This was published 1 year ago
Traveller's nine greatest hotel experiences for 2022
Lady Musgrave HQ, a new eco-glamping pontoon moored off Lady Musgrave Island.
With hotel quarantine now, hopefully, in our rear view, 2022 was the year of rediscovering the indulgent joys of a hotel stay — and that we did, in hotels, resorts and boutique stays across the globe. When the Traveller brain trust were asked to distill their hotel highlights down to one moment, things like giant soaking tubs and resort pools took a back seat to moments that invoked the senses, exceeded reputation or left them awe-struck. We hope Traveller's list will provide some food for thought on what makes a hotel stay great.
THE PLACE
LADY MUSGRAVE ISLAND, BUNDABERG, QLD
THE TIME Friday, March 18, 7am
THE MOMENT I fold back the sides of my safari-style tent to find a green turtle has joined me for my morning coffee. I've just spent a night aboard Lady Musgrave HQ, a new eco-glamping pontoon moored off Lady Musgrave Island, and today my schedule is directed only by the tide (and maybe the buffet lunch). It's still hours until the day-tripping crowds turn up, so I savour the sunrise. The turtles, the reef sharks and the fish will all be waiting for me as soon as I put down my cup and pick up a snorkel. See ladymusgraveexperience.com.au
THE PLACE
CAIRO, EGYPT
THE TIME Wednesday, July 20, 7am
THE MOMENT The everyday act of flipping open a curtain reveals a completely extraordinary view of the Pyramids of Giza outside my window at Marriott Mena House Hotel here in the Egyptian capital. Despite the prolonged international shutdown and a world in disarray, they're still there, glowing golden in the early morning Cairo sun before the summer heat bleaches sky and stone. See marriott.com
THE PLACE
EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND
THE TIME Wednesday, July 27, 4pm
THE MOMENT I'm checking in to Edinburgh's astonishingly good looking Gleneagles Townhouse. Occupying a former bank building, the exquisite hotel is part guest quarters, part members' club, part gathering place for the city's happily unpretentious social set. My room oozes class with heavy fabrics, marble basins, bedside books and decadent wallpaper. At the members-only rooftop bar, I look across Edinburgh's blue slate rooftops towards waterside Leith. See gleneagles.com; visitscotland.com
THE PLACE
NORTHERN RIVERS, NSW
THE TIME Sunday, July 31, 5.20pm
THE MOMENT It's 14 degrees outside, but my body is warm as a sous vide salmon. I'm in the outdoor tub at Wattlewood, the newest off-grid cabin escape in the Byron Shire. The setting sun filters through the gums overhead, as it makes its way behind Wollumbin Mount Warning. The architecturally-designed cabin beckons. But for now I'm happy in this open-air, hand-crafted wooden bathhouse, the steam rising around me and the kookaburras laughing at the pink sky. See airbnb.com
THE PLACE
DEVPRAYAG, INDIA
THE TIME Thursday, September 29, 4pm
THE MOMENT It's rare for a traveller in India to be alone. Yet here I am, lying on sun-warmed boulders, nothing but the Ganges river rushing by beside me, and the Himalayas rising up all around. I'm at a new family-owned retreat called Mandala, set in a five-bedroom home in a mango grove, at the exact point where the Alaknanda and Bhagirathi rivers combine to form the sacred Ganges. The perfect place for contemplation, rejuvenation, and solitude. See mandalaretreathome.com
THE PLACE
LANGKAWI, MALAYSIA
THE TIME Wednesday, September 24, 3pm
THE MOMENT The nurturing sea is warm and buoyant, cradling me as I float, cloud watching without care in Datai Bay, on the northernmost tip of Malaysia. Coconut palms shade the deckchairs on the white-sand beach in front of me, behind are the first islands of southern Thailand. A macaque raids my freshly opened coconut, sea otters frolic in the mangroves nearby and a pair of exotic hornbills pose coyly for my camera. All are sheltered within the 750 hectares of rainforest that the Datai has pledged to protect. See thedatai.com
THE PLACE
PHAPHLU, NEPAL
THE TIME Sunday, October 2, 8am
THE MOMENT A 40-minute helicopter ride into the Himalayas from Kathmandu has taken me to Happy House. Built in 1971 by current owner Ang's grandfather, the stacked stone Sherpa house has been a refuge for famous writers and mountaineers, including Sir Edmund Hillary. Recently it has undergone a renovation and has, blessedly, opened as a guesthouse. The kitchen garden and nearby forest have provided much of the breakfast spread - including pan-fried morels, delicate fern shoots and pickled garlic - we're about to eat on the sunlit lawn. See beyulexperiences.com
THE PLACE
ULUWATU, BALI
THE TIME Saturday, October 22, 6.30am
THE MOMENT The quintessential sound of a Bali morning is the shush of a twig broom collecting fallen frangipanis from vivid green lawns. It's the sound that accompanies the first cup of tea for the day, taken by my villa's pool in one of the island's newest and most luxurious resorts. The Jumeirah Bali is inspired by Hindu water palaces, and each villa has its own pool and views of the turquoise waters, where surfers wait patiently at the Dreamlands break. See jumeirah.com
THE PLACE
SAVUSAVU, FIJI
THE TIME Sunday, October 23, 11am
THE MOMENT Among parents, Fiji is whispered about like it's some fantasy land, a place that couldn't possibly be real. The resorts! The beaches! The childcare. And now I'm discovering that the stories are true, that this is the ultimate: staying at Jean-Michel Cousteau resort in Savusavu, where every child has a private, full-time nanny, and parents are free to do whatever they please. I've just been scuba-diving. My partner is hanging out by the pool. The kids are having a blast with their carers. Everybody wins. See fijiresort.com
Contributors: Paul Chai, Anthony Dennis, Michael Gebicki, Ben Groundwater, Belinda Jackson, Brian Johnston, Ute Junker, Nina Karnikowski, Rob McFarland, Steve Mckenna, Julie Miller, Catherine Marshall, Justin Meneguzzi, Craig Tansley and Penny Watson
Sign up for the Traveller Deals newsletter
Get exclusive travel deals delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up now.