HG TRAVEL
T
raditionally, hotels haven’t had much to offer children
aside from the lure of pools and breakfast buffets.
But a new crop of outside-the-box accommodation
is putting uninspiring (for kids) hotel rooms to shame.
Leading the way is St Jerome’s – The Hotel, Melbourne’s
first luxury-camping accommodation, conveniently set
above the Melbourne Central shopping centre in the CBD.
Families can hire spacious (separate) canvas tents on the
open-air rooftop – and enjoy a night out under the stars
in the heart of the city. http://www.stjeromesthehotel.com.au.
The newest kid on the block is Notel, also in Melbourne,
where six 1970s chrome Airstream trailers are fitted out
as designer digs for everyone’s enjoyment. Plonked on the
roof of a nondescript Melbourne car park, Notel has
bragging rights nailed. notelmelbourne.com.au.
And, in news just in, Sydney, where Cockatoo Island
glamping has become a rite of passage, will soon boast
another harbour island pop-up site, Flash Camp. Up to 22
canvas tents will be clustered on a 1ha Clark Island patch
(above) taking in panoramic Sydney Harbour scenes.
Registrations now open. http://www.flashcamp.com.au.TWEEN SPIRIT
Country Road’s Tropical Print
paper and fabric visor is the
best of both worlds – it’ll keep
your tween’s face shaded while
allowing heat to escape from
her head, $15; http://www.
countryroad.com.au.Floppy hats are a summer staple
and we love this polyester Crochet
option from Target. $15;
target.com.au.For the city slicker, don’t go past
H&M’s cotton NY cap, $10;
http://www.hm.com/au.BOOK IT!
Wave goodbye to
‘pin the tack on the
world map’; there’s
a new way to plan
your family holiday.
Where To Go When,
($39.99, Lonely
Planet) enables
travellers of all stripes to plan a lifetime of timely
adventures. Each of the 12 chapters (one for
each month) opens with a flowchart allowing
readers to ‘arrive’ at a suggested experience by
choosing from a range of options. For instance,
when H&G selected February as our month to
travel, then chose to ‘challenge ourselves’ before
shying away from anything too strenuous by
selecting ‘show me’, we ended up with the novel
idea of watching millions of monarch butterflies
take flight in Mexico’s Michoacan province.H&G LOVES AESOP’S LATEST TRAVEL-
CENTRIC CARE PACKAGES, INCLUDING
‘THE IMPASSIONED WANDERER’ HAIRCARE
PACK, $80; WWW.AESOP.COM.AU.Fun for all
Create great memories for
your kids by taking them
on the kind of holiday you
loved as a child. At BIG4
Tweed Billabong Holiday
Park on the NSW North
Coast, there are onsite
activities galore, including
an impressive water park.
While the kids are happily
occupied, adults can rest
up. Cabin accommodation
for two adults and two
children costs from $184/
night. http://www.big4.com.au.
Produced by Vanessa Walker.FAMILY ADVENTURES
great escapes