HAYMAN ISLAND RE-OPENS

Hayman Island re-opens - Luxury Travel Magazine

By Antonia Maiolo

Date: 5 August 2011

Following five months of restoration, Hayman on Hayman Island has now reopened.

Earlier this year Tropical Cyclones Anthony and Yasi swept through Queensland destroying accommodation and leisure facilities on Hayman Island. The damage was so vast that the private island destination was forced to undergo extensive renovations on key guest accommodation areas, activity facilities and essential infrastructure including a new botanic garden to restore the resort.

Landscape designer and television personality Jamie Durie and his team have been rejuvenating the garden landscapes, including planting 33,000 new plants and 327 new species in order to provide a botanical backdrop to the resort.

The cost of rebuilding appears to be high with the island’s managing director, Lloyd Donaldson, saying that the landscaping alone has cost around $4 million. Apart from the garden, “all of the buildings have been repainted, the new beach villas have been completed, all of the sandstone has been rejuvenated, we’ve upgraded all our lagoon rooms, our penthouse and the majority of our guest rooms have been refurbished, and pretty much every item on the island has been touched,” says Donaldson.

General Manager Shane Green said, “new restaurant concepts are being introduced in both Azure and in our new Fontaine restaurant.”

The Hayman Activities Centre has also received a makeover, with new floodlit tennis courts and indoor-outdoor recreation, sports and fitness facilities.

However it is not all good news, while Hayman has reopened, Dunk and Bedarra islands remain closed indefinitely. At this stage the owner of Dunk and Bedarra has abandoned plans to rebuild the resorts that were also affected by Cyclone Yasi earlier this year. The islands are completely destroyed and would require a massive restoration project. Director of Sales for Hideaway Resorts Claudia McFadden has said, “the island resorts were insured but the damage caused far outweighs the amount of money that insurance would cover.” Unless an investor is willing to finance a multi-million dollar rebuild the resorts will be put up for sale. CEO Mark Campbell has said, “It would take a joint venture or a new owner to reopen,” as the company is not in a position to fund the project on its own.