Last weekend I stayed at The Establishment Hotel, Sydney, courtesy of the boutique and luxury hotel specialists Mr & Mrs Smith. This elegant hotel is housed within the same building as The Establishment bar, the three hatted est. restaurant, Hemmesphere cocktail lounge and sushi restaurant Sushi e. With this array of evening activity, coupled with the oversized room and tempting marble and limestone bathroom, it’s no surprise we didn’t venture far after checking in.

The hotel interior is chic, with an incense-infused lobby offering a choice of two room colour schemes: black floorboards and strong colour, or a softer, more tranquil style. We opted for the latter; and it worked its magic. Emerging chilled and refreshed, we stopped in for a refreshing gin cocktail at Hemmesphere before savouring some of Sydney’s best sashimi at Sushi e restaurant. The walk through the humming Establishment bar back to our room reminded us that this is also a hotel for night-life lovers.

The Establishment Hotel, Sydney is for the discerning visitor to Sydney who’s looking for the best in accommodation, nightlife and food to complete the journey.

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Looming from the Singapore skyline as a shimmering mirage, the Marina Bay Sands is an astonishing monument to architectural genius Moshe Safdie. The three 55-story towers are crowned by a rooftop skypark 200 meres in the air, which includes an infinity edge outdoor pool to capture the sights of Singapore.

Everything about the Sands is worth ogling, and no matter how many times you rub your eyes, it’s real. With some 2,560 hotel rooms to choose from, chances are you will want to be doing some sightseeing from the inside. The rooms are spacious, well appointed, and with each room having a balcony, include either a view of Singapore or the ocean.

If you’re feeling really luxurious, you can go all the way up to a Presidential suite, which includes a baby grand piano and butler service. And it wouldn’t be Asia without a soundproof Karaoke room to blast the night away.

Singapore is a melting pot of Chinese, Indian and Malay cultures and a foodie haven, where everything from the cheap and delicious hawker food in Chinatown to celebrity chef restaurants on rooftops can be found.

The oppressive humidity causes your whole body to weep in sympathy, and you’d suspect that Singapore’s revolution from a sweaty flight stopover to must-see destination happened at around the time air-conditioning became popular.

Singapore’s mix of cultures is evident in the buildings and surrounds, from towering skyscrapers to temples. Although not all is sacred in a push to become more Westernised – a beautiful church in the centre of town has been turned into a pub!

When you first see The Gershwin Hotel, you might think it’s an art gallery or a public art installation. The white, bird-like shapes sticking out of its red facade is certainly unique, without being too loud. The rooms are rather small but the location and accessible price range makes it all worth it.

French design dynamo Jean-Marie Massaud has created a Manned Cloud. A cruise airship with a hotel for 40 passengers and 15 staff, Massaud worked with the Office National d’Etudes et de Recherche Aérospatiale in this proposal. The design is based on the way whales swim and hence has some resemblance to a very large white whale. The pure concept involves travel that is so quiet that the surrounding world does not realize that the Manned Cloud has passed by.

Each room in Copenhagen’s Hotel Fox is an individual piece of art. 21 international artists descended on the hotel to turn each of the 61 rooms into a unique space, featuring creative artwork ranging from Japanese manga to fluid graphic design. ‘French-born artist WK interact has lived in New York for the last fifteen years and has decorated whole tracts of the city’s SoHo district with his dynamic and energetic imagery’, such as the black and white artwork pictured above in the Hotel Fox room themed ‘Ecstacy’.

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