Australia’s Capella Lodge Gets an Upgrade

One of the world’s most exotic hideaways, Capella Lodge on Australia’s Lord Howe Island, has reopened after a major refurbishment. The property has just nine suites, all of which have been significantly upgraded.

Extended balconies with hot tubs have been added to the property’s dual-level Lagoon Lofts; the magnificent Makambo Loft has gained a new heated plunge pool and private canopied daybed; and the Catalina Suite now has two bedrooms and two baths and hence is ideal for families. The resort’s spa has been expanded with the addition of a new treatment room and relaxation lounge. And the main lodge restaurant and bar have also been redesigned. Capella Lodge is set amid scenery of scarcely believable beauty.

Two hours by plane northeast of Sydney, Lord Howe Island is a six-mile-long crescent of land, covered by a rainforest of ferns, mosses and orchids that extends to a shoreline ringed by dazzling white-sand beaches. At its southern tip, the island rears upward in the twin spires of Mount Lidgbird (2,550 feet) and Mount Gower (2,870 feet). And offshore a lagoon displays every color of a peacock’s tail. There are few more-glamorous places in which to escape from the world.