Elle
November 2003
Great Escapes, P.116
Between demanding careers and busy social lives, it's not easy to
take time off to enjoy each other. Before you know it, your life
as a couple has about as much excitement as reaching over for the
remote to change the TV channel. But fret not, because help is just
a mouse click away (and with so many of us connected to the Internet
virtually 24/7, there's really no excuse)! At asia-hotels.com, there's
a heady selection of 300 of the Asia Pacific's best hotels and resorts
to choose from. From secluded beach retreats to eco-friendly hotels
and cosmopolitan city escapes, ELLE brings you our top five picks
to revive starry eyed romance.
Romantic seclusion
It really doesn't get better than the Tanjung Rhu Resort on Langkawi.
A thousand plus acres of casuarinas and mangrove forest, pristine
sand, 2.5km of private beach, limestone hills rising majestically
above lush green jungle, the azure green of the Andaman Sea, a luxurious
spa, golfing and tennis facilities (among others) and best of all,
space. And by golly, there's lots of it here!
With even the basic rooms coming in at 50 square meters - equivalent
of a suite in most other resorts - you'll never have to worry about
bumping into any furniture (or anyone else for that matter). Rosy
timber flooring, tasteful décor and French windows leading
to balconies overlooking the landscaped garden (or scenic ocean
and pool views if you're staying in higher room categories) add
to the spacious feel. And they haven't stinged on the size of the
bathroom either, with a sumptuous bathtub you will definitely want
to have a long soak in.
Given it's isolated location and the vast amount of space, you'll
feel almost as if the resort is your own private hideaway, and the
management has also ensured that you'll want for nothing here. Each
of the 135 rooms comes equipped with a TV, VCR and CD player, and
the Reading Room stocks a wide selection of videos and CDs which
guests can borrow. The Reading Room is also one of the best places
to catch the sunset, thanks to the wonderful vistas of the sea.
As if the view is not enough, there's also an array of aromatic
teas and coffees (plus savories pastries) for you to enjoy. You'll
be hard pressed not to find something to suit your palate, thanks
to the three restaurants which serve up a diverse selection of cuisines.
For a good old-fashioned couple bonding, go on one of the resort's
nature tours where you can experience eagle feeding first hand or
simply absorb the sounds of nature. Alternatively, hire a boat for
fishing or for a trip around the island (in the evening, just before
sunset is best). If you're not inclined to be energetic, simply
lounge under one of the many casuarinas trees dotting the beach
or by the sunset pool, a 60 meter swimming pool that screeches off
towards the sundeck at the horizon. There's always the Jivarhu Spa
to to retreat to for a few relaxing hours, where you can book a
couple spa villa and indulge in pampering treatments like the Rainforest
Shower, designed to soothe (and smooth) stressed out minds and bodies.
But the icing on the cake at Tanjung Rhu has got to be the private
tents they can set up on the private beach for you to enjoy a sumptuous
moonlit and star laden dinner. A chef and staff will be on hand
to discreetly dish up your supper while you enjoy the sunset and
sip your cocktails to the gentle lapping waves of the Andaman Sea
- a sweet sound that will remain with you throughout your stay here
in this secluded paradise.
TANJUNG RHU RESORT
Mukin Ayer Hangat, Langkawi, Malaysia
Tel: +60-4-959-1033
Fax: +60-4-959-1899
www.asiahotels.com/hotelinfo/Tanjung_Rhu_Resort/
Silk Air flies
direct to Langkawi five times a week from Singapore, with departures
on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Sunday.
Old World
Charm
For history and Old World glamour, the Raffles Hotel Le
Royal is
hard to beat. The top address in Phnom Penh, it is owned and run
by the Singapore-based Raffles Group. Built in 1929, Le Royal bears
all the hallmarks of its rich colonial heritage, both in architecture
and furnishings. Surprisingly, it survived all the political and
social upheavals and was fully restored and re-opened in 1997.
Inside the hallowed hotel, the interior is at once elegant and majestic,
with chequered tiled corridors, European archways and cigar rooms
to boot. In the original main building (two courtyard wings were
added during the restoration), you'll find Landmark rooms and suites
sumptuously decorated in the colonial style, with touches of Khmer
art and original antiques. The hotel also boasts of Personality
suites, dedicated to past dignitaries like Charles de Gaulle, Somerset
Maugham and the late queen of style herself, Jacqueline Kennedy.
The hotel spans an entire city block and the three connecting wings
enclose an attractive leafy pool that offers respite from the hustle
and bustle of Phnom Penh. The Amrita Spa is another ideal escape,
although given the lushness of Le Royal, you'll be forgiven if you
decide to stay in and lounge. The eight restaurants and bars in
the hotel definitely make this an attractive option worth considering!
RAFFLES HOTEL
LE ROYAL
Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Tel: +885-23-981-888
Fax: +885-23-981-168
www.asiahotels.com/hotelinfo/Raffles_Hotel_Le_Royal
Magnificent
Splendour
Going to an Aman
resort anywhere is an experience in itself. Throw in the magnificent
Borobudur and what you get is a super love out of this world encounter.
Consisting of only 36 free-standing villas, Amanjiwo (which translates
to Peaceful Soul is cradled in a natural amphitheatre with a quartet
of volcanoes on the horizon. In the middle of the Kodu rica plains
rises Borobudur, the largest Buddist sanctuary ever built.
Privacy is the
order of the day here (15 suites have their own pools) and all the
suites come with an outdoor pavilion ideal for dining and lolling.
Inside, you'll find the decor typically Yogjakartan - high ceilings,
wooden screens, batik pillows and glass paintings - and surrounding
the four-pillar (yes, we're taking pillars and not a regular four-
poster) bed which is set on a raised herrazza platform in the centre.
Exploring Borobudur
aside, Amanjiwo has an art studio (there's usually an artist in
residence) where guests can make use of the easel and paints whenever
they wish to. You'll also find in your suite a watercolour set and
if you're so inclined, you can go on one of their morning guided
tours to the countryside for some charcoal sketchings.
To top it all
off, you can bath enjoy the Javanese traditional massage called
pijat, a healing and hedonistic treatment in the privacy of your
suite, along with any other facials, cream baths and treatments
you desire. All that's left for you to do after is to emerge refreshed
and ready to sip your sunset cocktails at the Bar built around the
soaring bell-shaped rotunda which is the heart (and the highest
point) of the resort. Sheer absolute bliss.
AMANJIWO
Borobudur, Central Java, Indonesia
Tel: +62-293788333
Fax: +62-293-738-355
www.asiahotels.com/hotelinfo/Amanjiwo
Escape in the City
When The Peninsula
Bangkok opened in 1998, some people prophesied that it would meet
an early demise as it was situated on the "wrong side of the
river". But contrary to the naysayers, the hotel not only has
legions of guests willing to catch the shuttle boat across the Chao
Praya to reach it, but also scooped "The World's Best Hotel"
award in Travel & Leisure's annual readers' poll for 2003!
It boasts superb
standards of service and accommodation, and river views to die for.
On your first evening here, fill the marble bath tub with bath salts
or bubbles, put on your favorite CD, fiddle with the mood lighting
until it's just right and then slide into the tub to enjoy the sheer
luxury of it all. The property is the perfect escape when you have
tired of thronging the shops in the city and carting your 15 shopping
bags around. Relax on one of the sundecks by the 60-metre triple-tiered
(we kid you not) swimming pool that is reminiscent of a Bangkok
klong (waterway), only cleaner! Aside from the now de rigueur spa,
there's also enough quality cuisine here to keep your appetite whetted.
For workaholics,
each of the 370 rooms comes with fax machines with personal numbers,
dataports, dual-voltage sockets and double-lined telephones. But
really, in a place like this, you won't be thinking about work.
And did we mention that you can choose to skip (if you've got deep
pockets) the notorious Bangkok traffic jams on the way to the airport
by hopping unto a helicopter from the Paribatra Lounge on the 37th
floor?
THE PENINSULA
BANGKOK
Bangkok, Thailand
Tel: +66-2-861-2888
Fax: +66-2-861-1112
www.asiahotels.com/hotelinfo/Peninsula_Bangkok
One
with nature
There
are hotels and then there are hotels. The Kandalama Hotel definitely
belongs to the latter category. Barely visible from a distance,
the hotel is built into (and we mean into) a cliff near the foot
of two mountains and locks down on to Dambulla tank, a two-million-old
reservoir that still supplies water to the farms in the area, It's
also smock in the middle of a 54-acre forest that is home to trees,
medicinal plants and 165 different species of birds!
Stretching over
one kilometre, the Kandalama lets nature take centrestage with forest
trees brushing against galleries and windows, flowering woodland
creepers acting as curtains for balconies and terraces of wild grass
covering the roofs. The rooms don't boast of fancy decor, but they
are comfortably decked out and come with modern amenities. Best
of all, they remain that calm aura of a secret cliff-side hideaway.
One of the few
resorts in the world that has its own Eco Park, you can see for
yourself the recycling of water for the rooftop gardens and even
sewage being dried in the sun and composted! Not your usual R&R
activities for sure, but something that harks of the hotel's eco-friendly
philosophy. There's also a plant nursery and beehives to tour and
an extensive ecolibrary for the inquisitive.
More adventurous
souls will want to check out the fifth century rock fortress of
Sigirya [visible from the hotel's glorious infinity swimming pool]
as well as the ancient cities of Anurodhapura and Polannaruwa, both
within driving distance. If you still have energy left, there's
the hike to Kaludiya Pokuna, an ancient archaeological site. Granted
you'll probably return mentally invigorated and physically spent,
but then there's always the hotel's Ayurvedic spa to go and have
all your aches and pains massaged away.
KANDALAMA HOTEL
Dambulla, Sri Lanka
Tel: +94-66-84100
Fax: + 94+66+84109
www.asiahotels.com/hotelinfo/Kandalama_Hotel/
|
