Gourmet Traveller outlines the 10 best resorts in Australia for luxury escapes in 2025
As part of our 2025 Hotel and Travel Awards, a panel of travel experts reviewed and endorsed more than 50 hotels to determine the very best resorts in Australia. Under our definition, a resort can be coastal or rural, as long as it is situated in a regional or remote location (defined as anywhere outside of a main city centre).
From this year’s Resort of the Year, Southern Ocean Lodge, to cosy wine region retreats and lush island resorts offering enviable access to the Great Barrier Reef, these are the top-rated resorts that epitomise Australia’s distinct lens on luxury accommodation.
#1 Resort of the Year – Southern Ocean Lodge, Kangaroo Island
Lining a limestone clifftop on Kangaroo Island’s remote south-west coast with only ocean between it and Antarctica, Southern Ocean Lodge has returned more luxurious and unique than ever after its recent rebuild post-2020 bushfires. The service is relaxed and casual but with an impressively sharp eye for detail and versatility; all meals, included in the tariff, are created using local produce, much of it fished from the surrounding ocean; and each room boasts expansive views, a freestanding tub and cosy fireplace.
#2 Silky Oaks Lodge, The Daintree
This glam eco-lodge on 32 hectares of rainforest on Kuku Yalanji Country sets the standard for immersive, nature-based luxury. The 180-million-year-old Daintree is rightfully the star here, as is the crystal-clear Mossman River that drifts through the property. Riverside rooms and airy treehouses delight with their refined aesthetic, generous bathrooms and swinging hammocks.
#3 Lizard Island, Great Barrier Reef
Located on the northernmost section of the Great Barrier Reef, this inimitable resort sets the standard for barefoot luxury. Where else can you step onto a pristine beach, snap on a snorkel and swim out mere metres to float over giant clam gardens, green sea turtles and technicolour coral reefs? No wonder it’s one of the best resorts in Australia.
Set in Queensland’s Whitsundays, Qualia is one of Australia’s most luxurious resorts. Offering 60 individual indoor-outdoor pavilions and impeccable amenities, the resort is a favourite for big-name stars seeking a slice of quiet luxury in an eco-friendly bush-meets-beach setting. Rooms feature breezy louvered windows overlooking discreet sundecks shaded by eucalyptus trees, while a fleet of groomed resort staff accommodate every whim.
#6 Saffire Freycinet, East Coast Tasmania
Inspired by the humble Tasmanian beach shack, this striking, stingray-shaped complex and satellite suites, situated on the shore of unspoiled Coles Bay and with uninterrupted views of the spectacular Hazards Mountains, connects the lodge sympathetically to the bush, the abundant wildlife, and famous white-sand beaches such as Wineglass Bay.
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