Editor. Writer. Traveller. Keeping tabs on all things fab. susan@excessallareas.com.au
A discerning clientele expects the best wines money can buy. And many of these are in the VIP cellars at Crown Towers Melbourne, reports Susan Skelly. A kid in a lolly shop has nothing on Chris Crawford, Crown Melbourne’s General Manager Beverage, in his wine vault. Hidden behind a door of latticed steel, this is an Aladdin’s…
New Zealand bridges the great divide between ancient geography and modern gastronomy. Gliding through New Zealand’s majestic Milford Sound is the awe-inspiring highlight of a leisurely trans-Tasman cruise On a Sunday night against the electric 21st-century backdrop of Sydney, the MS Noordam is escorted out of Sydney Harbour by a flock of unruly seagulls, bound for…
Laucala Island, Fiji’s most luxurious tropical island escape, is rolling out the red carpet in readiness for a re-opening, in the wake of Cyclone Winston. If anyone needed an energy drink in recent months it was the glamorous South Pacific island of Laucala, the private paradise on the northern fringe of the Fijian archipelago, introduced…
Why Melbourne brings out the fashionista, foodie and culture vulture in all of us… The plan for Excess All Areas’ visit to Melbourne this month was simple: there was no plan. Hop on a plane and let fate dictate for 48 hours. Here’s what was especially rewarding about a guerrilla hit on Victoria’s capital… 1….
How do you mend a broken heart? If you are Wendy Whiteley you find solace in nature and a shovel. How often is it that overseas visitors tip the locals off about treasures right on their doorstep? That happened this week as German friends enthused about the “secret garden” Wendy Whiteley has spent two decades…
24 hours in Bangkok: how to spend them? Try a mash-up of road, river, retail and rooftops In Bangkok you need to hit the ground running. There’s no time to waste. Metropolitan by Como sends a car to meet the late afternoon flight from Sydney to Suvarnabhumi Airport for speedy luxe transport to the check-in…
Why afternoon tea might still be the best chill pill going The Ritz London rolled into Sydney this week, ahead of a national roadshow, with a reminder of just how perfect afternoon tea can be. Flagging the iconic hotel’s 110th birthday celebrations – and a northern summer season of packages that incorporate Ascot, Wimbledon, Highclere Castle…
A whisky with Spanish and Japanese ancestry gets the red carpet treatment in the world’s gastronomy capitals In a glamorous private room in Tetsuya Wakuda’s Sydney restaurant, 22 guests are sitting down to a food and whisky pairing rich in alchemy, artistry and Japanese savoir faire. Standing sentinal is a maple tree that seems to wrap…
Sydney Christmas parties are in full swing … some with fund-raising on the side Well heeled, well dressed and well fed … the young and the beautiful who comprise the Silver Committee and their friends decended upon Rose Bay’s waterfront hot spot Regatta for a Christmas lunch to raise funds for the Sydney Children’s Hospital. Paying…
Every perfume tells a story … some a little more seafaring than others. Carlos Huber swaps top notes with Susan Skelly If there were such a thing as a perfume novelist, Carlos Huber would be its Gabriel Garcia Marquez. It’s not enough for a fragrance to have a formula and category, it has to have…