Then luxuriate for two more nights in your own tranquil river sanctuary
at Four Seasons Resort Bali at Sayan (62-361/977-577), just 10 minutes from Ubud. The deal includes inter-resort transfers, butler services,
daily breakfast, and a floral bath oil arrival. Rates start from US$850, double, per night.
There’s no menu at Pietro Porcu’s homey restaurant. Instead, expect whatever the Sicilian-born chef happens to be cooking up that day. Using seasonal produce plucked from the Porcu family farm, meals feature the likes of suckling pig, tender roasted barramundi, and fregola-a grain similar to couscous, native to Sardinia. The wine list is exclusively Italian, highlighted by number of rare Sicilian Pinot Biancos and Moscatos. 95 Toorak Rd., South Yarra; 61-3/9866-5975.
After a day of adventure, soothe your aching limbs with a rub down at the Sofitel’s Le Spa (8 Duke St.; 64-3/450-0048), where one can self-apply body muds inside a steamy hammant or soak away muscle tension in the wooden tub. The Mirimiri treatment should not be missed. Performed by therapist Moctahi Wa1ker, the traditional Maori massage has an almost spiritual appeal.
Start the night at Bardeaux (Eureka Arcade; 64-3/442-8284), a sumptuous cocktail bar with plush leather sofas and a stone fireplace. The wine list offers a good selection of local Pinots; Gluhwein is a specialty in winter.
The Yeohwa Resort (86-599/523-8999; yeohwahotels.com; doubles from US$91) in Wuyishan is a good place to base yourself when exploring the area. The 204-room hotel has a spa and a couple of decent restaurants and can organize tours to nearby sites.
Not all eco-properties are purpose built. This resort on Koh Lanta was already tip and running before the Langham group purchased it and transformed it into a green hotel. Guests are now encouraged to eschew motorized transportation and instead cycle around the island, hike through the forest, or use hotel canoes to spot eagles and macaques among the mangroves. Resort vans are available for longer excursions, but they run on biodegradable fuel from used cooking oil. Social programs raise money for a neighborhood orphanage, and the resort recently “adopted” a somewhat larger charge -a baby elephant from a nearby wildlife sanctuary (139 Moo 8, Koh Lanta, Krabi;66-0/2664-3490; krabi.langhamplacehotels.com, doubles from US$170).
Relax at the Plateau, Grand Hyatt Hong Kong (852/2584-7688; hongkong.grand.hyatt.com) this festive season with the Hotel’s Spa Winter package. Priced from US$567, double, the deal entitles guests to accommodation in a terrace room, an herbal bath, daily breakfast, evening cocktails, and spa treatment for two. Also included is a 20-percent discount on any additional spa services.
Ring in Christmas and the New Year in style with the luxury Holiday package at the newly opened St. Regis Bali Resort (62-361/847-8111); stregisbali.com). From US$450, double, the deal includes VIP airport pickup and limousine transfer as well daily breakfast for two.
A marathon in the making, Legation Quarter (23 Qianmen Dong Dajie, Chongwen; legationquarter.com) is starting to realize the design potential that restaurateur Handel Lee saw for it when he took on the restoration project four years ago, The site of the U.S. Embassy during the Qing dynasty, the complex is a string of five century-old Neoclassical buildings that flank a grassy courtyard, already popular among Beijing’s smart set.
A members-only club links the restaurant to its hole-in-the-wall neighbor, the Noodle Bar, where the menu is no bigger than the seating plan.
Hand-pulled wheat noodles come with beef tendon, tripe, or brisket, dished up in steaming bowls of soup at a sushi-style connter.
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