Frequent Flyer: Maree Coote

Maree Coote, author of The Melbourne Book: A History of Now.

HOTEL

I love big hotels for the thread count, the cocktails and heel-clicking service, but there's something great about a small hotel. My bolthole in Venice, Hotel Orion at San Marco Spadaria, was a tiny duck-egg blue bedroom encrusted with Venetian gilt and glass - I felt like a treasure in a jewellery box. The breakfast room was a tiny glassed-in bridge over an even tinier lane, perfect for Venetian watching.

AIRLINE

Qantas. It's all in the announcements. Where else would our captain break the air with: "Good morning ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls." It's so Qantas to include the kids in the big adventure. It makes us all feel new again, brings the wonder back.

RESORT

Kandaburi Resort at Chaweng Beach, Koh Samui. The style is breezy, light contemporary Thai architecture with just the right amount of luxury. Two swimming pools, two restaurants and a heavenly massage sala on the beach. The beach restaurant overlooks the lagoon and has a great Thai menu and a very good wine list. Really comfortable rooms with extraordinarily large bathrooms.

LUGGAGE

Anonymous and unremarkable luggage with a unique identifier for the baggage carousel. Nothing sadder than dirty damaged designer labels and the tarmac is so unforgiving.