Select Hotels & Resorts International Announces Its Ten Hottest Places Across Australia, New Zealand And The Pacific For Spring 2005

What’s hot, new, cutting edge, the secret, fabulous and yet undiscovered travel experience everyone will be raving about next year? Select Hotels & Resorts International announces the short but extravagantly sweet Select Hotels Top Ten Hot List for Spring 2005 …10 Member properties so new or so now, that only the savviest travelers will be able to take advantage of them before they become the “it” places for 2006 !

1. The Spire Queenstown, New Zealand
The perfect confluence of technology and urban textures, tempered with a human element: a retreat in today’s style with timeless hospitality. Just open in June this year, The Spire will set a new benchmark for urban chic in the most luxurious of settings. www.selecthotels.com/spire

2. Dolphin Island, Fiji
Sharing the distinguished pedigree of its sister property, New Zealand's luxury Huka Lodge, Dolphin Island is a rare gem suspended in an azure sea, offering an exclusive experience to just one very pampered party at a time. True exclusivity and the rare indulgence of privacy in the most idyllic of locations.
www.selecthotels.com/dolphin

3. Huka Lodge’s Owners Cottage, New Zealand
Some eighty years ago Huka Lodge was founded on the Waikato River as a simple fishing lodge, but the river's crystal waters and abundance of trout soon ensured that anglers from around the world were drawn to it. Today, fishing is but one of the many attractions of luxurious lodge, now so widely renowned. www.selecthotels.com/hukalodge

4. Taveuni Island Resort, Fiji
Once the location of a romantic movie, Taveuni is now a paradise created to celebrate the union between lovers. This superlative dive resort has been transformed into the ultimate romantic retreat with a complete luxurious makeover and is now re-opened and ready to be re-discovered and enjoyed by the most discerning traveler. www.selecthotels.com/taveuni

5. Aggie Grey’s Lagoon Beach Resort & Spa, Samoa
Open in July this year, the sensational new Aggie Grey’s is a Polynesian paradise with a blue lagoon bordered by a white sand beach; the old coral church within the Resort provides an idyllic location for a South Pacific wedding! The world-class property, set on 224 acres of tropical gardens and palm trees and facing a white sand beach and the turquoise-blue Pacific Ocean, is also where Polynesian migrants first set foot on the Samoa islands, some 3000 years ago. www.selecthotels.com/aggiegreys

6. Motor Yacht Galerna, New Zealand
There are few maritime sights more beautiful than the 27-metre Norwegian-built motor yacht Galerna making its way through the Marlborough Sounds en route to Golden Bay or moored in a silent cove in Doubtful Sound. Constructed from oak and finished in the finest materials, Galerna is fully equipped to ply the oceans of the world. For part of the year she cruises the most spectacular of New Zealand’s coastal waters before heading to tropical Tonga and Fiji (and further afield by arrangement), operating on a per cabin basis or by exclusive charter. www.selecthotels.com/galerna

7. Royal Davui, Fiji
Fiji’s newest luxury retreat for couples, the Pacific has no more magical a setting than this eight- island, a coral pontoon suspended in the brilliant blue waters of Beqa Lagoon off Viti Levu. This idyllic resort offers just 16 luxury villas of the highest standard and, in a first for Fiji; each villa has a private plunge pool with views over the lagoon. www.selecthotels.com/davui

8. Royal Pita Maha, Ubud, Bali
Newly opened in December last year, you can now share a mystic retreat in your own private villa at the royal family of Ubud’s most opulent hotel. In August 2005 The Royal Pita Maha will hold a 'Ritual Blessing Ceremony' for the resort. The main aim of the ceremony is to show respect and harmony with God, nature and the environment where the resort is located and respect for human beings so everyone, visible or invisible, will feel the peace and harmony.
www.selecthotels.com/royalpitamaha

9. Nihiwatu, Sumba, Indonesia
Nihiwatu Resort, a small and exclusive hideaway on the eastern island of Sumba, is one of the most extraordinary resorts in an archipelago of the extraordinary. Among travelers "in the know" who seek excitement with absolute privacy, Nihiwatu's reputation is unrivalled — for starters, the fishing, surfing and diving are sensational. Nihiwatu Resort is proud to support sustainable tourism, initiatives and have established the Sumba Foundation to assist local villages.
www.selecthotels.com/nihiwatu

10. Millbrook Resort, Queenstown, New Zealand
New Zealand's premium spa facility opened at Queenstown's Millbrook Resort recently. It’s all about total indulgence, head to toe pampering, rejuvenation and well-being. The Spa at Millbrook features eight dry treatment rooms, two wet treatment rooms, a hair salon, manicure and pedicure areas, a retail area, an outdoor dining area and a number of private courtyards. Careful consideration has been given to the architecture, design and features of the spa to produce a building that is in harmony with its environment, while reflecting the history of Millbrook, Arrowtown and Central Otago. www.selecthotels.com/millbrook

Select’s “ Hot List Exclusive” : Be one of the first two people to book 5 nights or more through Select at any one of these Top Ten Hot List properties before December 31st 2005 for stays until June 30th 2006 and receive two nights with our compliments at the Hot List property of your choice during 2006.

Bookings subject to availability at Top Ten list properties and deal limited to first two bookings at each property, with a total limit of 20 complimentary two night stays available. Conditions Apply.

Bookings: www.selecthotels.com ; email res@selecthotels.com or
Telephone 1 300 368 925 toll-free within Australia or +800 7755 3311 toll-free within New Zealand

Ends