Lemme hear you go Woo! Travel deals 14 October 201

WooBar at the new W Hotel Singapore

Snap up the bargain of the century with six cases of wine when you bed down in St Kilda, or throw your hands in the air like you don't care at the new WooBar Singapore's new W hotel in this week's travel deals.

VICTORIA

If you ever needed a good reason to stay in St Kilda (aside from it having the town’s best band pub, great pizza cafes, awesome spas, smokin’ beachside cafes), here’s another. Book a standard non-bayview room at the Novotel Melbourne St Kilda until October 31, get six bottles of wine, worth $200, absolutely free. The deal also includes free car parking and breakfast for two.  Costs from $179 a room, a night, quote ‘wine and wind down’. (03) 9525 6191, novotelstkilda.com.au.

NSW

Revel in all things Polynesian, without leaving the state. The Sebel Resort & Spa Hawkesbury Valley’s midweek Polynesian inspired special includes overnight accommodation in a deluxe spa room, breakfast for two, $50 to blow at the restaurant and two hours of Polynesian spa fabulousness at its Villa Thalgo. Start with a body scrub, lagoon water bath and a Mahana massage using sacred oils. Just an hour from the city in the Hawkesbury Valley, the 4.5-star hotel has been recently renovated. Worth $499, pay $289 a room, a night, Mondays to Fridays until December 28. 131 515, sebelhawkesburyvalley.com.au.

TASMANIA

If you’ve got the time, then Tassie’s got the deal, with a five Strange+Wild nights which includes accommodation for two, priority access tickets to the Museum of Old and New Art’s (MONA) Theatre of the World extravaganza, car hire, a ferry ride up-river to MONA, a bottle of Moorilla Muse chardonnay, maps and tourist guides.  Save up to $796 a person until April 8, 2013. Costs from $915 a person, (03) 6277 9900, mona.net.au/short-breaks.

SOUTH AUSTRALIA

Lovers of the tv series ‘McLeod’s Daughters’ will already know Kingsford Homestead, a beautiful five-star historic home in the Barossa Valley, just north of Adelaide. Accommodating just 14 guests in its suites and cottages, stays at the homestead include three or five-course dinners and big, hearty country breakfasts, as well as drinks and canapés at sunsets and lashings of local wine. Costs from $1580 for two nights for two people. 1300 130 483, travel.com.au.

TOP END

Discover some of the most remote beauty spots in Australia, spending 13 days exploring the Kimberley. The Kimberley Complete tour starts and finishes in Broome, cruising Geiki Gorge, Emma Gorge at El Questro and the beautiful Windjana Gorge, staying in wilderness lodges and taking a helicopter flight over Mitchell Falls. Couples can save up to $1500 on departures between April and October 2013 when they book by December 31, 2012. Costs from $7145 a person, twin share. 1800 240 504, kimberleywilderness.com.au. 

SINGAPORE

I'd like to show you a room shot, but hey,
this is the ELEVATOR. W Hotel, Singapore.

Singapore now has its own W Hotel, set on Sentosa Island, the city-state’s super-chi-chi beach getaway. So naturally, the hotel’s three room types are classed as Wonderful, Spectacular and Fabulous, normally priced from SGD430++ ($343) room only. Get ahead of the pack and snap up an Island Glamour Welcome opening package, which includes one night in the Wonderful guestroom, breakfast for two and cocktails, until March 31, 2013. Costs from SGD$388++ a room. 1800 325 2525, wsingaporesentosacove.com.

INDONESIA

A magnet for surfers, Uluwatu is at the southernmost tip of the island of Bali and its famous sea temple. Nearby, the family-friendly Uluwatu Surf Villas looks over the high cliffs, down to the surf beaches, prime location for daily sundowners. Normally $290 a night, all accommodation bookings on TravelMob are 20 per cent off until November 10. Costs from $232 a room a night.  travelmob.com.

BALTICS

Get off the beaten track with a journey through the former Eastern Bloc countries of Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, finishing in the glamorous museum mecca of St Petersburg. Book and pay for the 11-day journey 12 months ahead and save 10 per cent. Book by December 27, 2012 and fly from $1754 a person with Emirates, with a free stopover in Dubai. Costs from $2319 a person, twin share. 1300 230 234, globus.com.au.

SPAIN

It’s got Gaudi, Picasso, the Alhambra palace and then there’s tapas. Oh Spain, we love you. The 10-day cultural extravaganza, Treasures of Spain, starts in Barcelona, and visits Valencia, Granada, Cordoba and finishes in Seville. Includes accommodation, some meals, transport and tour guide. Book before October 31, save on seven departures between May 19 and October 13, 2013. Past Peregrine travellers also get additional discounts. Normally $5090, costs from $4581 a person, twin share. 1300 854 400, peregrineadventures.com.

USA

The Hyatt Regency Century Plaza, Los Angeles

Girls, get your scarves and sunnies on and hit the road with the ultimate road trip, from LA to Vegas. The package includes four nights’ accommodation at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza  in Los Angeles, three nights in the Westin Las Vegas, return flights and eight days’ car hire. There are also bonus tours including a tour of Hollywood, a helicopter flight over Vegas, entry to Madam Tussards. Book by October 20, travel November 9-30, February 1 – March 20, 2013. Costs from $2290 a person, twin share.  1300 000 872, myholidaycentre.com.au.

TOURWATCH

Many Vietnam tours take you through the Cu Chi tunnels, the elaborate tunnels of the VietCong, but this is a tour with a difference. The guides are author Jimmy Thomson and Sandy MacGregor, a former ‘tunnel rat’ serving in the Vietnam War who led the group that discovered the tunnels and the underground city of Cu Chi. The tour also visits the Vietcong Caves in the Long Hai mountains and a few days in the sin city of Vung Tau, a notorious town where troops went for R&R. Oh, and there’s time for shopping, too. The Tunnel Rats tour departs October 26, 2012.  Costs from $1900 a person, twin share, land only. (02) 8229 4764, sapperswar.com.

Source: Belinda Jackson, Sun Herald