Tag Archives: Hyatt Hotel Canberra

‘Diamonds are a girl’s best friend’

So sang Marilyn Monroe, and nothing has changed since then!

I absolutely adore diamonds—especially big ones—so there was no way I was about to miss the launch of Canberra’s first luxury and bespoke jewellery concierge, Plumery, and the opportunity to view some beautiful, and rare, pink Argyle diamonds was just too good to pass up.

Plumery was founded in 2015 by Canberran Danielle Klar, a gemmologist and a GP (more of that connection later), and has now opened its doors in Deakin with the official launch on 12 August at the Hyatt Hotel Canberra together with one of the Hyatt’s fabulous morning teas—another reason not to miss the event.

Plumery themed Hyatt morning tea

Plumery provides bespoke custom designed pieces using superior gems, such as the Argyle diamond, and set in 18ct gold. And its concierge service assists people in discovering jewellery for engagements, birthdays, life milestones, or other special occasions, that is designed specifically for the buyer and their purpose, and meant to be worn on a regular basis—not just brought out occasionally to be looked at.

Creator and designer, Danielle Klar, is inspirational. Her story is incredible to say the least. Initially and armed forces medical doctor, she also studied business and management, and on leaving the military gradually moved into executive roles. But in 2014 Danielle suffered a significant health scare and was forced to slow down, take stock, and look at what truly made her happy. “I have always loved diamonds,” said Danielle. “The way they look, the way they sparkle, their versatility—I love everything about them really.” And so part of Danielle’s recovery was her first steps into the world of gemmology.

‘the ring to rule them all’ – image Plumery

Another significant occurrence that brought Danielle into gems was the purchase of a ring, now known simply as the ring to rule them all. On holiday in France, Danielle wandered into an antique/vintage shop for a browse, and fell in love with a sparkling vintage Ceylon sapphire and diamond ring. “In my terrible French, and his broken English, we managed to strike a deal,” says Danielle, “and I walked out having spent the last of our Euros on this amazing ring … but then it occurred to me that it could be fake and I’d been had. So I had the most incredible buyers’ remorse until I got back to Australia to have it checked. It wasn’t fake.” And she now says; ‘that entire journey brought me to Plumery’.

Insta pic

“My aim is to offer exquisite jewellery that can be worn every day,” says Danielle. “Plumery can source the perfect gems, and guide a client through the process from the design to finished beautiful hand-crafted pieces. Bespoke jewellery creation is an artisanal craft, and depending on the style of the design I will either make the piece myself or call upon a selection of highly skilled crafts people. It is the perfect combination of design, gold, diamonds and precious gems, together with the skillsets of jewellers, diamond setting, polishing and engraving, which results in custom-made exquisite jewellery.

“And a plumery is a collection of plumes; the beauty of adorning oneself in finery and defining itself as the keeper of many plumes, and everyone needs more than one plume in their plumage.”

Plume ring

But let’s get back to the diamonds. These diamonds are … OMG diamonds! Two pieces that caught my eye was a gorgeous subtle pink Argyle with a double halo of diamonds and a diamond set shank; priced just over $5,000, and later, when some rarer Argyles appeared, I honed in on a tiny little heart shaped diamond, sitting cutely in its padded box, with a tag of $21,000. Wishing and hoping springs to mind …

As well as the Argyle pinks, there was also a collection of blush diamonds, white diamonds, and diamonds of almost any colour you can name, plus sapphires, rubies (did you know rubies are actually red sapphires?), and other superior quality gems including beautiful pearls from the South Pacific. 20170812_104437_1502507849642

Plumery is located in the Equinox Business Park, Deakin, and is currently open by appointment only. To see some of Plumery’s launch pieces, and to find out about group educational gem nights, visit their website, Facebook page, or Instagram.

Tea with Giorgio Armani

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Afternoon tea is something rather special at the Tea Lounge at the Hyatt Hotel and has all the inclusions you would expect with cucumber sandwiches, scones with cream and jam, and slices, cakes and pastries, plus newbies such as light-as-air macarons, fluffy mousse, and light and creamy panna cotta. 20170211_123110

Afternoon tea was introduced in England in 1840 and included thinly sliced sandwiches, scones, and dainty little cakes, and became a fashionable and social event in society; later moving from the drawing room into hotels such as the Ritz, Claridges, and the Savoy. And here in Canberra, the Hyatt Hotel has risen to the challenge, to the extent that when we now think about afternoon tea we choose the Hyatt first. And that’s just what we did. 20170211_120522

Catching up with blog friend Ink and Leathers for a chat about food, fashion and life in general, we took ourselves off for afternoon tea at the Hyatt Hotel on one of the hottest days in Canberra, but before we’d had a chance to inspect the cucumber sandwiches we discovered we were there on the same day as Giorgio Armani! Well, the brand at least.

So while we nibbled on our ribbon cucumber sandwiches, miniature filled brioche, and tiny pies and pastries, we were treated to a top-end fashion show at the same time. Designers such as Armani have a limited presence in Canberra, so to see the creative style and elegance of this famous designer—up close and personal, so to speak—was very exciting. 20170211_114002-1

Armani Collezioni includes tailored outfits, sportswear, evening wear, and accessories with a hint of corporate, for both men and women, and the Spring-Summer 2017 Collection features many Armani signature elements with gorgeous fabrics, clean lines, stunning colours, and exceptional detail, fit and finish. Having never owned a piece of Armani (and unlikely to do so …), I didn’t necessarily think the clothing would be my style, but in all honesty the collection would suit any age and any size, and will take you from work, to play, and on to dinner, and even … afternoon tea at the Hyatt! 20170211_115137-1

This is the second time in recent months that I have indulged in afternoon tea at the Hyatt, and, notwithstanding the outstanding work of the Hyatt chefs and their teams, much credit must go to Hotel Marketing Communication Manager, Avon Dissanayake. Avon is working with a wide range of fashion designers, agencies, musicians, social media influencers, dancers, and photographers to create Luxury is Personal for all Hyatt guests—be they staying guests or visitors to The Tea Lounge or Promenade Cafe. His passion for fashionxhyatt events, and their success, is infective—so stay tuned for more exciting happenings from the Hyatt in 2017. 20170211_114942-1

Models from Haus Models. Images by LFWMagazine

Be My Valentine!

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Love is in the air! And what better way to spend a romantic evening with your special Valentine than celebrating at The Hyatt Hotel in Canberra.

Celebrate Valentine’s Day with The Rosie cocktail and dinner at The Hyatt Hotel, Canberra. Image by Avon Dissanayake

Tuesday, 14 February is Valentine’s Day and The Hyatt is celebrating expressions of love with a choice of a dinner buffet or five course menu both including sparkling wine. Indulge in the five course dinner, with Australian sparkling wine served throughout the meal, in the heritage inspired elegance of The Tea Lounge from 7 – 10.30pm, or Celebrate with a themed buffet dinner featuring Wagyu roast, seafood, cheese station, and romantic desserts from 6 – 10.30pm.

Making The Rosie cocktail – available at The Hyatt on Valentine’s Day. Image LFW

But wait, there’s more … The Hyatt is excited to present The Rosie … a brand-new cocktail, prepared by Colombine Courouble, Team Leader at Speakers Corner Bar, to celebrate with your Valentine. The cocktail includes Cytrus Belvedere vodka, Monin rose syrup, muddled cucumber, Aperol and pink grapefruit juice, and is the perfect way to start (or end) your romantic evening. The Rosie is only available on Valentine’s Day.

Sweet Valentine afternoon tea at The Hyatt. Image by Avon Dissanayake

Of course, you don’t need Valentine’s Day to celebrate with your Valentine. You can celebrate any weekend at The Hyatt with a delicious afternoon tea in the The Tea Lounge. With a fabulous range of sweets and savouries, a glass of bubbles, and the piano tinkling away in the corner, you can celebrate your romance, wedding, anniversary, baby event, or milestone birthday … anytime!

For your Valentine’s Day booking call The Hyatt 6269 8901.

Afternoon Tea at The Hyatt. Image LFW

Luxury Indulgence at #fashionXhyatt

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What to do when you’re invited to ‘an afternoon of Luxury Indulgence’ organised by the Hyatt Hotel Canberra? Well, obviously, you go … and so I did. Complete with beautiful gardens, bell boys in their 1920s plus fours, and afternoon teas, our small group of invitees indulged in an afternoon of gourmet treats in luxurious surrounds.

The afternoon included two fashion shows by FASHFEST 2016 designers Sovata, Zilpah Tart, Karen Lee, and Braddon Tailors, and allowed Hyatt patrons to get an up-close look at local designers. FASHFEST co-founders, Clint and Andrea Hutchinson, were also there to chat about FASHFEST and their amazing plans for further development, which includes their new children’s fashion label NOMI. Music for the fashion shows was by Magnifik with Neon Honey.

Designers (l-r) Braddon Tailors, Sovata, Zilpah Tart, Karen Lee, Sovata; (seated) Braddon Tailors, Karen Lee. Photo by Leighton Hutchinson

In between the fashion shows we were treated to the most amazing afternoon tea in the very opulent and recently opened John Howard Room, which used to be pantry! At tables for two, Director of Culinary, Nitin Kumar, outlined a few of the items on our three-tiered stand of goodies. Savouries included mini salmon brioche, ribbon cucumber sandwiches, chicken wraps, and bite-sized smoked duck canapes, with the sweets including chocolate, mousses, macarons, and the traditional scones with jam and cream. I would love to go into more detail, but suffice to say it was truly amazing both in presentation and taste.

Executive Pastry Chef, Gerold Gstrein, explained that they only use natural ingredients for their pastries, so the sweetness is barely there, and the subtlety of flavour is amazing—you could taste each individual flavour in each bite. It was hard to choose a favourite as everything was brilliant, but the cucumber sandwiches—ribbons of light bread spread with a cream cheese and topped with slivers of cucumber—were miles ahead of your average cucumber sandwich.

LFW would like to thank Avon Dissanayake—Marketing Communication Manager, Hyatt Hotel Canberra, for his invitation, and Fredrick Arul—General Manager, Hyatt Hotel Canberra who took time to make sure we were given the five-star treatment!

FASHFEST co=founders Andrea and Clint Hutchinson, with Avon Dissanyake (l) and

FASHFEST co-founders Andrea and Clint Hutchinson, with Avon Dissanayake (l) and Fredrick Arul (r). Photo by Leighton Hutchinson.

Afternoon tea is available at the Hyatt on Friday 2.30 – 5pm, and Saturday and Sunday at 11am – 1.30pm, and 2.30 – 5pm.

LFW MAGAZINE

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