IN THE FAMILY: MAURITIUS
Don’t let the best years of your life slip away without some quality family bonding time – instead, catch up with your nearest and dearest in Mauritius, where Angsana Balaclava Mauritius has launched two new packages: The Mother-Daughter Getaway and the Father-Son Getaway. Mums and daughters can enjoy precious one-on-one time while indulging in spoiling one-hour massages and 60 minutes of dedicated pampering at the resort’s award-winning spa, with a choice an Express Manicure and Express Facial or Express Pedicure and Express Facial. The girls can then opt for a cooking class, take a trip to the market in the island’s capital, Port Louis, and decamp back to the suite for a movie night, complete with popcorn. Adventure is the buzzword for The Father-Son Getaway, which focuses on boys who like to stay active, with an open-water fishing trip for two and a day trip to Casela Adventure Park, home to the longest zipline in the Indian Ocean along with mud karting, canoeing and quad biking – the perfect ingredients for male bonding. There’s also cooking class and a half-day bicycle ride, and movie-night for dad and son too, while all packages include complimentary access to the sauna, hammam and vitality pool at Angsana Spa.
PRICE AED2,872 for two people (US$781); Room rates from AED1,829 per person (US$497) for a Garden Suite – King (half board)
AVAILABLE Now
BOOK www.angsana.com/en/em-mauritius-balaclava
SWEET SRI LANKA
The island of Sri Lanka makes perfect sense for an Eid break and Taru Villas has released a special rate for guests staying for five nights. Nayantara “Taru” Fonseka, the owner, creator and interior designer behind the Taru Villas lifestyle and brand played a pivotal role in establishing the boutique travel concept in Sri Lanka since she opened her first property in 2002. There are now eight boutique properties in her portfolio set along the south and west coasts of the island, including three two-bedroom private villas, and four- to eight-bedroom villas, which can be booked by room or as a whole unit. There’s just one problem: You may struggle deciding which property to stay in. With a 15-metre pool, Rock Villa is one of the dreamiest, set in an enchanting 170-year-old Walauwa (heritage house) with rain showers, immaculate bedrooms and manicured gardens leading down to an unspoiled beach; though you could argue that Mawella Bay, a two-kilometre stretch of curving, palm-fringed beach on Sri Lanka’s south-western coast is equally beautiful – in which case you’d choose Mawella, an ambient beachside bungalow with four double rooms with gorgeous four-poster beds and a five-metre plunge pool fronting the beach. Whichever Taru Villa you choose, elegant décor, top-quality cuisine and an authentically Sri Lankan experience is assured.
PRICE A five-night stay is priced at US$2,364 per room
AVAILABLE 1st September–30th November, 2016
BOOK www.taruvillas.com
UNMASK IN VENICE
Unveil a radiant new you at Aman Venice, which is collaborating with
skincare expert to the stars, Susan Ciminelli, who will share her
secrets to a glowing complexion at a series of four-night retreats.
Taking a holistic approach to anti-ageing and wellness, the retreat aims
to address both inner and outer beauty through skin-boosting nutrition,
healing therapies, natural products, and informative talks. Along with
accommodation at Aman Venice – set in a museum-like 16th-century palazzo
on the Grand Canal – the retreat includes three nutritious meals, a
personal consultation and treatment with Susan, a Terme di Salsomaggiore
Lissagio treatment, private and group movement classes and one healing
in-room bath per day, along with selected Ciminelli products and tools.
And to show off your “Ciminelli Glow” there’s three guided art walks
through the UNESCO-protected floating city taking in classical and
contemporary masterpieces.
PRICE The Nov 27–Dec 1 retreat is priced at €6,860 (US$7,752); Dec 4-8, March 5-9 and 12-17 are priced at €6,540 (US$7,390)
BOOK www.aman.com/resorts/aman-venice
BOHEMIAN BATHING IN PRAGUE
Some of the world’s greatest writers, politicians and philosophers have soaked in the rejuvenating thermal waters found in the Czech Republic, home to hundreds of natural mineral springs. Now, the mythical, centuries-old bathing rituals take on a modern incarnation at AVA, the new luxurious spa at Four Seasons Hotel Prague. In a city where spas are few and far between, there’s a lot to be excited about, not least because of those incredible views. Set in a historic neoclassical building with glimpses of the Prague Castle and the Charles Bridge, AVA Spa draws on the country’s spa heritage with bathing rituals such as The Karlovy Vary Inspiration, which draws from the “miracle mineral water” found in the region, using bathwater infused with healing ingredients. The spa’s four treatment rooms are named for the country’s popular rivers, including the Vltava, which flows just outside, and together with a large couples’ suite with a bath, there is a sauna, steam bath and a vitality pool with a waterfall, massage jets and hydrotherapy beds surrounded by chaise lounges. To celebrate the opening, guests can take advantage of the Ava Spa Discovery package that includes luxurious accommodation, continental breakfast and one treatment from the Thermal Bath menu per stay (up to €130 value).
PRICE From €290 (US$327) in low season & €330 (US$372) in high season (excl. tax)
AVAILABLE Until March 17
BOOK www.fourseasons.com/prague
DUBAI'S OVER-WATER WONDER
What do the Maldives, Bora Bora and Dubai have in common? The answer is: over-water villas. The lavishly appointed, Thai-inspired Anantara The Palm Dubai Resort, prestigiously situated on the eastern crescent of the iconic Palm Jumeirah, is home to 18 Over Water Villas, the first of their kind in the Middle East. Spanning 106 square metres, these ultra-luxurious, oversized abodes feature hardwood floors, vaulted ceilings and all the trimmings, such as Nespresso machines and sunken bathtubs overlooking the Arabian Gulf, while a select number even have glass-viewing panels set in the floor, offering a glimpse into the fantastically clear water below. The good news is that once you are checked in, you may never be tempted to leave the serenity of your villa, which offers the ultimate in privacy. Guests can take a leisurely breakfast or sunset meal served on the deck, or even have an in-villa massage, but should you venture out, the resort has plenty entice, with 9,290 square metres of lagoon pools and a shoreline infinity pool in which to paddle, two fitness studios, two tennis courts, an Anantara Spa with a Turkish Hammam, and of course, the always-electric city of Dubai at your fingertips – something Bora Bora and the Maldives simply can’t compete with.
PRICE from AED3,690 (US$1,004)
AVAILABLE Until the end of the year
BOOK www.dubai-palm.anantara.com
MONACO: IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF A PRINCESS
Oscar-winning actress Grace Kelly was one of the most glamorous women in
Hollywood – and her wedding to Monaco’s Prince Rainier III surely one
of the greatest fairy-tales of all time. Now, fans of the iconic beauty
can retrace her footsteps in her adopted home of Monaco where she lived
until her tragic death in 1982 with “Following the Footsteps of Grace
Kelly”, a unique tour created by Hôtel Métropole, Monte-Carlo. Led by a
certified multilingual guide, the journey traces the symbolic locations
marked by the Princess’s presence, such as la Roseraie Princesse Grace
de Monaco (the rose garden created by HSH Prince Rainier III to honour
the memory of his late wife); the Monaco Cathedral (the
Roman-Byzantine-style building that is the burial site of both Prince
Rainier and Princess Grace); The Princess Grace Irish Library – another
tribute to the Princess – and the Princess Grace Foundation, a
humanitarian charity the late Princess founded in 1964. In the words of
the hotel’s concierge, the concept is “a step back in time tracing the
life of a legendary figure, who to this day, continues to shine
throughout the Principality.”
PRICE Tour (including transport) is priced at €650 (US$734) per person; Superior Rooms at Hôtel Métropole, Monte-Carlo from €440 (US$497)
AVAILABLE Now
BOOK www.metropole.com
GALAPAGOS: A NATURAL MARVEL
Described as “nature’s greatest experiment” by Sir David Attenborough, adventure cruising specialists Aurora Expeditions’ new Galápagos Odyssey programme offers a rare chance to glimpse nature’s marvels while sailing aboard the 38-passenger vessel, Isabela II. Accompanied by a team of naturalists and wildlife specialists, guests will explore the archipelago over nine days with Zodiac and shore excursions, incredible wildlife encounters, interpretive talks and lectures and complimentary kayaking and snorkelling. Imagine sea lions playfully nibbling at your fins as you snorkel, coming face to face with the world’s oldest yet endangered animal, the Galápagos giant tortoise, or sending a letter home from Floreana Island’s first Post Office: a wooden barrel left by English whalers in the late 1700s – which still functions to this day. The Galápagos Odyssey departs Baltra and includes eight nights of accommodation with meals, return flights from Quito, Ecuador with airport transfer (Galápagos only), all shore excursions and land tours, on-board lectures and kayaking and snorkelling activities and equipment.
PRICE From US$6,635 per person
AVAILABLE Departing October 3, 2016
BOOK www.auroraexpeditions.com.au