The Points Guy points to Southern Ocean Lodge in a list of the ’40 most exciting new hotels opening this year’.

“When it originally opened in 2008 on South Australia’s rugged Kangaroo Island, Southern Ocean Lodge helped usher in a new era of luxury lodgings in Oceania.

Strung out along the bluffs above the crashing surf, the lodge set the standard for stunning accommodations with clifftop villas that enjoyed endless views from window walls facing the sea. The original lodge was destroyed in the devastating bushfires of 2019 and 2020, but it’s rising from the ashes and set to make a glorious return later this year, with 25 new villas designed by the lodge’s original architect, Max Pritchard, along with partner Andrew Gunner, that hug the coastal landscape.

The new incarnation will be 25% more energy-efficient than the original thanks to a solar-battery hybrid energy system, and thoughtful landscaping leveraging fire-resistant plants should help ensure that this welcome return endures.

Why book: Be among the first to rediscover one of Australia’s most unique settings (few places are better for spotting koalas than Kangaroo Island) and one of its most beloved luxury lodges. “- Eric Rosen, The Points Guy.

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