As Australian metro property prices continue to soar, we’re not surprised to hear so many reports of city dwellers on the hunt for a post-lockdown tree change. While…
Up close and personal, the Great Barrier Reef offers just as much to marvel at as I imagine an astronaut might see from space. As a first-time visitor,…
One of the Whitsundays’ most celebrated and long-established businesses is Ocean Rafting. It was the first to operate return day trips cruising the north side of Hook Island…
How is it possible? Part of the outer industrial estate of Melbourne’s Tullamarine Airport has been transformed into an oasis, of sorts… Essentials’ Jamie Durrant crashes the party…
Singapore’s tourism businesses are currently reopening under the government’s SG Clean Quality Mark. While looks like Australians won’t be jumping on Asian flights any time in the very…
From clock towers to afternoon tea towers, The Fullerton Hotel Sydney lives up to high expectations. Was there ever a drink more intrinsically linked to a city than…
It’s a frigid winter afternoon in the Southern Highlands and the Wingello Village Store is closing. ‘Come back tomorrow,’ calls a chirpy adolescent through the diminishing space in…
Steve Graves is one of High Country Victoria’s most respected and awarded builders. His company Bright Alpine Builders has a long history of working with select-grade Australian hardwood…
Holly Kilntworth is one of Australia’s finest distillers, yet her original plans concerning the drinks trade were motivated by her good nose for business, rather than to create…
For those lucky enough to either make a road trip or book newly-launched Qantas flights from Sydney to Byron Bay this winter, a recently opened boutique hotel choice…
Once the hidden gem of Steels Creek, near Yarra Glen, Yarra Valley boutique winery Yileena Park has become one of the region’s must-visit cellar doors. These days, the…
If you’re keen to get skiing on mountain this year, take a step back and read the fine print before leaving home, as Victoria’s alpine resorts are preparing…
Take a seaside stroll on a wild shore, feel the pulse of an ancient forest, find views that have inspired some of Australia’s great painters and iconic novelists.…
Belinda Jackson checks into a Lapland-inspired hotel in Helsinki’s chic Design District. During winter, snow-laden winds sweep across lakes and tundras of Finnish Lapland, freezing all in their…
Quest Albury on Townsend has taken the art hotel concept several steps further by partnering with leading Victorian art gallery Aboriginal Exhibitions. The new partnership sees a display…
New Australian hotel group Veriu is carving out a fine niche in the boutique accommodation market. We check in, to check out, the ‘millennial modern meets 1920s Hollywood’…
Freeman on Ford is Beechworth’s first, and only five star accommodation, having remained so for the past 15 years. Accredited with numerous national awards for excellence, including winning…
The sky had a ‘threatening look’ about it when Georg von Neumayer and his party reached the summit of Mount Kosciuszko on the morning of 19 November 1862.…
New York is set to launch a new sky observation deck, Edge at Hudson Yards. Announced as the Western Hemisphere’s highest outdoor observation deck, Edge will open to…
This weekend, celebrate spring in Victoria’s High Country by joining the Festival of Short Walks. Showcasing their local charms, the villages of Beechworth, Chiltern, Yackandandah and Rutherglen have…
Melbourne artist Ivan Durrant, who reminisces about the wild child SoHo heyday of the great Super Realist art movement. It was the end of 1975 and the leading…
The roosters are still crowing as chef Nengah Suradnya rides through his village of Penestanan to the Ubud market. The Lombok-born, Australian-trained chef weaves in and around the…
The heart of Victoria’s High Country new boutique accommodation operator Big Sky Retreats has just launched a new premium home stay: Big Sky Ridgeview, located in the popular…
As the weather warms up, there’s no better place to spend a few lazy sunny hours than exploring Bellarine Wineries, with their premium maritime climate influenced wines and…
The Buds have burst in the high altitude wine region of Orange, NSW and to celebrate the region’s winemakers and foodies have launched the 2019 Orange Wine Festival…
Encore St Kilda Beach has won triple category awards at this year’s Victoria & Tasmania Savour Australia Restaurant & Catering Hostplus Awards for Excellence. Encore operated the Melbourne…
Design Hotels represents and markets a hand-selected collection of privately owned and operated hotels in hundreds of destinations around the globe. Each is a wholly unique creative expression…
As we gallop into the year of the horse, Essentials has noticed that jade rabbits seem to be breeding like, well… rabbits. There’s the news of China’s lunar…
A captivated crowd last night packed the house at the newly re-branded De Bortoli Wines Rutherglen Estate cellar door for the Aboriginal Exhibitions Gallery landmark exhibition titled: Northern Exposure…
The Van Haandel Group has this week announce its appointment of award-winning chef Oliver Hansford (of Stokehouse Melbourne) as the new Executive Chef of Stokehouse Q, Brisbane. Ollie…