News from the world of travel
The AJN takes you around the world to see what’s new in travel. By DANNY GOCS
Vibe style in Adelaide’s newest hotel
IF you want to relax in a bath while enjoying sweeping views from your hotel room, you can’t go past one of the upper-level rooms at the new 18-storey Vibe Hotel Adelaide.
Twenty of the hotel’s 123 rooms feature a bath with a view, set on a timber deck with floor-to-ceiling windows just metres from a king-size bed.
Of course, you may prefer to use the bathroom with a large walk-in shower with a choice of overhead or hand-held showers.
The hotel’s rooms range from premier suites and urban retreat rooms to deluxe rooms and the lead-in guest rooms.
Rooms feature exposed concrete ceilings and Tasmanian Oak finishes, while thoughtful design features include plentiful power points that contain phone chargers, full-length mirrors, coffee-making facilities, a smart TV and an in-room safe.
Vibe Hotel Adelaide, set in Adelaide’s East End at 260 Flinders Street, opened on March 1 as part of a 20-year project by local developer GuavaLime, completing its long-term vision for the Flinders East Precinct.
Alongside the hotel is a residential apartment tower joined by a suspended bridge with a heated pool which also gives hotel guests access to the gym.
Vibe Hotel Adelaide features the work of local artists including Jeremy Herbert and Alex Frayn. Herbert created a 15-metre-long serpentine chandelier in the lobby using acrylic rods that are illuminated in different colours over a 24-hour cycle.
Herbert also created artwork stretching four metres by two metres depicting an Adelaide street scene from the 1960s which is on display near the Storehouse Flinders East restaurant and bar.
Photos depicting South Australian scenes have been sourced by Frayn and are displayed in many of the hotel rooms.
Enjoy vibrant dining, drinks and entertainment in the ground-floor Storehouse Flinders East restaurant and bar, which opens onto a courtyard and dining terrace.
Vibe Hotel Adelaide is a 10-minute walk to Adina Apartment Hotel Adelaide Treasury, also run by TFE, which has 79 rooms with modern facilities and is surrounded by the history of the early days of South Australia’s settlement. The building dates from 1839 and once housed the offices of the State Treasury. Its underground tunnels and Cabinet Room are open to the public on tours conducted by the National Trust.
For more information: tfehotels.com
Worldwide safari by private jet
LEADING travel company Abercrombie & Kent is bringing back its popular private jet tour next year when Wildlife Safari: Around the World by Private Jet offers a luxury journey of close-up encounters with animals in the wild across seven countries.
Departing from Portland in the US on February 14, 2024 the tour takes in Japan, the Philippines, Malaysia, India, Madagascar, Uganda and Kenya.
Highlights include seeing Africa’s Big Five while on luxury safaris, searching for a Bengal tiger in its wild habitat, encountering mountain gorillas and meeting one of the vets helping the species to survive, seeing Madagascar’s playful primate, the lemur, and getting close to whale sharks.
Debra Fox, managing director of A&K Australia, said: “A wildlife safari is a bucket-list trip for most travellers… and this trip elevates that idea to something extraordinary. Only with a private jet is it possible to experience so many of the world’s most fascinating wildlife destinations in just 25 days — and in total comfort and style.”
Accommodation on the tour ranges from luxury safari camps such as Sanctuary Gorilla Forest Camp and Angama Mara — both reserved exclusively for A&K private jet guests — to the Peninsula Tokyo and Six Senses Fort Barwara.
Guests can personalise the itinerary by including excursions, cultural and wellness experiences of their choice.
A doctor travels with the group for the whole tour.
The 25-day Wildlife Safari: Around the World by Private Jet is limited to 48 passengers travelling first class with lie-flat seats in a chartered Boeing 757 and costs from $254,000 per person, twin share.
Enquiries: abercrombiekent.com.au
Uluru hotel reopens with a new look
THE Outback Hotel and Lodge at Ayers Rock Resort has reopened following a multi-million-dollar refurbishment which reflects the earthy tones of the Uluru landscape.
Previously known as the Outback Pioneer Hotel, the refurbishment is the first in more than 20 years and includes enhanced guest rooms, new ensuite bathrooms and a major upgrade to the swimming pool and surrounding public areas.
Each of the 125 guest rooms at the Outback Hotel now has free wifi, air-conditioning, walk-in rain shower, smart TV, fridge and USB chargers.
Matthew Cameron-Smith, CEO of Voyages Indigenous Tourism Australia, said: “This hotel has always had a warm, welcoming atmosphere and is the place to come after a day’s touring at Uluru.”
Guests staying at the Outback Hotel and Lodge have access to all the facilities at Ayers Rock Resort including touring, restaurants and the Gallery of Central Australia as well as return Ayers Rock Airport transfers and use of the complimentary Ayers Rock Resort shuttle bus service.
For more information: ayersrockresort.com.au
comments