Luxuriate in rooftop pool bliss on a stopover in Asia. Photo / 123rf
Luxuriate in rooftop pool bliss on a stopover in Asia. Photo / 123rf
Sleepovers in the airport are for backpackers and the young and nimble, for the rest of us, it’s time to make your next Asian layover the most luxurious yet, writes Anna Sarjeant.
HONG KONG
Home to: Cathay Pacific
Pamper
Even in Business Class, you can emerge from a long-haul flight feeling like a contortionist in a locked box. While some of us might head straight to the nearest – most ruthless – masseuse, others may find Hong Kong’s Sai Wan beach calls them to its shores. Here you’ll find Bamboo Yoga, a new style of aerial yoga using a bamboo tripod to unravel your limbs around. Started in Hong Kong, join a half-day workshop so you can spend the second half lazing on Sai Wan’s ice-white sand.
Bamboo Yoga is a new style of aerial yoga using a bamboo tripod. Photo / Supplied
Stay
It all starts with one of the hotel’s 14 Rolls-Royce Phantoms to escort you to The Peninsula Hong Kong in style. Either that or you can land on the twin helipad. Fronting the banks of Victoria Harbour, the views are particularly impressive from Felix Restaurant, with its floor-to-ceiling glass windows. Distinctly old-world, if you’re after a more contemporary dwelling, Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong is one flashy madam, boasting equally compelling views from the bathtub. However, you will have to book the two-bedroom Mandarin Suite; all 356 square metres of it.
The Peninsula Hong Kong has long been an institution in the Asian city.
Photo / Getty Images
Soothe
Make like the locals and take a brisk, morning walk around Kowloon Park: Tai Chi optional if you’re inspired by HK’s surprisingly bendy senior residents. Not to be confused, West Kowloon Art Park is a relatively new green space and promenade reminiscent of Brisbane’s Streets Beach. Stunning harbour views provide the ideal backdrop for open-air performances and pop-up exhibitions.
West Kowloon Art Park is a relatively new green space and promenade in Hong Kong. Photo / Getty Images
This year, Hong Kong has been awarded 14 newly-starred restaurants with the Michelin badge of honour. The latest establishment to bag a coveted three-stars is Ta Vie. The menu combines the very best of East-meets-West cuisine such as oysters stuffed with caviar and topped with Japanese white asparagus and champagne sauce.
SINGAPORE
Home to: Singapore Airlines
Pamper
The Remède Spa at The St. Regis and its award-winning day packages are a no-brainer for airline passengers fresh off a red eye. Indulgent bathing remedies are all influenced by water, and while there are various treatment combos available, who could say no to a two-hour “Ultimate Body Revival?” Back massages and body wraps, where you’re mummified in an hour-long cocoon of seaweed, should have you boarding your next flight as fresh as a newly forged butterfly.
Stay
Raffles, but of course. Having opened in 1887, Raffles Singapore has been the city’s most esteemed hotel for 136 years. With five on-site restaurants and six bars – serving the hotel’s signature Singapore Sling cocktail, created in 1915 by Raffles bartender Ngiam Tong Boon – the spaces, which include 103 indulgent suites, have all enjoyed an extensive restoration over the years. What doesn’t change is Raffles’ hallmark butler service. As discreet as they are distinguished.
Having opened in 1887, Raffles Singapore has been the city’s most esteemed hotel for 136 years. Photo / Getty Images
Soothe
Sentosa island resort sits off the city’s southern coast. Spreading its rustic good looks across the platinum sand of Siloso Beach, Coastes is a laid-back beach club with sunbeds, beach bar and all-day dining. Rent a double sunbed on the water’s edge and the Singapore Slings will be served directly to your lounger.
Savour
As much as Marguerite impresses with its contemporary menu and seven-course tasting menu, we can’t neglect the fact that guests can rock up using a limousine buggy service. Book from the Garden’s by the Bay arrival plaza and arrive at Marguerite as you mean to go on – in absolute style.
As more and more Asian cities channel a greener, cleaner way of living, descend on M Spa at M Resort & Hotel for a selection of treatments that use ingredients grown on-site, such as lemongrass and ginger. For a double-whammy dose of kneading, the Four Hand Massage does exactly that, performed by two synchronised massage therapists.
Stay
Practically knocking at the panels of the Petronas Twin Towers next door, the glitzy city views from almost every space in the Mandarin Oriental take some beating. Book a multi-bedroom Executive Apartment to benefit from butler service, or a Twin Towers View Room if you simply can’t steal your eyes away from that skyline.
The impressive Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Photo / Getty Images
Soothe
If shopping is your salvation, the Pavilion Kuala Lumpur hosts more than 700 retail stores and restaurants under its shiny, golden roof. You can easily walk the 1km from here to Suria KLCC, one of the city’s most upscale shopping malls. A six-storey mecca with 360 outlets, it’s an easy one to find – located right at the base of the Petronas towers.
As a nation revered for its delicious fusion of flavours, it would be tempting to stay in Malaysia for a month and sample every regional dish. If your stopover means you’re on a tight timeframe, make do with Beta KL. Serving two degustation menus, diners are invited on a culinary journey across the entire country in just one sitting. Staff take the time to narrate the traditions behind every dish and it’s quite aptly described as a “tapestry of tastes”.
