Pier One Sydney Harbour Unveils the Gantry Restaurant & Bar

Hot on the heels of the announcement of appointing new Executive Chef, internationally renowned Chris Irving, Pier One Sydney Harbour has today confirmed Sydney's most anticipated new dining destination The Gantry Restaurant & Bar will open mid December. The release of the first images reveal what is set to be the most unique Sydney dining experience to open on the Harbour in recent years. The restaurant and bar present a stunning contemporary interpretation in keeping with the historic location in The Rocks, utilising materials which reflect the past as well as the latest in international styling.

The Gantry Restaurant & Bar, Pier One Sydney Harbour

The Gantry Restaurant & Bar harks back to the original structures on Pier One, which served to connect the city with North Sydney prior to the completion of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Whilst Pier One has always welcomed travellers to Sydney, today it serves both Sydney residents and a discerning international public alike.

A cultural hub rich in history as well as a vibrant harbourside setting, The Gantry Restaurant & Bar is located within Sydney's best-kept secret – Pier One Sydney Harbour hotel. Whilst Pier One has been adapted into a stunning hotel, neighbouring maritime wharves have become home to some of Sydney's most unique and inspiring performing arts theatres and venues including Sydney Theatre Company, Bangarra Dance Theatre and Sydney Dance Company.

Set to become the heart of the Walsh Bay precinct, The Gantry Restaurant & Barwill offer locals, artists and theatre-goers alike, an inviting and relaxed dining experience.

“The Gantry will be an incomparable indoor and outdoor restaurant and bar. It will blend contemporary design with the noble features of its past. As the signature restaurant of Australia's inaugural Autograph Collection hotel, we look forward to offering guests an unsurpassed dining and drinking experience combined with the finest views Sydney has to offer,” Owner Robert Magid commented.

The restaurant will embrace market-fresh and seasonal produce with a rustic and interactive flair. As the chefs prepare cold larder around the Chef's Table in the dining room, guests are invited to select their seafood from the seafood bar and watch the happenings of the larger open kitchen up close.

Designed by Bates Smart, with a portfolio including Neil Perry's Spice Temple and Gordon Ramsay Holding's Maze Melbourne, this is a restaurant made for guests to expect the unexpected. The interiors of The Gantry Restaurant & Barwill respect the personality of Pier One Sydney Harbour. Hand selected European furniture will be perfectly framed against the backdrop of the water with an overhanging pergola, and extensive outdoor landscaping and seating, inviting guests to relax, dine and enjoy the activities on the harbour.

“With our new internationally acclaimed Executive Chef at the helm, The Gantry will not only create an innovative, stylish and welcoming dining destination, but will be one of the most highly sought experiences in Sydney. Driven by authentic, market-fresh practices, we're delighted that guests are able to embrace an ambience where every element has a story to be told, carefully selected and thoughtfully prepared. Alongside the bar and restaurant, the soon to be announced new outdoor pier experience will ensure that every guest relishes the tranquil surrounds. It's all about nourishing your mind, body and spirit,” explains General Manager Kim Mahaffy.

About Chris Irving

Hailing from Canada, Pier One's highly acclaimed international Executive Chef Chris Irving possesses a diverse culinary background few can compare. Having cooked for Her Majesty The Queen of England, opened his own successful restaurant, sailed the seas as the Executive Chef on-board a private Super Yacht, had the great honour of trusted chef-consultant to the Spanish Royal Family, cooked alongside Gordon Ramsay for over four years earning his place in the spotlight and appointed as Private Chef to David & Victoria Beckham, and most recently was guest chef at Marriott Sukhumvit, Bangkok. In only nine years Chris has created an inspiring legacy, and he now has his sights set on Sydney.

“Australian agriculture and seafood has an undisputed reputation of being world class, so I am thrilled for this opportunity to be able to work in such a geographically dynamic location! My passion has always been regional, seasonal and sustainable; with focus on giving respect to individual ingredients. Allowing their amazing unique flavors to shine without overworking their natural integrity; whether it be an heirloom tomato or a hand-reared suckling pig. I thrive on cooking beautiful, uncomplicated, approachable food, and aspire to making rustic tradition relevant to contemporary life.”

About Pier One Sydney Harbour

Pier One Sydney Harbour, Autograph Collection offers an exclusive waterfront experience in the heart of one of the world's most glamorous destinations. The hotel is located within easy access to the historic Rocks precinct, Circular Quay, the Sydney Opera House and stylish shopping of Castlereagh St. The hotel'sGantry Restaurant & Bar offers alfresco dining on the Pier with the added element that guests can arrive in style by water taxi or by private yacht using the hotel's private pontoon. Travel by water also provides direct access to additional cultural attractions including the Botanic Gardens, King St Wharf, Darling Harbour, Lady Macquarie Steps, Manly and Watson's Bay. Pier One Sydney Harbour is steeped in history, being transformed from a working wharf to a cargo and passenger transit point to its stunning transformation into a hotel, where the historic details of its past have been intricately included into the modern and contemporary design that is Pier One Sydney Harbour today.

For more information please visit: http://www.pieronesydneyharbour.com.au, or explore our social media channel:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PierOneSydneyHarbour
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/PierOneSydney
Instagram: http://instagram.com/pieronesydney

About Autograph Collection

The Autograph Collection is an evolving ensemble of strikingly independent hotels. Each destination has been selected for its quality, bold originality, rich character and uncommon details. From near to far, iconic to historic, the result is an array of properties that is nothing less than unique, nothing short of collectively exceptional.

For more information please visit www.autographhotels.com, or explore our social media channels to learn more about championing the independent spirit:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/AutographCollection
Twitter: www.twitter.com/Autograph
Tumblr: http://autographcollectionhotels.tumblr.com/

Traveloscopy | 

New walking tour of Cape Town

EXPLORE CAMISSA - THE LOST “PLACE OF SWEET WATERS”

A NEW WALKING TOUR TO DISCOVER THE SWEET WATERS OF CAMISSA FOR GUESTS OF THE TABLE BAY HOTEL, CAPE TOWN

The Table Bay hotel, located on Cape Town’s cosmopolitan Victoria & Alfred Waterfront, has created a partnership with Reclaim Camissa, a local non-profit Trust, to offer guests a new authentic experience to discover the history of Cape Town and the surrounding area. Table Bay hotel guests are invited to explore the origins of the waters that stretch between Robben Island and Table Mountain, both world UNESCO Heritage sites. The 1.5 hour Camissa Walk - revealing the complex history of Cape Town – will end at The Table Bay’s exclusive Camissa restaurant where guests are invited to sample an exquisite South African- inspired meal.

Sherwin Banda, General Manager at the Table Bay Hotel says:

“Camissa – ‘the place of sweet waters’ is the original Khoi name for Cape Town and the reason we named our latest restaurant. We also wanted to give our guests the opportunity to discover Cape Town’s cultural and environmental heritage and to learn more about the role of water in the city landscape, linking mountain to sea, past to future and people to the environment.”

During the Camissa Walk, guests will follow the water’s course, from the mountain, through mills, wash houses where slaves took the population’s laundry, the shrines of local saints and other forgotten landmarks to discover the earliest roots of the city of Cape Town. The walk begins uphill to discover De Grendel - the Dutch word for the lock - from where the original main water supply into the city was controlled, after the Dutch settlement. From there they will stop en-route at the Lower Platterklip Waterfall, The Platteklip Dam and Mill, the Wash Houses where legend tells us that Hafiz’s Magic Ring was found, and eventually The Old Oranjezicht Farmstead, home to Cape Town’s first Mayor and the site of the Stadsfontein. For the most adventurous, the tour can include an additional experience that will allow guests to enter underground tunnels that carries the old river to the moat of the Castle of Good Hope.

“For centuries, Camissa was the life blood of the old city bowl, defining its culture, history and even its urban layout. Following the water’s course, the walk offers a fresh and eye-opening perspective on the city,” comments Caron von Zeil, from Reclaim Camissa.

The tour will be guided by Caron von Zeil and has been developed in conjunction with events and team building company, Fo8, which leads the tunnel portion of the tour, providing gumboots, headlamps and other necessary equipment.

The experience, which includes the sweet water tour and the lunch at Camissa, is available for all the Hotel Guests subject to availability. Price on request.

For reservations, please contact www.suninternational.com or tel: +27 11 780 7878.

APT Named Best River Cruise Line at Telegraph Travel Awards 2014

Leading luxury cruise and tour operator, APT, has been named Best River Cruise Line at the UK’s prestigious Telegraph Travel Awards 2014.

Voted on by almost 90,000 people, the awards are recognised as being the most comprehensive, wide-ranging and reliable reader survey in the world.

APT was also named runner up in the Escorted Tour Operator category.

Held on the 8th December 2014 at Banking Hall in central London, the awards included product and destination categories.

Commenting on the award, APT CEO Chris Hall said, “We are delighted to have been voted Best River Cruise Line and also runner up as Best Escorted Tour Operator and would like to thank all our loyal guests for voting for us.

“Each and every member of our team is dedicated to exceeding customer expectations with every experience they have with us. Winning these awards is a direct reflection of their efforts. Assisting our team in the UK is our product, operations and onboard staff and crew, all of whom have played a huge part in this. I would therefore like to publically thank everyone at APT for their contribution and dedication in providing unforgettable travel experiences for our guests each and every day.”

To find out more about APT’s award winning cruise and touring programs call 1300 196 420, visit aptouring.com.au or see your local travel agent.

Anantara's Festive Corals in the Maldives

Anantara Kihavah Villas is putting a tropical twist on tradition with an eco-friendly underwater coral Christmas tree this festive season. Made entirely from reef coral collected from the seabed at Anantara Dhigu and Anantara Veli in the South Male Atoll, and the northern Anantara Kihavah Villas in the Maldives' UNESCO Marine Biosphere Baa Atoll region, Anantara in the Maldives is taking its unique coral adoption initiative to new festive depths.

 In Kihavah, diners at the resort's signature gourmet Sea Restaurant, and one of the few underwater restaurants in the world, can view the Christmas tree display along with striped lionfish, moray eel and eagle rays while savouring the Indian Ocean's abundance of marine life.

 At our cluster of three resorts in the South Male Atoll, coral trees will be placed under the water to welcome guests as they arrive at the jetty of each resort. Guests can also snorkel in the lagoon to view these unique festive decorations, as well as admire their glistening reflections with night-time illuminations.

 In its commitment to protect the environment, Anantara initiated the Coral Adoption Programme in June 2010 when Aquafanatics created a coral nursery on Anantara Dhigu island resort to recover and replace broken coral in the lagoon.  This long term project, that is now available at all Anantara resorts in the Maldives, shares learning experiences with guests, accelerates the regeneration of coral growth in the atoll reefs, and ultimately ensures the future of this unique Maldivian destination.  Guests can participate in reef creation and contribute to the on-going conservation effort by adopting a coral frame and transplanting coral onto the frame with the help of the resorts' resident marine biologists. A dedicated website allows guests to monitor the growth of their adopted coral.

To book a festive escape in the Maldivian sun, Anantara and Naladhu Maldives invites guests to eat, drink, relax and be merry with bookings on anantara.com and naladhu.com.

Press Release: Eat, drink, relax and be merry above and below the water with Anantara and Naladhu Maldives this festive season.

Imagine spending the festive season this year in the world famous paradise of the Maldives. Picture yourself relaxing where the water is 29 degrees all year round, in a private sanctuary with or without a private pool, a step away from silky sands or perched directly above the azure Indian Ocean. Welcome to Anantara and Naladhu in the Maldives, where a festive escape in the sun and dreams of a white sand celebration are paired with memories for a lifetime across our resorts in Baa Atoll and South Male Atoll.

 A wide array of accommodation choices are complimented by the perfect festive experience at Anantara Kihavah Villas, Anantara Dhigu, Anantara Veli and Naladhu Maldives. Enjoy a Christmas Eve buffet dinner, serenaded by Atoll Angels Choir in Kihavah as well as Anantara Dhigu and Veli, where renowned African-American jazz and blues singer Coco York will also entertain guests with her resounding voice and captivating stage presence.

 Create a Christmas snapshot that tells an unforgettable tale of Indian Ocean adventure with an "Underwater Photo Shoot".  Dive or snorkel into crystal clear waters and experience a thematically surreal world beneath the shimmering surface, where tropical fish swim around Anantara's eco-friendly underwater Christmas trees made from coral. Unable to resist the fun and events, Santa Claus will also be making unusual entrances the delight guests young and old with presents and good cheer.

 At Ananatara Kihavah, spoil yourselves with a connoisseur experience of dazzling ocean marine life without ever entering the water. Descend to Kihavah's exclusive and signature underwater restaurant and wine cellar, Sea, for a gourmet dining experience like no other as kaleidoscopic sea creatures glide gracefully beyond the glass, in full view of the underwater coral Christmas tree.

 Ushering in a new dawn and a new year full of adventures, in welcoming 2015 Anantara Kihavah will be bringing the Spice and Silk Routes to the island with dishes and decorations inspired by traders over the decades to a backdrop of modern Bollywood entertainment and midnight fireworks.

 At our cluster of three resorts in South Male Atoll, just 35 minutes by speedboat from Male, at Anantara Veli the adults-only guests enjoy a "Simply White" themed night of sparkling elegance and entertainment, releasing lanterns into the sky at midnight. At Anantara Dhigu families, friends and couples can choose their favourite character from The Jungle Book and enjoy the "Bare Necessities of Life" to colourful decorations and delectable treats, counting down to fireworks as the clock strikes 12. Across the lagoon at Naladhu Maldives, Captain's Table is the theme for a night of reverie and revelry under a star studded sky that will be illuminated with a firework display of unimaginable colours.

 Spend the festive season in paradise and choose your dream experience at your choice of Anantara resorts and Naladhu Maldives. Reservations can be made by contacting the Maldives Central Reservations office on reservations.maldives@anantara.com

The Great Australian Beer Festival (GABF) returns to Geelong

#beer

BIG THINGS BREWING FOR THIRD ANNUAL GREAT AUSTRALIAN BEER FESTIVAL!

The Great Australian Beer Festival (GABF) returns to the Geelong Racecourse on Saturday February 21, 2015.

Brewers and beer lovers make the annual pilgrimage to the city by the bay (only an hour's drive from the Melbourne CBD), to join with the locals and experience Victoria's premier celebration of beer and ciders, Australia's biggest alfresco craft beer and cider garden.

Wander through pop-up bars to sample over 200 Australian and international brews, visit stalls and stroll alleyways to discover an artisan utopia of boutique beers and ciders. Add live music over 3 stages, beer cabaret, comedy, visual arts and a restaurant filled Tastes of the Region, and this festival has all you need for an irresistible weekend.

Taste some homebrew or learn from free seminars on topics like 'How to taste beer' or 'Pairing beer with a range of foods'. Drink, eat, socialise and be merry with plenty of opportunity to kick back, enjoy and to stimulate more than just your tastebuds.

The Great Australian Beer Festival is setting up to be bigger and better than ever before, with more brewers, more space, free beer related seminars, a Tastes of the Region dining area to profile local restaurants, on trend gourmet food trucks, competitions for home brewing, keg rolling and BEERtography along with live entertainment including roaming performers, cabaret, comedy and live music across three stages.

Lose yourself to the sounds of worldly music, from the reggae and Calypso of Nicky Bomba & Friends, to a variety of indie, jazz, funk, folk, blue grass and country.

For further details:  www.gabf.com.au

Sydney’s flourishing hotel scene - new openings and refurbishments

Sydney’s accommodation sector is experiencing a multi-million dollar revitalisation according to NSW Government’s tourism and major events agency Destination NSW, following a recent spate of openings, refurbishments and announced hotel developments.

Deputy Premier and Minister for Tourism and Major Events Troy Grant said, “Sydney received more than 11.5 million domestic and international overnight visitors in the past financial year and the opening of new and refurbished hotels and announcement of forthcoming developments is a major win for visitors to NSW.”

Last week saw the re-opening of The Langham Hotel, a luxurious 5 star boutique hotel in The Rocks, following a $30 million refurbishment. The hotel now boasts spacious guestrooms, luxury amenities and fine dining including the famous Langham Afternoon Tea.

In Sydney’s leafy suburb of Double Bay, the hotly anticipated InterContinental Sydney Double Bay opened its doors last month after a multi-million dollar refurbishment of the former Ritz Carlton property, transforming the hotel into an Eastern Suburbs destination, complete with rooftop pool and concept gin bar. November also saw the Amora Hotel Jamison Sydney complete a $12 million refurbishment, refreshing and revitalising the 5-star hotel.

Looking ahead to 2015 the designer hotel, QT Bondi Beach is set to open mid-year and will offer one-of-a-kind boutique apartments on iconic Bondi Beach. Hotel giant Accor has announced a $100 million development to open a 5-star hotel, Pullman Sydney Airport, in May 2016, and Sofitel Sydney Darling Harbour in 2017 as part of the International Convention Centre Sydney development.

Hotels across the State are also experiencing developments, including the highly anticipated re-opening of The Hydro Majestic, in the Blue Mountains, which will welcome overnight guests on 23 December 2014, just in time for Christmas. A new IBIS Styles property at The Entrance is also due to open in mid-December. Overlooking Tuggerah Lakes, IBIS Styles will feature 52 rooms and be a short distance the region’s many picturesque beaches. Earlier this year, Parklands Country Gardens and Lodges opened in Blackheath, with extensive refurbishments also taking place at both Anchorage Port Stephens and ATURA Albury.

How much can a Koala – and a Macaw - bear?

Pictured talking to the animals at the Australia Zoo Steve Irwin Gala Dinner taking place at the Brisbane Convention Centre, MTA – Mobile Travel Agents co-managing directors, Karen and Roy Merricks.

One of the biggest fund raising events taking place on the annual Queensland calendar, the Merricks played an active role in the fundraiser, successfully bidding for three framed tennis rackets signed by Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.

The framed rackets, one of more than 500 auction items up for grabs on the night, will no doubt take pride of place in the company's Robina, Gold Coast, boardroom in coming days.

W:       www.mtatravel.com.au