The waterslides at the Shangri-la Tanjung Aru Resort in Sabah, Borneo, are loads of fun
BAZAAR
Travel The dramatic ocean view from The Southern Ocean Lodge on Kangaroo Island in Australia
Luxe Vacations:
HOME & Away We all want the very best for our kids, so why should vacations be any different?By Shelley Travers
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ntroducing your children to travel from an early age is a fantastic way to show them the world they live in and to get them engaged in things outside their immediate surrounds. There are unlimited options for staycations and vacations that suit the sophisticated lifestyle you had before kids, but also caters to your active offspring, gives them a glimpse into other cultures or simply lets them relax and be pampered. Lots of hotels claim that they are family friendly, so when booking your trip, think of things from your kids’ perspective. For instance, the W Singapore Sentosa Cove hits the target in that it’s central. Complementing the new hotel will be art galleries, boutique stores, a bookshop and cafés. It’s also easy to visit all the sights of Sentosa and Universal Studios. Best of all, the hotel which is hyped as the ultimate lifestyle destination for singles and couples, 68
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ensures that every guest’s needs are catered to-even the kids’. So your children can spend the afternoon relaxing in the kids’ pool followed by dinner at The Kitchen Table, which provides high chairs and child-friendly place settings. The gourmet offerings on the kids’ menu include Super Avocado, Butter Leaf and Bread Salad, Grilled Snapper with Homemade Chips and Vegetable Ratatouille in a Pot. Older children can enjoy in-room video games while you can hire a babysitter for younger ones-another big tick in the child-friendly stakes-so that you and your other half can enjoy an evening cocktail at the Woobar overlooking the marina. While you may have explored all there is to see in Singapore, your children are still learning about the world around them. A central location means that there is plenty going on close to the hotel to keep children entertained. Perfect for a one-night stay, the themed rooms at Wanderlust in Little India will surely capture the imagination of
Kids are well taken care of at the W Singapore Sentosa Cove
your child. The rooms are fun and playfully designed with trees, spaceships and more than a little personality! The Mono rooms have giant flowers, illustrated furnishings and neon lights, while Whimsical rooms have mum-and-dad sleeping upstairs in a loft bed and baby can sleep in a cot downstairs. Upstairs, the jacuzzi with nearby elephant stools is bound to delight. The boutique hotel is small but perfectly formed, and the staff are more than happy to recommend the best room to accommodate you and your child. During the day, Little India itself is a cornucopia of the exotic. Little India Arcade is ideal for picking up souvenirs you can buy for friends back home, and sari shops where little princesses can choose regal fabrics to decorate their castle at home. The ornate Sri Veeramakaliamman temple will certainly take your child’s breath away. Completed in 1880, you can walk inside to study the
feel at home with a welcome drink where they can enjoy massages, facials, and complimentary welcome pack manicures, pedicures and face painting. with colouring book, crayons and Two-bedroom beach suites are ideal for juice. At every turn, the resort caters families, while additional beds and cots can for its younger guests with their be added to any of the resort’s villas. When own breakfast corner, Cool Zone your invariably exhausted children are Kids Club, ice-cream bar, and pitch tucked up in bed, hotel babysitting ensures and put golf course. Connecting a stress-free evening for adults. As children become older, their rooms give you the extra space you need if staying in at night, and a imaginations become more fertile and their babysitting service means you can desire to learn about the world around indulge in the resort’s spa. Perhaps them stronger, having an environment to the best part for kids big and small explore that which is very different from is the resort’s very own their own can be magical for them. If The Ice theme park with water your children are young adventurers, then Cream Spa slides and giant tipping the Southern Ocean Lodge on Australia’s for children at The Mono rooms at The Conrad Wanderlust in Little India water bucket, and when Kangaroo Island is the definitive marriage Maldives are a big hit with kids Rangali Island you’re looking for some of luxury and outdoor experiences. During quieter paddling, the the day, families can enjoy a private tour of resort’s main infinity pool the island taking in the Remarkable Rocks, spotting sleepy koalas and walking among has awe-inspiring views. The Conrad Maldives sea lions at Seal Bay. Back at base, you can Rangali Island presents the enjoy cinematic views of the Southern ultimate beach vacation Ocean while warming yourself at the open for adults and children fire in the Great Room. The Ocean Family alike. If water play is right Suite has two bedrooms with walk-in up your kids’ street and luxury is yours, wardrobes and ensuites as well as a sunken then the kid’s club and covered splash pool lounge area, outdoor terrace and daybed with fountains will be a dream come true. for reading time. The daily-changing menu For older children, the organised indoor is a gastronomic journey into the foods and and outdoor activities, including diving wine available on the island, plus a kids and snorkelling on the resort’s own reef, lets ’menu is available for simpler palettes. The most important thing you can do them explore a hidden underwater world paintings and sculptures of Hindu gods of fish and coral. Budding pirates can make before booking a luxe family vacation is to and goddesses. Bollywood music streams their own costumes on Saturdays, and think about what everyone will like-if the from stores, ladies offer henna art and it’s a attack their enemies with water pistols as children can be entertained and parents can bit like taking a short trip to India. they set sail in the resort’s lagoon. For those indulge in the things they experienced preWhen travelling further abroad, it’s not who like a little extra pampering, there is children, then everyone will have a holiday as easy to take along all the many extras that the Ice Cream Spa, exclusively for children, to remember. ■ will make your stay easier. All aboard snaps from a perspective you may Extras at luxury hotels may n If you’re flying with babies, you can Travel tips for Tots never have considered. appease other travellers with a small include babyproofing, Travelling with kids is certainly more of packet of sweets and earplugs in case n Binoculars are great for eye spy games, whilst small colouring books stepstools in the bathroom a challenge than travelling on one’s own, little ones cry, and toddlers can chew but with a little planning and preparation, and pencil sets are useful while on dried fruit or fruit leather during and fresh milk at bedtime. everyone can enjoy eating out. ascent and descent to help with n We all now travel with digital Let your resort or hotel time away together. popping ears. Your children may cameras and laptops, so at the end n Cameras are an obvious choice, concierge know that you n be flying for the first of each day, recap the day by letting but consider one you’re happy for your child pick their favourite will be travelling with time and may thus your child to hang on to for holiday nervous. Prepare photos and caption it for posterity. children, and they can be them by reading ■ Look for activities outside of the hotel that will let your children learn prepare these little touches stories about planes or practising how about new animals or experience for your arrival. to sit and buckle up new cultures.You needn’t shy away from shopping either. Buying From the moment in a plane. Let them their backpack souvenirs for your children helps children arrive at the pack with a favourite toy, them to remember the stories and experiences of their holidays and be Shangri-la Tanjung Aru book and colour Fantastical Flying to keep them able to regale friends and family back Machines, $29.90 The Canon IXUS 240 HS camera Resort on Sabah, part of pencils entertained. from Motherswork is perfect for little hands home with their own versions of it. Borneo, they are made to The Whimsical rooms at Wanderlust in Little India feature loft beds and jacuzzis
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