Australia and New Zealand in style
Mr & Mrs Smith apply their talent for nosing out sexy and stylish retreats to Australia and New Zealand, from chic city centre hotels to camps amid remote dunes
5. Royal Mail Hotel, The Grampians
Gourmet-stamped pub near Southern Grampians peaks
Winner of a fistful of foodie awards, this hotel is home to quite simply one of Australia's best restaurants. It's headed by Dan Hunter (former head chef at two-Michelin-starred Mugaritz in San Sebastian), and fuses fresh, local and seasonal ingredients with essenceenhancing technology to create tummy-tickling flavours: this is molecular gastronomy with an Australian accent.
Make sure you don't settle for anything except the aptly named Mountain View rooms, where full-width, floor-to-ceiling glass sliding doors frame postcard-perfect aspects of Mount Sturgeon and the Southern Grampian Ranges.
- Rooms: 20
- Rates: from £100 (AU$180), including breakfast. +61 3 5577 2241; royalmail.com.au.
To view the complete article from The Observer, go to:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2009/nov/22/australia-new-zealand-hotels?page=all