After almost four years of planning, design and construction, Baillie Lodge’s flagship Southern Ocean Lodge has reopened today on the wildly beautiful south coast of Kangaroo Island, South Australia.
Southern Ocean Lodge’s original architect, Max Pritchard, and his team have led the redesign of the property, incorporating all the features guests have loved most, along with some thoughtful extras, to usher in a new era of travel to Kangaroo Island.
The new iteration of the world-renowned Southern Ocean Lodge has almost the same footprint as the original, with the Great Room taking centre stage on the island’s limestone cliffs and twenty-three luxury suites cascading along the coastline. In a clever design manoeuvre, the guest suites have been reoriented to open to the south-east, each with uninterrupted views of the Southern Ocean and rolling coastal wilderness. All guest suites have private decks, an EcoSmart fireplace and a soaking tub.
New to the property is the ultra-premium Ocean Pavilion, cleverly designed to offer a single four-bedroom owner’s residence or two separate two-bedroom suites to create the ultimate Kangaroo Island hideaway for families and friends travelling together. The Great Room terrace now features a wet-edge pool, while the Southern Spa’s spacious new enclosure accommodates three treatment rooms, a gym, sauna and hot and cold plunge pools.
Designed for a new generation of travel to Kangaroo Island and in the context of a changing climate, Southern Ocean Lodge sets new standards for environmental sustainability in the tourism industry.
Its intelligent design incorporates cutting-edge technologies such as enhanced rainwater harvesting and solar power generation, smart building materials, a remote-controlled sprinkler system and a re-invigoration of the surrounding natural environment with some 45,000 biodiverse native plants propagated on site and planted in a natural buffer to the wilderness.
Guests arriving at Southern Ocean Lodge can listen to a virtual guided welcome via Baillie Lodges Luxury Redefined podcast, featuring interviews with those closest to the creation of the lodge, including Baillie Lodges founders James and Hayley, Southern Ocean Lodge General Managers Alison Heath & John Hird, architect Max Pritchard, as well as local artists, winemakers and food producers.
James Baillie, founder of Baillie Lodges, said the opportunity to open the replica Southern Ocean Lodge on 6 December 2024 was a real privilege and an emotional day for the whole team.
“We feel very fortunate to be able to unveil the new Southern Ocean Lodge to the world. Hayley and I had lived and breathed the original Lodge from the concept and planning stages to its award-winning reality, celebrated for its timeless design,” said Mr Baillie.
“With the benefit of hindsight and learning, we saw the opportunity to rebuild Southern Ocean Lodge as a special chance to return the property that seemed to touch so many guests over the years, and with some thoughtful additions, take it into a next generation of travellers and a sustainable future,” he said.
“It is a ‘full circle’ moment for us and one that brings some closure to the past as well as an optimistic look to the future and an even more sustainable, leading experiential tourism offering for South Australia,” he said.
Baillie Lodges founder Hayley Baillie said it had been wonderful to work with local suppliers from the original lodge, as well as discovering new entrants to the region, including food and beverage producers, artists and designers.
“We now have the opportunity to show the world the incredible depth and diversity of what South Australia and Kangaroo Island has to offer now and in the future, and we’re looking forward to once again working in rewarding partnerships with local communities,” Ms Baillie said.
“We have been buoyed by the unwavering support of so many of our guests and the wider tourism industry, for which we are very grateful, and we’re thrilled to be bringing Southern Ocean Lodge back today,” she said.