Baillie Lodges: Hayley & James Baillie create “relaxed luxury” lodges in spectacular remote locations

Part 1 – As thoughts of travel escape to exotic locales starts to take shape as we open up from COVID-19 lockdowns and border closures, you might dream about the luxury lodges, or “luxury redefined” as they describe it, that married couple Hayley and James Baillie have created & developed in their Baillie Lodges portfolio. In some of Australia’s most spectacular, but often remote locations, Hayley and James took a punt almost 2 decades ago that other travellers with a bit of coin would share their passion for being immersed in nature while enjoying high-end luxury food, wines and accommodation at the end of the day in a remote, beautiful, & remarkable destinations. They went for it and built a little empire of luxury in their Capella Lodge on Lord Howe Island, Southern Ocean Lodge on Kangaroo Island, and Longitude 131 at Uluru, Central Australia. While they freely admit they got a help at the start from Hayley’s dad, renowned Aussie entrepreneur and adventurer Dick Smith, they tell how they built it through their own vision, blood, sweat & tears. While COVID 19 has hit the entire travel industry hard, including the remote Baillie Lodges, it was actually the devastating bushfires of the summer of 2020 which razed their beloved Southern Ocean Lodge to the ground, that severely dented their courage & entrepreneurial spirit. (You’ll have to wait for Part 2 for that bit!) Stay tuned now to find out what is their “secret sauce”. Hope you enjoy Hayley and James Baillie.

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