UXURIOUS and uncompromisingly palatial, The Empire Hotel & Country Club is a splendid mini-destination in itself. The hotel is well and away Brunei's best business and leisure hotel and very much sets the benchmark for top class service, style and decor for Bandar Seri Begawan. The Empire Hotel & Country Club offers a breezy beach welcome an easy 20-minute drive from the capital. Walk into this Brunei luxury beach resort and the senses are tingling with echoes of royalty. Spacious 60sq m rooms featuring marble bathrooms with walk-in showers and baths are just the introduction.

For further indulgence, there are extravagant suite categories and a few private villas set in tastefully landscaped gardens. Combine all this with a great spread of outdoor activities, a special Kids' Club and an exhilarating golf course, and you have a natural all-in-one destination for families, weddings, couples, romancing honeymooners and business travellers.

Guests in Executive Club rooms, suites and villas can enjoy the E-Club Lounge on the sixth floor, where breakfast, afternoon tea, evening "mocktails" and snacks come with views of the sparkling South China Sea. For alfresco lounging, head out onto the club's balcony. When business calls, there are over 10 high-tech meeting rooms. All that glitters is indeed gold: the Grand Ballroom's intricate details are plated in 21 carats of the precious metal. Or escape to the 700-person theatre.

Outside, five swimming pools beckon, including the 11,000sq m Lagoon Pool and 50m Wet Edge, perfect for laps. Go diving, or take to the ocean in a jet ski, sailboat or kayak. Venturing further afield, there are Borneo's lush rainforests to explore. Gourmets will have much to occupy them from Chinese to Italian. The Empire's traditional English high teas, served in the lobby lounge, are a Brunei institution. Golf, 18 holes on an awe-inspiring Jack Nicklaus floodlit championship course, tennis, and the spoiling spa add the final touches to this glamorous mini "destination".