Post-Christmas hotel bargains look enticing

The Christmas holiday period is over so hotel groups are pulling out all the stop to fill their rooms over the next few weeks. 

Some of the best deals are being offered by Metro Hotels, including the chance to enjoy the Australia Day Skyworks with million-dollar views across the Swan River and Perth City – from a private balcony at Metro Hotel Perth. 

With prices starting from $300 for a Standard balcony room on the 3^rd floor, guests will enjoy one night’s accommodation, views of the Australia Day fireworks from private balconies on levels 3-10, poolside barbecue on January 26 from 2-6pm with a free sausage sizzle, complimentary continental breakfast, parking and noon checkout.

In Sydney, Wizard of Oz has just started at Capitol Theatre (until February 4), and Mamma Mia starts from February 11. The Metro Hotel Marlow Sydney Central is offering a Capitol Theatre package from $140. 

This includes one night's accommodation in a Superior Queen Room, hot buffet breakfast for two adults, late check out and free wifi. 

Metro Apartments on Darling Harbour has a Sydney Attractions Package for $269 that Includes accommodation in a loft-style one-bedroom apartment with free wifi, a Sydney attractions family pass and a kids' goodies pack on arrival. Kids under 12 stay free. 

Metro Apartments on Bank Place in Melbourne has Family Package from $140 that Includes a free upgrade to a self-contained one-bedroom apartment and children under 12 stay free. There is also a discount voucher bundle giving access to a range of discounts and special offers at some of Melbourne's most popular attractions. 

For these and other offers in Brisbane and Darwin check out www.metrohotels.com.au

Solo travellers cop the rough end of the pineapple

Lonely Planet has urged the travel industry to do more to help solo travellers.

The call follows new research that revealed a growing number of solo travellers face higher costs than those travelling with family or friends, including an average of nearly 20% on travel insurance and over 50% on accommodation.

Lonely Planet surveyed members of their dedicated global community of travellers, with more than one in three Australian respondents claiming to have felt disadvantaged when choosing to travel alone. These include single supplements on cruises and at hotels.

Nonetheless, 85% of those surveyed plan to take a solo trip in the future.

Examples given in the survey by solo travellers of poor service from the hospitality industry included lack of choice in organised excursions and poor service in restaurants and bars.

One in two Australian travellers said that they have had to pay a single person supplement when travelling alone, and 90% of those surveyed said they would look more positively on a company that did not charge this.

Restaurants were also particularly criticised by respondents to the survey, with typical comments involving poor service from staff, being seated in the worst spots and even being refused bookings.

But the travel industry treats solo travellers with disdain at its peril with solo travel on the rise.

Lonely Planet has compiled the top tips and advice from their experts in The Solo Travel Handbook, published this month, from the practical (meeting people and staying safe) to the inspirational (health, fitness and sustainable travelling).

The travel company is also calling on the industry to look more positively on those travelling solo, rather than just as single occupants of rooms and dinner tables.

Lonely Planet spokesperson Chris Zeiher says: “Travelling solo can be one of the most rewarding ways of experiencing any destination, and most travellers will find themselves alone on the road at some point in their travelling lives. Sadly, a significant number of travellers cite a lack of choice or increased cost as a barrier to this type of travel.

"The profile of the solo traveller has changed substantially over the last few years and is now spread across age groups, diverse backgrounds and, interestingly, evenly balanced across gender. Over the coming years, we expect the desire to travel alone to continue its growth, setting the challenge for tourism providers to better serve this popular and lucrative travel trend.”

To find out more about The Solo Travel Handbook, and top tips for travelling solo, visit www.lonelyplanet.com/explore-every-day. 

Lonely Planet’s Solo Travel Handbook, $29.99.

  

Weekends of fun to celebrate the man who wrote Waltzing Matilda

Orange is well known for its annual food and wine festivals but the Central Western New South Wales city also hosts a celebration in homage to poet Banjo Paterson, who wrote Australia's unofficial national anthem Waltzing Matilda. The first Banjo Paterson Australian Poetry Festival celebrated the anniversary of the poet's 150th birthday in 2014 - and 2018 will mark the fifth such celebration. Bush poetry, school performances, professional entertainers, markets, golf, barbecues and camp-oven cooking are some of the attractions over the weekend of February 16-18. There will also be the opportunity for community members and visitors to Orange to show their skills in poetry recital and musical entertainment. The Orange region will also host indigenous performances and cultural tours, insights into local history and the cool -climate food and wine of the region. Highlights include Anne Kirkpatrick putting Paterson poems to music at Yeoval, the Banjo Paterson original poetry competition, a night market, a Banjo Paterson breakfast, a brunch and lunch and an opportunity to visit the Banjo Paterson....more than a Poet Museum. There will also be additional events on the weekend of February 23-25. For more information visit www.brandorange.com.au/orange-nsw/banjo-paterson-festival/

ACCC vows to take on those lying, cheating, thieving airlines

There are few more useless, toothless organisations in Australia than the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC). 

Known for talking big without the follow-up action, the ACCC has vowed to take on Australia’s airlines to ensure greater consumer protections. 

The ACCC's website says airline contracts are currently too one-sided - against the consumer. 

Don't hold your breath waiting for action, but the ACCC identified three key issues in its preliminary report on Airline Terms & Conditions last month. These relate to fares being advertised as non-refundable, excessive cancellation fees and a lack of compensation provided to passengers when flights are cancelled or delayed.

In its report, the ACCC found that “there appears to be an imbalance in rights between consumers and the airlines, and the airlines are entitled to make unlimited changes whereas the consumer is financially penalised for making even minor adjustments.”

One particular area of concern is airlines advertising fares as “non-refundable”. 

Under Australian Consumer Law, customers may, in fact, be entitled to a refund under some circumstances. For example, if the airline cancels the flight and fails to offer an adequate alternative. 

Jetstar, similarly, states that all Starter fare add-ons are non-refundable. But in cases where paid add-ons such as meals or entertainment are not provided, customers are legally entitled to a refund.

Other concerns identified by the ACCC include: customers being charged for flight changes forced by the airline’s actions; travel vouchers being offered instead of refunds; customers not being compensated for the cost of booking a new flight on another airline in the case of a last-minute cancellation.

Now let's see what happens. 

Are you ready for something different? Discover a barrel-aged gin.

And now for something completely different in Australia's booming artisan spirits zone.

A barrel-aged gin with whisky-like toffee and caramel characters is being launched in Australia’s most famous wine region by the Barossa Distilling Company.

The limited-edition gin has spent seven months in tawny port barrels. It is only the company’s third gin following the release of the Generations Gin in 2016 and its Budburst pink gin later that year.

The barrels originally held Barossa red wine and then spent eight years ageing tawny port before being cut down to 100 litres at a local cooper, oak-charred to a crocodile char and filled with Generations Gin.

The same style barrels were also sourced to make the company’s first whisky, which is still at least 12 months away from release.

Barossa Distilling Managing Director Neil Bullock said the gin was barrel-aged in the same way as whisky is traditionally matured.

“Back in the old days they would store the gin in an oak barrel in a ship’s ballast and effectively by the time it got to its destination it would have been barrel aged, depending on how far the journey was,” he said.

“It’s confusing to the palate in a way because it’s got a little bit of a whisky characteristic – it’s very much a gin but it sits somewhere between the two in terms of the flavour profile it’s delivering and you get those toffee and honey characteristics that you would find in a Speyside- style sherry or port cask-finished whisky."



The 40% ABV Barrel-Aged Gin is $125 for a 700ml bottle and is available through the Barossa Distilling Company website or at its cellar door in the Old Penfolds Distillery building in Nuriootpa. My sample must still be on its way!

Gin is the star attraction at “The Distillery”, the tasting room and craft spirits bar the company opened permanently in the iconic distillery last August.

The original Penfolds distillery was built in 1913 and for almost a century produced brandy and fortified wines for one of Australia’s most famous wineries.



Bullock said the unique rooms, featuring old stills, 10-metre-high ceilings and an original cast iron spiral staircase, provided the ideal setting for people wanting an alternative to wine.

“Once people have done their wine tasting they’re very keen for a bit of a palate cleanser and something a little bit different. They can walk in here and try our spirits or simply sit down to enjoy a cocktail or a gin and tonic,” he said.

The Distillery is open seven days, 11am-5pm Sunday to Thursday and 11am-8pm Friday and Saturday. It also serves local beers, artisan Barossa wines, tasting platters and a range of other local and imported spirits.

New pop-up tasting destination for wine lovers in Tasmania

Waterton Hall Wines, a small Tasmanian wine producer with ambition, has launched a pop-up cellar door for tastings during the state's peak summer tourism period. 

For the first time, the family-run Rowella vineyard is offering a pop-up cellar door experience, following the complete restoration of an on-site convict-built barn on the historic estate, which dates back to the 1850s. 

Throughout January and for the first weekend of February, the cellar door offers visitors the chance to sample and buy wine direct. 

Waterton Hall has lifted its profile since being sold to former beef entrepreneurs David and Susan Shannon, in partnership with her brother John Carter and his wife Belinda Evans, in 2014. 

The property is a beautiful one with the Hall, historic outbuildings and surrounding vineyards enjoying sweeping views of the Tamar River. 

Vines were first planted on the site in the early 1990s and in the past two years the vineyard has expanded to a commercial size of 10 hectares with wines crafted by Winemaking Tasmania. 

The pop-up cellar doors will be held at Waterton Hall Wines every weekend in January and the first weekend in February, from Friday to Monday, 11am to 4pm.