The range of cuisine and expansive wine cellar at Hayman is as breathtaking as the garden and beach views! With over 50 chefs on site - and 8 restaurants and bars - a feeling of variety is definitely one of the highlights… along with the exceptional quality of food.

Most guests stay for a week or under so they’ll never run out of options, from Thai, Indonesian and Malaysian to Mediterranean and modern European. The themed restaurants have clichéd names like ‘La Fontaine’ or, one of our favorites, LA TRATTORIA. It’s the kind of al fresco, home-style Italian cooking experience that is so easy with kids. The atmosphere is amped up with a resident band, which I could live without personally as I like to focus on food and entertainment separately. But I don’t want to be a killjoy – and lots of people find live music festive on holidays.

ORIENTAL mixes different schools of Asian cuisine; you can really get in the mood in the ceremonial teahouse or by sitting low at traditional platform tables. It’s a great chance to open up the kids’ perspective with a setting that usually only adults get to try.

I recommend making a booking outside, where you can dine amidst the waterfalls and rock pools of the Oriental Garden. We love Japanese or Chinese food and there is something so clean and fresh about its sharp, salty flavors in a summer setting…

I usually skip fine, wear-a-proper-jacket dining at the best of times in formal cities, let alone on holiday in the tropics, so I can’t talk about LA FONTAINE personally. But its loose Aussie interpretation of classic French cooking and superb cellar has such a good reputation it is worth mentioning, especially for wine buffs.

They have some rarities from vineyards around the world, including some serious heavy hitters like Chateau D’Yquem Sauterne of a 1967 vintage and it is your one chance to try the jaw-dropping 1891 Chateau Lafitte - which even I have heard of.

Over the years the wine snobbery that favoured old world wines, creating a 70:30 ratio in favour of Europe, has evolved along with a huge demand for world class Australian and NZ wines. Equally determined to shine in this area, La Fontaine have all the Penfold’s famous Bin 95 Grange Hermitage reds back to 1965.

Coming back down to earth, restaurants like AZURE do a full seafood grill, so popular to modern Australian tastes (some families now do a Christmas lobster instead of the traditionally British turkey!) Appropriately, the restaurant overlooks the pristine waters of Hayman Beach - the perfect spot for the BREAKFAST BUFFET also. If it is the flop and drop cocktail that grabs you the BEACH PAVILLION, also right on the sands, serves the world’s largest cocktails - 1-litre Midori Splice and Daiquiris.

Although Hayman has literally the biggest kitchen in the Southern Hemisphere I love the way that they will always go the extra mile when guests want something different.

You don’t need to conform to eating within their times - or even in their restaurants! There have been times over the years when Sheira, myself and different friends have asked if we can dine somewhere else like the beach and honestly, they can make anything happen at Hayman. If you want a remote luxury barbecue, the next thing you know chefs, catering and wine staff will arrive by helicopter on a small isolated sand bar nearby to set up your feast, water lapping at their feet. When Zoe was a baby, the kitchen even made three kinds of mashed vegetables, so we could see which one scored.

Many gestures come to mind over the years: I remember some years ago arranging for 5 families to go on one of these sandbar picnics. Tables, chairs and umbrellas were already set up. Big coolers were stocked with a Leeuwin Estate “Art Series” Limited edition white that had me loving Riesling (which is generally not my thing, but it’s a beautiful wine). They threw an amazing picnic for probably 30 of us on Hayman.

Another time we hosted family friends from London who wanted to celebrate their son’s 13th birthday. On the far ‘lagoon side’ of the beach the staff set up a fantastic party with drinks in time for all the adults and kids to watch the golden sunset in awe together. It was a convivial, absolutely magical moment.

From private candlelit dinners on your balcony to picnic hampers that you’ll never have to lift, the kitchen is never precious and always brilliantly flexible. It’s the kind of place where if you are lucky enough to catch a fish they’ll pack it in ice and deliver it to the restaurant of your choice, asking what way you’d like it cooked.

A lot of people now want to do more than sample cultural or culinary experiences on their holidays: they want to learn. So about a year ago the resort took advantage of the wealth of knowledge behind the kitchen doors and introduced cooking classes as a guest activity (or private event). You can go one-on-one with the Hayman Master Chef in afternoon or evening classes - which is much more pleasant than getting sworn at by a temperamental hothead like Gordon Ramsey! At Hayman the rule of thumb is: treat guests like gold. Your classes can also be wine matched by the Sommelier - so you show off and replicate the whole experience by throwing a dinner party when you get back home. This adds another layer for kids too as there are sometimes cooking classes for the juniors.