HAMILTON ISLAND RENAISSANCE
Hamilton Island Renaissance - Luxury Travel Magazine
 | |||||
Hamilton Island Renaissance | |||||
| By: Jenny Caspersonn, Issue 41 – Summer 2010 | |||||
| (Hamilton Island, Qualia, Hamilton Island Yacht Club Villas and Hamilton Island Gold Club – Hamilton Island , Queensland, Australia) | |||||
| WITH THE LAUNCH OF THE NEW YACHT CLUB AND VILLAS AND THE DENT ISLAND GOLF CLUB, GREAT THINGS ARE HAPPENING FOR LUXURY TRAVELLERS ON HAMILTON ISLAND WRITES JENNY CASPERSONN. | |||||
| The Oatley family, owners of Hamilton Island, has undertaken a constant redevelopment of the island since they purchased it in 2004. The new Yacht Club and Villas and the Hamilton Island Golf Course will now position it as the premier Australian luxury destination for sailing and golfing enthusiasts. Hamilton Island has always had a lot going for it. Positioned at the gateway to Australia’s Great Barrier Reef in the glorious Whitsunday Islands, it boasts the uniquely beautiful combination of tropical paradise and Australian bush, along with the wonderful accessibility afforded by its own airport. The Yacht Club opened officially in late November, although Hamilton Island Race Week participants had a sneak peek in August. The island has long been a favorite destination for sailing enthusiasts with Race Week celebrating its 26th anniversary this year. The villa component of the new Yacht Club and Villas development is thirty-five luxuriously appointed stand-alone villas that line the foreshore, set amid the lush landscaping of celebrity garden designer Jamie Durie. Each villa has four bedrooms and four bathrooms set over three or four levels and captures sweeping views across the waterfront lagoon pool and Dent Passage to the Whitsunday Islands beyond. All of the villas include a spacious open plan living/dining room, state-of-the art gourmet kitchen, BOSE sound system, fully ducted air conditioning and a private golf buggy. Some villas have their own plunge pool. Magnificent cedar and rose gum timbers are generously used throughout with the immaculate joinery work completed by Yachtsman Iain Murray’s boat building firm. The villas are available for purchase with a number available for rental. Every villa owner receives founding membership of the Hamilton Island Yacht Club and has priority access to commercial berthing on the marina. All villa occupants, whether they are owners or holidaymakers, have access to the island’s ultra luxury resort, qualia. They may visit spa qualia and qualia restaurants as well as make use of the comprehensive Island Concierge Service. The Yacht Club itself houses a 90 seat restaurant, a 160 seat function centre, conference auditorium, theatre, bar and private dining space and Members Health Club with a 25m heated lap pool. The building’s striking nautical references are apparent from every perspective of its commanding position on the newly expanded marina. The dominant shapes of the Yacht Club’s copper roof, according to its architect Walter Barda, evoke the sea and sky, wind, wings and sails. When the Hamilton Island Golf Club on Dent Island was completed in the middle of 2009 it was the realisation of a longdiscussed dream to build a championship golf course in the region. Five times British Open winner Peter Thomson designed the course, which has added a new dimension to the Hamilton Island experience. The course occupies the entire landmass of Dent Island, is a fiveminute boat transfer from the main marina and has a spectacular panorama from every fairway. The par 71, 18-hole course is 6130m long and is the only championship island golf course in Australia. There are three tee positions on every hole, Callaway clubs for rent and an aquatic driving range set over Lake Melaleuca. The terrace of the Clubhouse and Proshop complex is a glorious spot for a meal and drinks with breathtaking views over the Passage Peak and the Coral Sea. Plans are underway for the construction of a mixture of on-course accommodation with villas, apartments and private residences scheduled to commence construction early 2010. Owners of the Yacht Club Villas are given access to the Golf Club and receive priority bookings for tee-off times. These two most recent additions to Hamilton Island are just the latest in a series of improvements undertaken by the Oatley family since they took over in 2004. The island had slid into receivership in the mid 1990s. It was purchased by an investment bank, which then set about finding a private buyer. Enter the Oatley family, well known for their award winning Rosemount Estate wines. They proved to be passionate and committed owners having to date invested around $300 million in establishing new developments and upgrading existing facilities. When it was completed in 2007, the splendid qualia resort took the quality of accommodation on the island, and indeed in Australia, to a new level in luxury. Innovative events such as the Australian Ballet’s superb Pas de Deux in Paradise weekend at qualia have become a permanent fixture on the Hamilton Island social calendar. Since their discovery on Whit Sunday on June 4, 1770 by Lieutenant James Cook, to the idyllic holiday retreat of today, the Whitsundays are recognized as a destination of exceptional natural beauty. The place just keeps getting better. | |||||
| Details: | |||||
| Hamilton Island | |||||
| Qualia | |||||
| Hamilton Island Yacht Club Villas | |||||
| Hamilton Island Gold Club | |||||
|
