Large, russet double doors swing outward as Southern Ocean Lodge guests step into the luxurious cocoon of the Great Room. Here, with a complimentary Champagne in hand, you are completely swept away by the vista of the Great Southern Ocean breaking on the beaches beyond while your ocean-view suite is prepared, luggage transferred, and an itinerary curated for your Kangaroo Island experience.
Southern Ocean Lodge is located at Hanson Bay, overlooking a magnificent stretch of Kangaroo Island coastline. Twenty-five suites, all with stunning views from every angle, stretch languidly along a limestone clifftop. With the exclusive Baillie Pavilion and the premium Osprey Suite at the top of the range, the Lodge can accommodate about 68 guests in stylish, private settings, each boasting the elegance and detail of genuine premium accommodation.
Sweeping curvilinear architecture abounds throughout, with stark, bone-white walls of stone and plaster curling away to reveal new layers of considered detail. Floor-to-ceiling glass invites a vista of the Great Southern Ocean, with its ceaseless release of tidal energy onto the beaches and bay below, and its ever-changing displays of sunlight, spray, colour and movement. The dramatic scenery is framed by tasteful floor plans and furnishings, giving guests the opportunity to feel immersed in the raw beauty of the coastline while lounging, swimming, bathing or dining in comfort.
Southern Ocean Lodge is the flagship, and favourite child of the luxury lodge stable, Baillie Lodges, founded by James and Hayley Baillie. Reopened in December 2023 after fire destroyed the original site in 2020, the story of the bushfires is told through beautiful artwork incorporating references to what remains.
The voluminous Great Room, with its central fireplace, is a shared space with a generous complimentary bar, tables, lounges and bar-style seating. It sits alongside the dining room, which continues a sinuous line of floor-to-ceiling glass inviting in the omnipresent seascape.
In the dining room, signature dishes draw deeply on local produce. Freshwater marron farmed on the island are served on a bed of native succulents from around the lodge, pan-seared and dressed with lemon myrtle, native tamarind and native ginger and finished with finger lime, fried shallot and seaweed salad. Local students at Parndana (in the middle of the island) use agriculture lessons to farm barramundi in an enterprising aquaculture operation supported exclusively by the Lodge, which serves the produce with finely shaved fennel and coriander oil. Dishes such as these are paired with wines from the island and the rest of South Australia.
Staff, who live and work together on the remote site, are respectful, attentive, informative and immaculately dressed as they guide guests through time and space. Specialist masseurs offer essential-oil treatments in quiet, north-facing relaxation rooms, with a sauna, gym and hot and cold plunge pools in the adjacent spa area. A broad timber walkway invites guests to take a stroll down through the resurgent bushland to the beach where a solitary table affords unbroken views of the beaches and ocean. Expert guides are on hand to explore the clifftops and deeper reaches of the island on lodge-exclusive experiences. With every need taken care of by the staff of Southern Ocean Lodge, the only thing to do is relax and soak in the sensory offering of extraordinary sights, enticing smells, delectable tastes and luxurious touch.
