Shining a spotlight on four Luxury Lodges of Australia: Sal Salis at Ningaloo Reef, Southern Ocean Lodge on Kangaroo Island, Capella Lodge on Lord Howe Island and Silky Oaks Lodge in the Daintree Rainforest; Fleur Bainger writes for Journey Beyond magazine about the rise of experiential luxury in Australia.
“Over the past 15 years, Luxury Lodges of Australia has shaken up what ‘experiential luxury’ means across the country’s most immersive destinations, leading to transformational shifts on numerous levels.
Luxury wasn’t associated with the outdoors, instead viewed in the glint of chandeliers, the polish of expensive glassware, marble tiles and thread counts – definitely not in sandy feet and wind-swept hair.
But those perceptions have changed. Much of the credit for this goes to Luxury Lodges of Australia (LLoA), the 15-year-old collective (of which Sal Salis is a member) that redefined what it meant to holiday in comfort. The kind of comfort that doesn’t compete with nature, but deepens your experience of it.
At the heart of LLoA’s philosophy is a simple idea: that true luxury lies in rarity of access. “Not just to beautifully conceived places, but locations and experiences of place, because of the knowledge, skill and access that individuals, guides and owners of the lodges have,” says Penny Rafferty, LLoA’s executive chair.
It might mean snorkelling over a remote reef before dining on local seafood. Or being one of a handful of guests at a remote lodge, supporting the local creative community by connecting with Indigenous artists.
Each of LLoA’s 20 member-properties is remote, many in World Heritage areas. Dedicated to enriching local communities through tourism, they actively collaborate with local producers, artists, makers, specialist guides and other ‘true-blue’ characters.”
Read the full article here.
