'Presidential', 'vintage', 'body wrap', 'plunge pool', 'panoramic' ... inspired? Take your pick from this créme de la créme of Australia's luxury properties and start packing (or get the servant to do it) …

The Lyall Hotel
Melbourne, VIC
Travellers eager to savour Melbourne's ritzy South Yarra lifestyle will be perfectly at home in the Lyall. Situated in the midst of southern chic, it's just a step to the enticing boutiques proliferating along Toorak Road and Chapel Street. Selling itself as a 'lifestyle' choice for visitors, the Lyall has forty smart suites with handcrafted furniture, a modern gym and all day dining. And to demonstrate its passion for the arts, there's a mini art gallery on every floor. If, perchance, you're exhausted following a lively discussion about the legacy of the Heidelberg School, you can quickly retreat to the day spa for regeneration. Alternatively, pop into the Lyall's stylish Champagne Bar and float away on the finest bubbly.
Website: www.slh.com/lyall

Westin Sydney
Sydney, NSW
This swish landmark hotel in downtown Sydney flourishes inside the redeveloped shell of the city's former GPO. Once a teeming labyrinth of postpeople sorting mail and licking stamps, it's now a favourite haunt of worldly upmarket travellers and business folk. Opening onto central Martin Place, the Westin has a well-earned reputation for style and comfort, and offers over 400 rooms, majority located in an extension to the historic GPO. Other accommodation includes Executive Suites, a Presidential Suite and rooms in the Heritage Wing in the authentic old post building. The atmospheric Heritage Long Suite should particularly appeal to well-heeled stamp collectors. The key feature of this huge suite with two bathrooms is its 1874 writing desk, which belonged to the original Postmaster.
Website: www.westin.com.au

Bluewater
Gold Coast, QLD
Bluewater may be familiar terrain for those who already have it all, but for aspirational wannabees it represents a taste of what you can anticipate when you make it. Solid security gates exclude unwashed plebs and allow you to surround yourself with appropriate opulence without envious glances. The villa-studded Bluewater waterfront estate is grandly upmarket, slickly contemporary and fitted out with luxury accoutrements. Your personal chef will delight your palate while your exclusive PA attends to those trivial details that make your life such a bore. Oh, we almost forgot — parked outside, just for you, you'll find a yacht, a late model Mercedes and a Jeep Wrangler. You'll need the latter so you can look cool cruising Surfers' sun-drenched streets, wowing those plebs and floating on fantasy. Enjoy it while it lasts.
Website: www.bluewatervilla.com.au

Palazzo Versace
Gold Coast, QLD
Sybarites with a penchant for things Italian revel in the one and only Versace hotel, which fans out at the centre of the Gold Coast's glitzy playground. This ultra-modern, ultra-stylish establishment features classic Italian architectural themes and offers around 200 rooms and 72 condominiums. The grand chandelier in the foyer once swung in the State Library of Milan while the pebble mosaic in the driveway reflects the artistry of five veteran Italian tilers who carefully selected their own homegrown Italian pebbles. Now that's attention to detail! The Palazzo's most acclaimed suites are its two sumptuous 160-square-metre Imperial Suites complete with an array of Versace fragrances, Versace crystal, Versace china and, of course, the distinctive Versace furniture.
Website: www.palazzoversace.com.au

Hatherley House
Launceston, TAS
Hatherley, a former 1830s Victorian mansion, has been transformed into a stunning five-star boutique hotel by sheer imaginative fancy. Set in tranquil downtown Launceston and surrounded by heritage gardens, this exquisitely refurbished hotel has nine suites, four themed superior suites (themes are Oriental, Romantic, Ballroom and French Empire) and five chic deluxe suites. Tastefully appointed with 18th- and 19th-century furnishings, Afro art and modern Tasmanian artworks, Hatherley is a delightful refuge for wandering sophisticates. Accolades trumpet the hotel's ultra smart 'secret' ensuite bathrooms, featuring warm Tassie timbers, stainless steel, glass and contemporary fittings. Some suites have European-style spas and all have the latest electronic services and high-speed internet.
Website: www.hatherleyhouse.com.au

Reproduced with permission from Travel & Living magazine, Australia's premium travel and lifestyle magazine.