GT 2012 Travel Awards

London

Hottest International City: London

Runner-up: New York

Well, it’s obvious isn’t it? London is clearly the most exciting city of 2012. Where else will you witness the twin glories of the Games of the XXX Olympiad and the diamond jubilee of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II? A concerted city clean-up in anticipation of this momentous year means the UK capital is shining like never before and brimming with sublime new hotels (buongiorno Bulgari) and internationally renowned cuisine (who’d have thought?). When a 1000-strong flotilla sails down the Thames to mark the queen’s 60th year on the throne, and when 11 million ticketholders flock to East London to watch athletes battle it out for world supremacy in the Olympic and Paralympic Games, no place on Earth will come close to London for sheer pomp and ceremony. The other big thing in its favour right now is the strong Australian dollar, which means the notoriously expensive capital is more affordable than it’s been in decades. visitlondon.com

MONA, Tas

Standout Australian Travel Experience: MONA, Tas

Runner-up: Cruising the Kimberley with Orion, WA

When it debuted in January last year MONA took Australia – and dare we say it, the world – by complete surprise. Millionaire entrepreneur and art collector David Walsh stunned everyone with his sandstone and steel monument to modern and ancient art deep in the suburbs of Hobart. Controversial works such as a euthanasia machine and the novelty of iPod guides captivated gallery-goers, and before we knew it Walsh’s Wonka-like genius was being applauded near and far. It’s not quite Bilbao yet but Hobart has definitely become hip since MONA’s debut. Not least thanks to Walsh, whose Berriedale acropolis comprises the $150 million Museum of Old and New Art, cutting-edge riverside villas, a fine winery and restaurant, a brewery and even an annual music festival. No wonder it’s been voted Gourmet Traveller’s standout travel experience for the second consecutive year. mona.net.au

Arkaba Station, SA

Best Outback Experience: Arkaba Station, SA

Runner-up: Bamurru Plains, NT

You know you’ve reached the outback when your four-seater Beechcraft touches down at Hawker airstrip, 350km due north of Adelaide, and all you can see is a Hans Heysen landscape. In this remote frontier land, Arkaba sheep station, circa 1851, has been reborn for the 21st century as a sanctuary of chilled towels and open bar. With just five bush-luxe suites, the vibe is intimate, a civilised boutique resort so far from civilisation. The hedonism of the homestead is offset by 4WD safaris and discovery walks through the 24,000-hectare station whose landscape varies wildly from baked grass plains to forests of native cypress and the rippled contours of the 500-million-year-old Flinders Ranges. Hardcore hikers can join Arkaba’s four-day walks from Wilpena Pound to the historic woolshed, fuelled by gourmet meals, excellent wines and the world’s most comfortable swags – all of it proudly South Australian. arkabastation.com

Qualia, Hamilton Island, Qld

Best Australian Island Resort: Qualia, Hamilton Island, Qld

Runner-up: Lizard Island, Qld

Hamilton Island has never looked as good as it has since the Oatley family took over as owners. Bob Oatley’s constant investment in the island has delivered the glamorous new Yacht Club Villas and revamped Palm Bungalows, the spectacular Hamilton Island golf course and the boatie buzz of Race Week. Every improvement has lifted the tone at Hamilton but what finally secured its reputation as a decadent luxury escape was Qualia, the poster resort of the Whitsundays. Its 60 pavilions are airy eyries of timber, sandstone and glass where every whim is attended to and every care forgotten. Views and dining in the Long Pavilion are both exceptional – never more so than during the Great Barrier Feast series and the Australian Ballet’s Pas de Deux in Paradise performances. Relaxed lunchtime dining or sunset cocktails at Pebble Beach, with its infinity pool and swaying palms, is like living in a postcard. qualia.com.au

Park Hyatt Sydney, NSW

EXPERT PANEL AWARDS

Best Capital City Hotel: Park Hyatt Sydney, NSW

Runners-up: InterContinental Melbourne The Rialto, Vic; Crown Towers, Melbourne, Vic

The Park Hyatt Sydney went from invisible to invincible when it reopened in March after almost a year under wraps. A $60 million renovation has left the 22-year-old landmark looking brand new and more beautiful than ever. Its 155 bedrooms now make the most of their enviable position with glass walls and private terraces to capture all the drama of the working harbour, the bridge and the Opera House across the quay. The hotel’s most picture-perfect suites are the three secure rooftop apartments that offer the ultimate in privacy and comfort and the most mesmerising views of Circular Quay and surrounds. Sympathetic interiors of local sandstone and timber have been decorated with striking Australian artworks, while the inspired use of glass and mirrors seems to bring the harbour into the hotel. sydney.park.hyatt.com

Logan Wines, NSW

Best Cellar Door Experience: Logan Wines, NSW

Runner-up: Montalto Vineyard and Olive Grove, Vic

Former Sydney chemist turned winemaker Peter Logan knows a thing or two about winning formulas. At his Orange and Mudgee vineyards in central west NSW, he’s created a suite of award-winning cool-climate wines ranging from sparkling and shiraz to riesling and a pretty rosé named after his wife, Hannah. Wine lovers have enjoyed the fruits of his labours since 1997 but the Logan experience got even tastier recently with the opening of a new cellar door, perched on the spur of a ridge above the Cudgegong River valley at Apple Tree Flat. The open gallery with glass walls and sun-drenched deck captures sweeping views over vine-striped valleys to the mountains of the Great Dividing Range and is the ideal spot to sample wines from the Logan, Weemala and Apple Tree Flat labels – perhaps with a side order of local cheeses. A taste of the good life. loganwines.com.au

Lizard Island, Qld

Best Resort or Lodge: Lizard Island, Qld

Runner-up: Southern Ocean Lodge, Kangaroo Island, SA

Of all the Great Barrier Reef’s many hundreds of islands, Lizard is arguably the most blissful. It’s a 1013-hectare national park fringed by the World Heritage-listed wonder of the planet’s largest living structure, meaning its basic specs are hard to beat. Factor in the 40-room Lizard Island Resort, recently restored to its five-star shimmer, and there’s really no contest. The chic design and finishes of the resort’s Anchor Bay suites make for the ultimate Barrier Reef beach-houses. The reef is a mere stumble away down a sandy path while dive guides are always on hand to escort guests on once-in-a lifetime excursions to the outer reef and famous Cod Hole. Relaxed fine dining at Ospreys restaurant offers seafood as fresh as the soft breezes lifting off the waters. Or load a lunch hamper onto a dinghy for a private picnic on one of the island’s 24 beaches and relax; you’re in paradise. lizardisland.com.au

Coolum Golf and Spa, Qld

Best Golf Resort: Coolum Golf and Spa, Qld

Runner-up: Barnbougle, Tas

The home of the Australian PGA Championship was always going to be a strong contender for our inaugural best golf resort award; but its appeal goes beyond the lure of its stunning Robert Trent Jones Jr-designed course. The key to Coolum’s enduring chemistry is its one-resort-fits-all philosophy. The 150-hectare integrated resort, formerly known as Hyatt Regency Coolum, unfolds at the base of Mount Coolum on the Sunshine Coast, its 18-hole course nestled amid the rainforest with ample water hazards, bunkers, bushland and doglegs to tempt and taunt the most proficient golfer. But aside from an internationally renowned arena for the golf tragics in the family, there are spa facilities, restaurants, no fewer than nine swimming pools and a kids club for youngsters. Golf widows and orphans never had it so good. coolumgolfandspa.com.au

Singapore

Best Stopover City: Singapore

Runner-up: Hong Kong

In the space of a generation Singapore has morphed from dreary pit stop to destination in its own right. It’s not just the pace-setting Changi airport that inspires with innovative offerings such as short-stay hotel, spa, entertainment centre and even a butterfly garden. In recent years the city itself has transformed from sleepy hollow to slick metropolis renowned for its shopping (we’re not just talking Orchard Road – check out the gentrified Chinatown for bespoke local purchases and the luxury labels of the gargantuan new Marina Bay Sands), designer hotels, funky bars and exciting dining that runs a tasty gamut from street food to sophisticated gastronomy from the likes of Tetsuya Wakuda, Guy Savoy, and Ignatius Chan of Iggy’s. And of course there’s also the lure of the world’s most recognisable new water feature, the infinity-edged SkyPark pool floating more than 55 storeys above the skyscraper city. yoursingapore.com

Emirates

Best Airline Service: Emirates

Runner-up: Qantas

The Dubai-based Emirates Airlines has been a game-changer in the global airline industry since it first took to the skies in 1985, continually raising the bar for in-flight and on-ground services. Highlights of the carrier’s innovative approach include the introduction of showers in its first-class A380 suites, chauffeur-driven airport transfers for premium flyers, and an in-flight entertainment system offering more than 1200 channels to all passenger classes. Emirates now flies to more than 120 destinations worldwide, and with one of the fastest-growing fleets in the sky, the airline has made Australia a particular focus of its international network: more than 70 flights a week connect airports across the country to the wider world. Factor in some of the industry’s most spacious economy class seats and the introduction of WiFi across its A380 fleet. emirates.com

Orion Expedition Cruises

Best Cruise Line: Orion Expedition Cruises

Runner-up: Cunard

Australians love a homegrown success story, so it’s no surprise Orion has sailed into the top spot again this year. Orion was founded by former Cunard Line Asia Pacific vice-president Sarina Bratton in 2004, with its debut tapping into the burgeoning obsession with small-ship ocean adventures and opening the nation’s coastal wilderness to explorers as well as venturing north to exotic neighbours such as the Spice Islands and Papua New Guinea. Eight years on, the fleet has doubled in size and Orion I and Orion II now ply the oceans from far eastern Russia to Antarctica and Cambodia to the Kimberley. The company is known for its itineraries and shore excursions, but the onboard experience is equally impressive with menus by consultant chef Serge Dansereau, fine wines, spa and eminent guest lecturers. With just 53 cabins and a maximum of 106 guests onboard, the Orion experience is as exclusive as it is exceptional. orionexpeditions.com

Lake House, Vic

Best Hotel/Resort Dining: Lake House, Vic

Runner-up: Saffire Freycinet, Tas

In an age when the mantra of local and sustainable is driving fine dining here and abroad, Alla Wolf-Tasker and her team at Lake House are well ahead of the J-curve. For more than three decades she has nurtured local producers in the Victorian Central Highlands, not out of some sense of duty or fashion but out of a core philosophy that values the freshness and seasonality of foods available in one’s own backyard. In the capable hands of Wolf-Tasker and head chef David Green, local lamb is parcelled into a Maghreb-style brik while Skipton eel is smoked and married masterfully with pancetta and beetroot. Add to the mix one of regional Australia’s finest wine lists, assured service and an airy dining room with wistful views over Lake Daylesford, and it’s clear why Lake House continues to capture the imaginations, and the appetites, of Australia’s travelling gastronomes. lakehouse.com.au

Best Indigenous Tourism Experience: Voyages Indigenous Tourism Australia

Runner-up: Kooljaman at Cape Leveque, WA

Voyages Indigenous Tourism Australia, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Indigenous Land Corporation, burst onto the scene last year with its purchase of Longitude 131 and Ayers Rock Resort at Uluru, taking control of a large slice of the Red Centre tourism market. Since its debut, Voyages has also added Home Valley Station in the Kimberley to its portfolio and is developing tourist facilities at Mossman Gorge in northern Queensland. It’s not just the breadth of Aboriginal-owned enterprises that is impressive, nor the new owners’ commitment to providing visitors with memorable experiences in these unique settings. Under the Indigenous Land Corporation’s stewardship, Voyages’ properties will channel all profits towards indigenous training and employment across the continent, and preserving the sensitive ecology and cultures of its locations for generations to come. voyages.com.au

Qualia, Hamilton Island, Qld

Best Spa: Qualia, Hamilton Island, Qld

Runner-up: Wolgan Valley Resort and Spa, NSW

At Qualia’s spa, as at the resort itself, every possible guest indulgence seems to have been anticipated already. Its range of restorative options runs from pregnancy massages and mineral-rich mud wraps to back scrubs for men and indigenous-themed treatments of desert salt and quandong scalp masks. The spa’s Balinese-inspired design, its talented therapists and the peaceful beauty of its natural surroundings set the scene for serious relaxation. The spell of the spa remains unbroken as guests return to their pavilions of stone and glass, set above the Coral Sea and custom-built for decadent indolence. Qualia’s signature White Haven ceremony, a three-hour ritual of exfoliation, pearl and kelp body mud, lengthy massage and a marine facial, leaves sybarites in no doubt as to why this remarkable resort repeatedly scoops our Best Spa category. qualia.com.au

Melbourne

Best Weekend Away: Melbourne

Runner-up: Hobart

Melbourne has taken its cue from Tourism Victoria’s distinctive jigsaw ads and pieced together an irresistible array of attractions. Major events – the Spring Racing Carnival, the Boxing Day Test, AFL fixtures and the Grand Prix – have long been the city’s calling cards, alongside theatrical premieres and the Winter Masterpieces program of major art exhibitions. But the life and soul of the CBD lies in its famous laneways, where the nation’s most dynamic dining and bar scenes lurk behind unmarked doors, up hidden stairwells and in converted warehouses, and fashion, design and street culture move to their own distinctive beat. The joy of discovery lies in losing the guidebook and then losing yourself in Melbourne’s creative maze. What was once Australia’s most conventional capital has become its most unconventional, and therein lies its appeal. Just ask the 4.3 million interstate visitors who ventured south last year. visitmelbourne.com

Lord Howe Island, NSW

Getaway Best Family Experience: Lord Howe Island, NSW

Runner-up: Falls Creek, Vic

If there’s one place in Australia where the carefree summer holidays of our childhood memories never ended, it is Lord Howe Island. On the barefoot shores of this World Heritage-listed Eden, 700km north-east of Sydney, families frolic with kingfish at Neds Beach, snorkel on the world’s southernmost reef and admire the spectacular setting of rainforest, mountains and endless watery horizons. Laid-back doesn’t begin to describe the vibe on Lord Howe, where cars and homes are rarely locked, shoes are superfluous and the local council supplies free firewood for family barbecues beside the seaside at Cobbys Corner. Just 400 visitors are permitted on the island at any one time, staying in accommodation ranging from self-contained apartments to luxury lodges. Add to the mix a mild climate year-round and life on Lord Howe starts to sound like the perfect family holiday destination – which of course it is. lordhoweisland.nsw.au

Cradle Mountain Huts, Tas

Best Adventure Tourism: Cradle Mountain Huts, Tas

Runner-up: The Maria Island Walk, Tas

There is a romance and a stark beauty to Tasmania’s Overland Track that strikes a chord with adventurers everywhere. For the second consecutive year, this demanding hike through the World Heritage-listed Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park has captured readers’ imaginations as the ultimate test of traveller endurance, an epic but manageable ramble through alpine plateaus, moorlands and rainforests that rewards mind, body and soul. The 65km route is punctuated by simple huts that offer shelter – that most precious of wilderness luxuries – and a warm bed and a hot shower after days spent discovering the great outdoors. Cradle Mountain Huts’ guided six-day walks ensure there is always someone on hand to interpret the unique environment and, perhaps more importantly, to prepare a hard-earned dinner every night. It’s all care, no responsibility, and the achievement of a lifetime. cradlehuts.com.au

Crown Towers, Melbourne, Vic

READERS’ CHOICE AWARDS

Nespresso Best Large Luxury Hotel: Crown Towers, Melbourne, Vic

Runner-up: Park Hyatt Sydney, NSW

It’s not easy staying on top in the luxury hotel stakes but Crown Towers, Melbourne’s riverside regent, is back in the winner’s circle in 2012. The hotel’s return to premier form might have something to do with the refurbishment of its villas last year, creating some of the country’s most decadent accommodation. The remainder of the hotel’s 482 rooms and suites don’t want for luxury touches either, with televisions and chandeliers in the bathrooms and the finest finishes throughout. The secret to Crown’s success is its unflagging attention to quality – the glittering new lobby complete with Neil Perry-run bar is a case in point –to meet the exacting expectations of its global clientele. Life at the top requires nothing less. crowntowers.com.au