE Wave speaker with iPod connector, tea kettles, Nespresso coffee machines and 24-carat gold plated rain-shower head (no scraping, dearie) and heated floor!

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Besotted – Fullerton Bay Hotel’s Room with a View

If you’re all for sophisticated accommodation in a picturesque location, check into the new Fullerton Bay Hotel in Singapore, one of the most beautiful hotels in Singapore and the latest addition to the historical Fullerton Heritage precinct. It’s right by the glitzy new Marina Bay waterfront and occupies the old Clifford Pier, Singapore’s landing point for early migrants over a century ago.

All high ceiling, full-length glass windows, refined detailing and elegance, it’s a mini Raffles Hotel, and spanks of old world glamour with a stylish, contemporary flavour. If you’re checking in, just remember that the Bay View and Premier Bay View Rooms are the ones with views of the Marina Bay waterfront while the Premier Rooms have views of picturesque landmarks like

The Fullerton Hotel Singapore, Clifford Pier and the Merlion Park.If you’ve booked into a deluxe room though, be prepared to just have an eye full of Customs House – not a very pretty building, I’m afraid.

Booking early for the national day fireworks? The best views are from their suites. In the latter rooms, remember to check out the toilets – walk into the cubicle and don’t touch a thing. Just clap your hands and see the wondrous mysteries of toilet technology unfold! You don’t even have to handle your toilet seat ever again for a sound sensor lifts the cover and later, closes it again when you’re done and gone. Gorgeous rooms, this is a definite choice for a kinky weekend away.

For food, Clifford, the hotel’s modern brasserie – more like a fine dining restaurant – has become one of the prettiest restaurants in town. Sitting close to the water with full length glass and soaring ceilings above, you get a fine sense of occasion here. But happily, the service isn’t stuffy, and they’ve got baby chairs too for your gourmet tot. Friendly, huh? Food here is modern European and from sustainable, organic producers. We like the creamy porcini mushroom cappuccino, hearty duck confit served with delectable truffle mashed potatoes and a lemon tart with crème fraiche ice cream. And you don’t have to spend a bomb: the set lunch menu is an affordable $45 for three courses, and $36 for two. Considering the kind of surrounds you will be pampered in, this is incredibly good value. Having a power breakfast? How about scrambled eggs with shaved black truffles, and waffles with Champagne mango compote?

The Landing Point gives you the best view of the bay front in the day time and light bites all day. This gorgeous lounge with an al fresco terrace forks out afternoon tea ($38) all nicely infused in colonial nostalgia, and featuring such classic morsels as finger sandwiches, chocolate eclairs, caneles (excellent stuff), and scones with jam and clotted cream. Reserve a table by the window thought – it’s the best spot here and gets snapped up very quickly! Sniff hard here and you’ll notice a particular fragrance that will bliss out your olfactories. That would be the customized room fragrance, ‘The Scent of Fullerton’ – which is the latest practice among hotels these days in attempts to brand their ambience with a distinctive, unique smell. At this hotel, the fragrance is admittedly lovely – top notes of white jasmine, ylang ylang and lily, followed by a lovely floral rose and neroli middle note. Free smells!

Up to the rooftop, The Lantern – named after the red lanterns that used to light up the pier in days of old – is the latest bar to pack in the crowds with its 360 degree view of down town Singapore and downright breathtaking setting amid landscaped greenery and picturesque pool. Order signature cocktails, Red Lantern ($19), Merlion ($19) and Imperial Berry Mojito ($24) and nibble on bar snacks like wagyu Short Rib Mini Burger ($20), Pork Belly Sandwich with Apple-radish Slaw ($18) and Truffle Fries ($14). Definitely a must-go in Singapore, expect a full house every weekend so don’t forget to make your reservations!

What’s sad is that in the most historic part of the hotel – what was once the Clifford Pier building – is occupied by a Chinese restaurant, One on the Bund. It’s kinda crass and the staff downright unfriendly, and the food, to put it gently, ain’t that great. This is leased out and run by a third party. Hopefully the hotel will eventually put the space to better use.

80 Collyer Quay

Tel: 65-65975277

www.fullertonbayhotel.com

- Ee Waun

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Besotted – Dreamy Beach House in Seminyak, Bali

The year-end holidays are beckoning, and if you’ve got kids and travel with them like I do, this is the time to plan your great escapes. And as all fabulicious moms know, just because you want kid-friendly – or shall I say, parent friendly – doesn’t mean you have to go down market.

Lust after The Beach House at The Legian in Bali! Located in shop-til-you-drop Seminyak, The Beach House - a private holiday villa - sits on a stretch of Seminyak Beach where you can soak in Indian Ocean sunsets while you float about in the 16-metre infinity pool. Kick back with a good book in the outdoor balé pavilions and sip on cocktails served by 24 hour personal butlers. If you feel like heading out, just jump into your chauffeur-driven private car and trawl the wondrous shops along Seminyak for gorgeous household items and beaded evening dresses, then come back for a meal prepared by your personal chef! Three gorgeous bedrooms can accommodate a party of 6-8 holiday makers, and spread the price of US$2700 a night. (No one said it was cheap!)

Need to be wired? There’s a personal laptop and wireless broadband, plus the usual high end techno-expectations like HD LCD TV, DVD player and audio system with an iPod dock and portable Sony PlayStation. You can also make use of all facilities at The Legian resort too, including The Spa at The Legian. Now that’s what I call a dreamy holiday!

http://www.ghmhotels.com/

- Ee Waun

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