The new seven-storey Atura Adelaide Airport hotel, to be managed by the Event Hospitality and Entertainment consortium, is scheduled to open this month [NOTE SUBS: September]. The consortium includes QT Hotels and Resorts, Rydges Hotels and Resorts, Atura Hotels, Thredbo Resort and Event Cinemas. It will offer direct walkway links with the airport’s domestic and international check-in areas, and feature 165 guestrooms, Hangar Bar & Grill, a business centre, eight flexible function and meeting spaces, on-site gym, plus a port-cochere for guest drop-off and collection. Atura’s signature, free-flowing communal spaces will be a key design feature of the hotel and integrate seamlessly with the airport plaza and terminal, with spaces accessible to all travellers not just hotel guests. It will have 24-hour reception and free wi-fi. Phone 08 7099 3300 or visit www.aturahotels.com Crystalbrook Collection, will welcome guests at its first Australian resort, the five-star Riley, in Cairns, on November 6. To celebrate, the hotel is offering a range of opening specials: — Pre-pay your Riley stay and pay from $209 per night and receive a complimentary upgrade. — ‘Laze and Graze’. Spend the night and enjoy a full buffet breakfast for two at Paper Crane, valet parking and late check-out from $339 per room per night. — Pay for two, stay three. Book any Urban, Resort or Sea room for two nights and the third night is on the house. Expect a nod to environmentalism, in-room Apple iPads complete with healthy-living apps, Staycast by Google Chromecast for video streaming, access to hundreds of complimentary movies and box sets, and Nespresso machines with recyclable pods. Visit www.crystalbrookcollection.com/riley for booking and conditions. Falls Creek, Victoria’s largest alpine resort, is having its best back-to-back snow seasons in a decade, and with over two metres of snow cover, there’s going to be some superb September skiing and snowboarding. Falls Creek Country Club has specials offering discounts of 50 per cent and more throughout the month and guests are also entitled to a 50 per cent discount on snow-equipment rental. For example, pay from $1555 for five nights in a two-bedroom deluxe apartment, a saving of over $2200 on high-season rates. These apartments have a full kitchen, drying cupboard for clothing and boots and an individually controlled hydronic panel heater. Most bathrooms have spa baths with a shower over the bath, and all linen, towels and swimming pool towels are provided. Phone 03 5758 3391 or visit www.fallscreekcountryclub.com.au  Antarctica Flights is offering a range of sightseeing excursions over the icy continent this year and next: ex Sydney on November 18, ex Hobart on November 25, ex Melbourne on December 31 and February 10, ex Perth on January 26, ex Brisbane on November 10 next year and ex Adelaide on November 24 next year. A privately chartered Qantas 747 will spend up to four hours over the ice on a 12-hour round trip, descending as low as 10,000 feet. Complimentary drinks and will be served, and prices start from $1199 per person. While not quite out of this world, the flights do take you out of the country … but passports are not required. Phone 1800 633 449 or visit www.antarcticaflights.com.au  MGallery has opened Legacy Yen Tu, a wellness sanctuary located on the sacred Yen Tu mountain, situated near the UNESCO World Heritage site of Halong Bay. The destination is part of Vietnam’s historical golden era and dates back more than 750 years. Legacy Yen Tu MGallery has been built using ancient methodologies to emulate a peaceful way of life, and the rooms feature the signature wooden-inked slab traditionally used for calligraphy, and an outdoor patio living area. Legend has it that a hermit monk An Ky Sinh travelled to Yen Tu mountain in search of medicinal herbs during the pre-Buddhism times some two thousand years ago, and since then, the mountain has been regarded as a divine and sacred place. Guests can savour authentic Vietnamese cuisine at the hotel’s Tho Quang restaurant or an evening wine-down at Thien Tra Lobby Bar which overlooks the picturesque mountain views. Visit www.accorhotels.com Manitoba’s Winnipeg, with its eclectic art scene, foodie hub, and welcoming, progressive locals, is fast becoming known as Canada’s cultural capital. If you want act like a genuine Pegger in this uber-cool city, one of the things to do is to hang out at The Forks. For thousands of years, The Forks National Historic Site was the meeting place for Indigenous people, and today it remains the heart of Winnipeg, where locals and visitors can connect and make the most of this nine-acre hub of shopping, dining and entertainment. The Forks is located where the Red and Assiniboine rivers converge. Take a seat at one of the communal tables at The Common and discover how friendly Prairie folk really are, as you talk over a craft beer and platter filled with locally produced delicacies. Air Canada offers daily direct flights to Vancouver from Sydney and Brisbane, with direct flights from Melbourne available three times per week, with connecting services to Winnipeg. Alternatively, VIA Rail, the national Canadian rail service, runs from Vancouver to Winnipeg. The two-day journey spans British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan before reaching the Manitoba, the heart of Canada. Visit www.travelmanitoba.com 
