If ever there was an excuse to invoke the cliché about clouds and silver linings, the resurrection of Kangaroo Island's Southern Ocean Lodge might be it. Discover how this slice of island paradise scooped the American Express Travel One To Watch Award.
Stretched along a limestone clifftop in the rugged wilderness of Australia's third-largest island, this luxury lodge was destroyed in catastrophic bush fires in 2020. Parent company Baillie Lodges didn't take this lying down, engaging original architect Max Pritchard to not only recreate his sculptural original but to subtly enhance it. What was already an icon of wilderness-based luxury became more so when the lodge re-opened in 2023, its 25 glass-walled suites elongated and repositioned to take in more of the immense coastal views, a new spa sheltered from the Great Southern Ocean gales and a premium four-bedroom, two-plunge-pool villa installed on the highest point of the property.
In short, it's a rebirth that manages to refresh a cliché. Here are six sensational reasons to fall for this hotel phoenix.
1. The arrival
The multitude of windows in Southern Ocean Lodge are designed to make the most of the view
Southern Ocean Lodge's Great Room provides one of the world's great arrival experiences. The immense space houses a sunken lounge area with a central suspended fireplace and generously stocked open bar and the mezzanine dining area, but that's not what stops people in their tracks. That comes from the floor-to-ceiling glazing framing 180-degree views of craggy coastline, sandy beaches and an expanse of wild ocean that stretches, unhindered by any other land, beyond the horizon to Antarctica. "It never gets old, the way that guests react when they first walk through the doors," says Southern Ocean Lodge's general manager Robyn Bautovich. "They can get emotional when they see it – sometimes you're handing out the tissues."
2. The singular lodge concept
The hotel's design leans into natural hues to pair with the hotel's surroundings
"Normally when you think of luxury island properties, you think of the tropics," explains assistant lodge manager Nat Lang. "But here we are with these great ocean swells and winds that have waves breaking over the tops of the cliffs and then, on a beautiful summer day, it's still and glassy and turquoise blue. To have the lodge on a cliff edge and for guests to be able to experience that thrill just by sitting in their room, there's nothing else quite like it."
3. The supply chain
Dishes at the hotel make the most of local produce, such as scallops
Baillie properties are designed to emphasise a sense of place and that includes a tight focus on local produce. At Southern Ocean Lodge, produce comes exclusively from Kangaroo Island or neighbouring Fleurieu Peninsula. It includes local good stuff ranging from marron – a freshwater crayfish farmed locally by the stonemason who handcrafted the lodge's limestone walls – oysters, scallops, barramundi and whiting to olive oil, sticky figs, finger limes, wattleseed and honey from the island's protected colonies of Ligurian bees. Executive chef Tom Saliba takes a 'less fluff, more flavour' approach, creating pretty combinations like half shell marron with miso beurre blanc, fingerlime and salmon roe and honey tart with native muntries (native cranberries) and wattleseed ice cream. The wine, aside from champagne, is all sourced from South Australia too.
4. The experiences
Guests can go kangaroo spotting on the island
Kangaroo Island (KI to the locals) is a wonderland of ancient geological formations like the aptly-named Remarkable Rocks – giant, red lichen-encrusted granite boulders that resemble Henry Moore sculptures. It's also home to abundant endemic wildlife, including kangaroos and koalas, colonies of sea lions and fur seals and flocks of glossy black cockatoos and a night sky untroubled by light pollution that's regularly painted with the Aurora Australis. The experience team at Southern Ocean Lodge is all about immersion: getting up-close and personal with a sea lion, biking through the island's singular sage green wilderness, partaking in a little beach fishing, star watching with an astrologist. The goal, says experience manager Simone Phillips, is to make guests feel like they're "getting under the skin of the island."
5. The service
Southern Ocean Lodge's hospitality is informal but highly personalised
The Australian signature service style of refined informality is on full display at Southern Ocean Lodge. Guests are greeted on a first name basis and the staff, never intrusive, always friendly, bring a relaxed at-home vibe. That the same people who served you breakfast are also then taking you on a guided clifftop walk or showing you seal pups frolicking in rocky coves enhances the personal touch.
6. The art
Most spaces across the hotel, including rooms, are decorated with bespoke artwork
The entrance of the Southern Spa, reached by a glassed-in bridge from the main lodge building, features a stunning, moving mandala-like artwork made with objects salvaged from the original burnt-out lodge, everything from cocktail strainers to shards of restaurant crockery. It's the work of Kangaroo Island local Janine Macintosh whose intricate hand-stitched assemblages of local leaves, seed pods and shells adorn every room and the restaurant. The impressive art collection has all been commissioned from South Australian artists, including the school of blown glass fish in the 1200-bottle red wine cellar and the artwork in the four-bedroom Baillie Pavilion by Aboriginal Australian artists from the APY Art Collective.
For all of this and more, Southern Ocean Lodge has been awarded the American Express Travel One to Watch Award as part of The World's 50 Best Hotels 2025. It's an award given to a stand-out property that the 50 Best team believes has the potential to break into the 1-50 ranking in future editions.
The list of The World's 50 Best Hotels 2025 will be announced on Thursday 30 October live from Old Billingsgate, London. To stay up to date with the latest news, follow us on Instagram, Facebook, X and YouTube, and sign up to our newsletter.
