Luxury Lodges of Australia celebrates 15 years of collaboration and partnership in 2025, marking a milestone in a journey that has transformed the landscape of Australian luxury travel.
Since it launched in 2010, Luxury Lodges of Australia has redefined how travellers from around the world experience Australia’s extraordinary landscapes and hospitality, in style.
Executive chair Penny Rafferty explains that, when the founding members first came together in 2009, they recognised that Australia offered something distinctive to luxury travellers.
At the time, however, perceptions of Australia as a destination did not reflect this new era of experiential luxury.
Rafferty said: “What sets us apart as a collection is that our lodges have always been more than just a place to stay. Each property is in an extraordinary location with a compelling reason to go there and ‘do’ something. Together, we’ve created a distinctively Australian brand of experiential luxury that resonates with global travellers seeking real experiences of place.”
Redefining Australian luxury
Tourism Australia managing director Phillipa Harrison who is also one of the founding directors of Luxury Lodges of Australia said: “I don’t think it’s overstating it to say that Luxury Lodges of Australia has helped define what Australian luxury travel is and then communicated that message so beautifully to the world.”
Harrison further stated that the Luxury Lodges of Australia have been a keystone in Australia’s marketing approach to the global premium sector.
The Luxury Lodges of Australia collection is defined by more than just the offer of sophisticated accommodation.
Collectively the lodges deliver more than 350 individual experiences that connect their guests with place.
They offer rare and privileged access to some of Australia’s most extraordinary landscapes, high levels of hospitality, diverse experiences, people and what makes Australia, distinctively Australian.
Founding chairperson of the Luxury Lodges of Australia James Baillie said that providing guests with a genuinely Australian sense of place was what made the offering so special. Baillie said: “Our strength lies in celebrating how different our lodges are while sharing core commonalities that define us.”
The anniversary highlights the broader impact of the twenty member properties, all located in regional Australia. Each lodge partners with local producers, artists, makers and specialist guides, collectively doing business with more than 4,000 local Australian businesses, stimulating significant spend in regional economies.
Locations, all in regional Australia, include many World Heritage-listed areas, range from spectacular wilderness, reefs, outback, desert, rainforest, bountiful wine and food regions and coastline.
Whilst each lodge offers its own unique experiences, the defining characteristics that united the collection at its inception remain consistent today: exceptional hospitality, authentic experiences, and showcasing the best of Australian landscapes, produce, wine, wildlife and culture.
Making things easier for travellers
The anniversary is also a time to acknowledge how Luxury Lodges of Australia has made it easy for anyone planning luxury travel to navigate the vast island continent via the creation of seamless itineraries.
As Rafferty puts it: “Our intention was to create a trusted central resource, and a great place to start. Luxury Lodges of Australia has provided ease of access to high quality targeted information, trip planning tools and sample itineraries, taking into account the wealth of experiences, seasonality and access. Ultimately what we set out to do was to give travellers a strong sense of why they would visit, and what they would do at any of the lodge locations. Highlighting all the way, how it is distinctively, genuinely Australian.”
Looking ahead, Luxury Lodges of Australia will continue to advocate for Australia’s presence in the global luxury travel landscape with focus on the pillars that have always underpinned the ethos of the association: positive environmental and cultural impact.
Rafferty said: “While our defining qualities remain consistent, the lodges continue to evolve, invest, and innovate. The next chapter will see even greater emphasis on nurturing Australia’s unique environments and cultures, while ensuring we remain relevant to the changing expectations of luxury travellers worldwide.”
