Mr & Mrs Smith

Mr & Mrs Smith have just returned from a review trip to this wilderness hotel in the Kimberley, and just as soon as they've unpacked their safari jackets and Akubra hats, a full account of their stay in Australia will be with you. In the meantime, just to whet your wanderlust, here's a quick snapshot of El Questro Homestead…

Hanging precariously of the edge of a rugged gorge in Western Australia’s Kimberley region, with the Chamberlain River powering along below, Voyages El Questro Homestead is possibly the only hotel in the world that can claim a million acres of rugged russet salt plain for its gardens. Amid an ancient landscape of deep gorges, dramatic waterfalls, thermal springs and jagged escarpments, the Homestead is a tiny bubble of comfort – six suites set into lush cliff-top lawns and ringed with frangipani. Despite the remote wilderness setting, there are nuggets of luxury to be found: the honeymoon-perfect Chamberlain Gorge Suite has an outdoor bath-tub big enough for two overhanging the great gorge below, and ‘the big room’ lounge features Patagonian deer-hide footstools, bamboo spring chairs, and quirky modern furniture from Spanish designer Patricia Urquiola. In addition to the international design flourishes, Australian and Aboriginal artworks abound – look out for Jack Britton’s stunning painting, ‘Purnululu’. Of course, at El Questro, it’s the exterior which has the edge when it comes to spectacle – by day, you’re surrounded by some of the most awe-inspiring scenery on the continent, and by night, you can sit out on the veranda and let the ocean of stars wash over you.