With good food and good wine very much a focus here, it’s hardly surprising that couples look for cheap flights to Sydney to reignite the flames of passion over a cosy dinner date or two. Fall in love again over lazy lunches and sexy suppers in one of the most beautiful cities in the world.
Friday
Check in to coastal boutique bolthole Barrenjoey House (www.barrenjoeyhouse.com.au) and head for a late, languid dinner at its namesake restaurant below.
After indulging in a mouthwatering Mediterranean menu, collapse into bed in your relaxed, TV-free, beach house-style room.
Saturday
Taking the help-yourself breakfast hamper with you – packed by a member of staff – head to nearby Palm Beach, where Home & Away is filmed. Sprawl on the sand ‘til golden-brown and sample the tasty goods that await you in your hamper: an assortment of organic muesli, fresh tropical fruit, yoghurt, teas, coffee and sourdough.
As the midday sun starts to sizzle on your skin, head into the shade at Jonah’s Whale Beach (www.jonahs.com.au). Soak up clifftop views and a dreamy blue vista of the Pacific through the floor-to-ceiling windows over foie gras with buttermilk pancakes and prune and Armagnac ice cream.
Head back to the hotel and get ready for a Saturday night on the town. It’s an hour away, but wholly worth it, if only for a night amongst Sydney’s finest folk and between high thread-count sheets at Blue (www.tajhotels.com), which used to be the city’s W Hotel.
Slip through glittering Swarovski crystal curtains that chink gently behind you and start your evening with cool cocktails at the in-house Water Bar.
Turn up the heat at Aki’s (www.akisindian.com.au), the only fine-dining Indian restaurant in Sydney; sample the Achari Tikka, roasted chicken thigh fillets marinated in a sweet coat of yoghurt, ginger, fenugreek and lime, with a caipirinha, a cardamom-infused vodka cocktail with muddled limes, vanilla sugar and fresh mint. You may even spot Woolloomooloo resident Russell Crowe between bites of black tiger prawn curry.
Hit the sack and make use of your in-room Munchie Box – containing Panadol and condoms.
Sunday
Indulge in a luxurious lie-in, before spending the morning reconnecting and riding bikes together down the 3.8-kilometre cycling lane that runs through Centennial Park (www.cyclehire.com.au). This 189-hectare park is an oasis of green in an urban jungle: enjoy gorgeous lakes with ducks and swans, grassy fields, and lush sprawling gardens with roses. Stop off at a quiet spot for a smooch under the Port Jackson fig and oak trees.
Finally, drop in to Chi The Spa at the Shangri-La Hotel (www.shangri-la.com), a truly decadent spot for pampering with a Zen-like feel.
Indulge in a cup of Chinese herbal tea and a joint botanical oil massage to balance your chi.
Then head back to pack up and check out before setting off home.
