When Baillie Lodges invited bidding on first stays at Southern Ocean Lodge 2.0, the competitors was fierce for the philanthropic public sale. All up, it raised $43,000 for group organisations.
That goes to indicate the love felt across the globe by those that have skilled Baillie Lodges’ multi-garlanded flagship property, the unique Southern Ocean Lodge, earlier than it was destroyed by the fires that ravaged South Australia’s Kangaroo Island in 2020.
An artist’s impression of Southern Ocean Lodge’s Outstanding Suite.
Opened in 2008, it was an prompt game-changer, not only for Kangaroo Island, not only for South Australia even, however for the broader Australian journey providing. It merely set the bar increased and would rapidly garner award after award and a world repute for melding one of many planet’s most pristine and ruggedly lovely locations with high-end luxurious.
That luxurious, nevertheless, was applicable for the place and the expertise, specializing in the coastal wilderness of the placement and the back-to-nature serenity that this engendered. It additionally celebrated the cornucopia of Kangaroo Island’s unimaginable produce.
When the fires hit, Baillie Lodges instantly dedicated to rebuilding. John Hird and Alison Heath, managers of Southern Ocean Lodge since 2012, additionally dedicated. The couple had remained onsite in the course of the bushfires and stayed as property managers overseeing the works.
This Wednesday (December 6), Hird and Heath will likely be there to welcome the fortunate public sale winners as they file within the door. And just like the presence of the much-loved, long-term managers, what visitors will discover is a lodge that adheres to the adage of “if it isn’t damaged, don’t repair it” and, to make use of one other saying, it has additionally been very a lot a case of “getting the band again collectively” – the all-inclusive expertise nonetheless champions native producers.
The unique Nice Room returns in near its authentic design.
And Southern Ocean Lodge’s founding architect, the Glenelg-based Max Pritchard, was tapped once more to design a property that bears nice resemblance to the unique, however with some thought of additions and changes that elevate the landmark for a brand new period.
The brand new Southern Ocean Lodge has virtually the identical footprint as the primary, with 25 luxurious visitor suites unfold alongside the shoreline and positioned for optimum views.