The Sundays evaluate – The Factors Man

Hamilton Island, certainly one of Australia’s premier locations to entry the Nice Barrier Reef, is not any stranger to unimaginable accommodations and resorts, from the towering Reef View Lodge to the ultraluxurious George Clooney- and Julia Roberts-approved adults-only resort Qualia. However what was wanted was one thing stylish, family-friendly and proper by the water.

Enter: The Sundays, a classy 59-room boutique lodge with spacious, snug rooms; balconies and patios searching on awe-inspiring landscapes; a less-is-more, laidback sense of luxurious; and a restaurant with meals so easy and delightful, every meal left me misty-eyed.

This is a primary look from my two-night keep at The Sundays, which opened in April and made our checklist of probably the most anticipated lodge openings of 2025.

First Impressions

Your keep at The Sundays begins on arrival on the lovable Hamilton Island Airport (HTI), the place the extremely pleasant workers (whom you may get to know throughout your journey) are ready to gather your luggage and ship them on to your room. The short journey from the airport helps you get your bearings of the island, the place automobiles are few and golf carts are many.

From the stylish outside foyer, you get a way of the small property, set on the north facet of Catseye Seaside and dealing with the dramatic, lush panorama of Passage Peak. Relationship again to the Eighties, the constructing as soon as served as the unique lodge on the island, however has been totally renovated with tender tones that replicate the pure environment, like the ocean and the close by reef. And with its open-air really feel (the everyday Queensland fashion) and virtually retro vibe, the place feels younger, contemporary and and completely easy.

The Room

From the open-air hallway, I entered a big, brilliant room with a principally impartial colour palette, avoid wasting pops of colour like a sea foam inexperienced slipper chair off to at least one nook and a colourful, superbly easy print depicting the island’s story by Indigenous Australian and Hungarian artist Tiarna Herczeg.

The king mattress, positioned in the course of the room, appeared out onto the massive balcony, which had views out to the water and the plush inexperienced landscapes within the distance. Tucked into the wall on the facet of the room was a big moveable TV, which provided streaming providers in addition to a big selection of on-demand TV and films.

Behind the mattress, a retractable wall separated the toilet and a multifunctional closet and space for storing. Inside stood a large bench for suitcases, drawers and a wardrobe with hangers and normal lodge facilities like an iron — in addition to some enjoyable ones like yoga mats and seashore towels.

A freestanding soaking tub took middle stage within the lavatory, sitting reverse a single self-importance with a well-lit mirror and hanging bathrobes. The rainfall-style bathe supplied glorious water stress — however the bathroom’s shut proximity to the bathe space may not be everybody’s cup of tea.

I additionally actually appreciated a small kitchenette house within the room that had a handy espresso machine, a tea kettle, an array of snacks and drinks for each adults and youngsters (learn: youngsters at coronary heart) and even a hidden microwave.

Like the remainder of the lodge, the house was inviting, snug and laidback. The finishes and the main points added an expensive contact, however weren’t excessive, and I instantly felt at dwelling in my room and really unhappy to depart it.

Eating at The Sundays

Throughout Hamilton Island Resort, guests can get pleasure from an array of eating places, from Southeast asian bites at Coca Chu to seafood joints, an Italian restaurant and even a barbecue dinner cruise. However nothing compares to Catseye Pool Membership, the brand new enterprise at The Sundays from extremely acclaimed cooks (and life companions) Josh and Julie Niland, the duo behind Sydney’s Saint Peter.

Catseye Pool Membership is an open-air house overlooking Catseye Bay and the lodge’s pool, open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Right here, the Nilands do what they do finest: serving the best and freshest components, however in a method that is shareable, really enjoyable to eat and — a minimum of for me — an awesome reminder of how necessary good meals and good firm is. Each meal I loved at Catseye Pool Membership made me shockingly emotional, joyful and grateful for the bounty this planet has to supply, proper from the very first meal I had there: a salad so easy and brilliant I could not cease fascinated with it ($20).

For breakfast each mornings of my keep, which is included within the price, I ordered the unbelievably scrumptious CPC breakfast bowl, consisting of sesame avocado, cauliflower rice, a soft-boiled egg (I requested for this as an alternative of a hard-boiled egg, which the kitchen was comfortable to do), cucumbers, tomato, kasundi and beetroot, and wattleseed kraut. I additionally cherished the tremendous crispy hash brown cake and the over-the-top frozen banana whip, which was an enormous sundae bowl of whipped banana — virtually like ice cream — with uncooked granola and cocoa nib.

Dinner at Catseye Pool Membership was one I will always remember. From wild uncooked fish and scallops served with dashi soup created from grilled fish bones ($46) to deconstructed pizza bread ($41), build-your-own expertly battered fish tacos ($43) and extremely tender and flavorful rooster ($80), each chunk was higher than the final.

Facilities and repair

Unique to The Sundays is a stupendous swimming pool searching to the cove, dawn yoga lessons, family-friendly moonlight film screenings, a every day ice cream sundae bar (with sundae tokens left in your room every night time at turndown service) and DJ periods on the pool on Sunday.

Hamilton Island has a ton of facilities, actions and issues to do, too, which can be shared between the varied resorts and residential leases. This is a short rundown of a few of them:

• Shared sports activities membership with gear, lessons, spa and a sauna
• Tennis courts
• Children membership for youngsters between six months and 12 years
• Golf cart leases to get across the island
• Spa Wumurdaylin which gives numerous therapies and massages
• Mountaineering trails
• Boating and fishing
• An arcade with video games, a golf simulator and nine-pin bowling
• Go-kart racing
• A golf course on the neighboring island (search for it from the airplane!)
• Nonmotorized water sports activities and leases like standup paddleboards and kayaks
• Snorkeling and diving on the Nice Barrier Reef
• Over 60 different actions

Simply be aware: Many of those actions value a further charge.

Hamilton Island Wildlife Middle

One of many highlights of my time on Hamilton Island was visiting the resort’s wildlife middle, a few five-minute stroll from The Sundays.

The middle gives plenty of particular animal encounters or only a stroll by way of the small park to see creatures like crocodiles, koalas, wallabies (small kangaroos), quite a lot of birds and even some dingos. For about $22, you’ll be able to stand up and near an lovable koala for {a photograph}.

Journey to the center tour — coronary heart reef expertise

Visiting the Nice Barrier Reef is a life-changing expertise. Fortunately, The Sundays and Hamilton Island collectively supply an unique alternative to helicopter over the long-lasting portion of the reef formed like a coronary heart, earlier than touchdown on a pontoon heliport proper in the course of the reef to snorkel (the fee is about $900).

This expertise was the spotlight of my journey in Australia, and my 45-minute snorkel allowed me to find every thing I might hoped the Nice Barrier Reef would reveal, together with stunning clown fish, glowing corals and fish in additional colours, sizes and shapes than I might have imagined. After getting again onto the pontoon, we celebrated actually “Discovering Nemo” with a glass of Champagne earlier than helicoptering again to The Sundays.

 Location and logistics

Hamilton Island has its personal airport, Hamilton Island Airport (HTI), providing flights on Virgin Australia, Jetstar and Qantas to Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane.

What it prices to remain at The Sundays and easy methods to e-book

Money charges at The Sundays begin at $572 per night time. In the mean time, The Sundays will not be built-in right into a luxurious reserving program so it is best to e-book straight with the lodge.

Accessibility

The Sundays gives accessible terrace rooms with wheelchair entry, wide-entry wardrobes, bogs with rails and lowered basins, height-adjusted fittings and mattress hoists accessible by request.

As all the time, TPG recommends talking with the lodge straight earlier than reserving to higher perceive the lodge’s accessible choices.

Backside line

The Sundays is the primary new lodge to open on Hamilton Island, a well-liked household trip spot for Australians, in almost 20 years. I can inform you firsthand, it was nicely definitely worth the wait. With a captivating room that includes stunning views, an extremely pleasant workers and meals from a celebrated chef you will not quickly overlook (critically, I will be making an attempt to recreate that breakfast bowl each morning for the remainder of my life), I used to be taken with The Sundays. In reality, I am already planning my return to the island to share that helicopter expertise with my household so I can see their eyes gentle up the primary time they catch a glimpse of the Nice Barrier Reef.

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