Travelogue: Midyear Hotel Deals Worth Clicking On and More Travel News This Week

This week’s flight sales and special deals:

Webjet has launched its midyear sale across a range of domestic and international destinations. Offers include Brisbane to Bali from $230 one way; Melbourne to Fiji from $249 one way; and Sydney to Los Angeles from $520 one way. Discounted flights to Tokyo, London and Paris are also in the mix – click around to find the best deals.

Jetstar’s Gold Coast sale is on now, with fares starting at $53 one way. Travel periods include August to September 2026 and January to March 2027 depending on departure city, with discounted fares available until July 19 or until sold out.

The days of filling out paper arrivals forms when entering Australia on an international flight are finally coming to an end, with digital passenger cards set to roll out in stages for all Australian airlines over the next 12 to 18 months. The digital arrivals system will initially launch as a webform, with in-app capabilities to follow.

Hotels: news, deals and openings

Melbourne | Victoria

To mark its one-year anniversary, 1 Hotel Melbourne is offering up to 20 per cent off room rates with its Home at 1 package, with valet parking, $50 daily hotel credit to use across dining or wellness and daily breakfast for two.

Sydney | New South Wales

Raes on Wategos has launched a Slow Stay at Raes package, available across Raes Hotel and Raes Guesthouses. The package includes daily à la carte breakfast; return transfers to and from Ballina Airport; complimentary use of the infrared sauna at the Raes spa; and $150 hotel credit to use across dining, spa or the hotel’s curated store. The offer is available for stays of two nights or more, until August 31.

The second Elysium hotel is set to open in Manly in August following the brand’s Australian debut with Elysium Noosa. Currently operating as Manly Pacific, the beachside hotel is a direct ferry ride from Sydney’s CBD, offering 213 rooms and suites, a rooftop pool, infrared sauna and noteworthy Italian restaurant Cibaria.

International

IHG Hotels has launched its July sale, with up to 20 per cent off stays at a range of hotels across Australia and the broader Asia-Pacific, and an additional 10 per cent off for IHG One Rewards members. The sale includes hotels in New Zealand, Fiji, Japan, Vietnam, Malaysia, Korea, the Maldives, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand and more. Book before August 3 for stays between July 22 and December 18, 2026.

La Liste has released its master list of the world’s highest-rated hotels for 2026, based on aggregating hundreds of reliable sources including guidebooks, international press, specialist publications and traveller reviews. More than 30 Australian hotels have placed in the top 1000, with Capella Sydney, Park Hyatt Sydney, Saffire Freycinet in Tasmania, Longitude 131 in the Northern Territory and The Langham Gold Coast leading the Australian contingent. View the full list, including top-rated international hotels, here.

Boutique stays: news, deals and openings

International

Long-running Bali-based travel company Goddess Retreats has launched a new suite of experiences that foreground creative pursuits. The seven-day retreats for women offer a range of creative and cultural workshops, including pottery, silversmithing, traditional batik, Balinese wood carving and Balinese dance under the guidance of local artisans and craftspeople. The creative retreats are available at the brand’s properties in both Seminyak and Ubud.

Worth travelling for:

Australia

Tasmanian winery Small Wonder Wines is to open a new cellar door and restaurant in the heart of the Tamar Valley. Housed inside Tasmanian bluestone walls, the destination diner will highlight seasonal Tasmanian produce alongside the winery’s minimal intervention wines; chef Konstantin Putkin leads the kitchen. Small Wonder Wines Cellar Door and Restaurant is set to open this September.

Merse Wellness brings its first standalone bathhouse destination to the Gold Coast. Opening in October, Merse Wellness Coomera will be home to magnesium spas, cold plunge pools, hot rock saunas and a steam room, with compression therapy, infrared saunas, salt room therapy, red light therapy, massage therapy and reformer Pilates on offer.

International

Bali favourite Motel Mexicola is set to open its third, and largest, venue yet with a Baja-inspired menu and views over Uluwatu’s limestone cliffs. The menu includes seafood dishes like smoked tuna empanadas, prawn aguachile, and tuna and scallop tiradito, with grilled morsels courtesy of a custom-built woodfired asador and drinks inspired by Mexican cocktail culture. Motel Mexicola Ulawatu is due to open late July.

The team behind Mrs Sippy Bali has launched a new beachfront destination with Sunset Club in Seminyak. Billed as Mrs Sippy’s more laid-back sibling, the venue offers open-fire dining with an emphasis on seafood, beach and pool access, and Indian Ocean views.