Baillie Lodges is expanding its portfolio of boutique ultra-luxury properties to South America after acquiring a majority state in Chile’s Tierra Hotels.

Luxury Lodges of Australia says its online lodge availability calendar has proven a ‘game-changer’ for customers and travel advisors, and is encouraging the trade to utilise the multitude of resources available on the collection’s website.

Tower Lodge in the NSW Hunter Valley community of Pokolbin has re-opened to guests today [1 July 2022] as Spicers Tower Lodge. Following a $6-plus million renovation, guests can now book all-inclusive packages and join visitors in the Basque-inspired Sebastian Restaurant.

Work is underway on Baillie Lodges’ redesign of acclaimed luxury lodge The Louise in South Australia’s Barossa Valley culinary country, with the reopening of the new-look property slated for 5 September, just in time for spring.

The newest lodge from conservation-led travel company andBeyond is now open in a remote corner of the Serengeti known for Great Migration river crossings and very large local lion prides (of 20 to 60 lions).

Marriott International is entering the safari segment in Africa, signing its first luxury lodge in Kenya’s Masai Mara under the JW Marriott brand.Through a new partnership with Bakara Lodges LTD, Marriott plans to welcome guests to the JW Marriott Masai Mara Lodge in the Mara National Reserve from 2023.

The rebuild of Baillie Lodges’ Southern Ocean Lodge on Kangaroo Island, South Australia commenced on Friday [18 February 2022], with an official sod-turning ceremony. The original flagship property of the Baillie Lodges’ stable was destroyed by bushfires in January 2020.

Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts has unveiled plans for a new luxury tented resort within the existing Four Seasons Resort Punta Mita in Mexico. Flagged to debut in late 2022, Naviva, A Four Seasons Resort, Punta Mita will comprise 15 luxury tents set within the lush forests of the Riviera Nayarit. The butterfly-inspired guest tents will be perched on hillsides, each with private pools and expansive decks, and many with outdoor gardens.

A soil turning ceremony next week at the site of the former Southern Ocean Lodge will signify the official start of rebuilding the next iteration of one of Australia’s most acclaimed resorts.

Luxury safari lodge specialist, Nicky Fitzgerald, has revealed plans to develop a new intimate-sized Angama camp in Amboseli, Kenya. A sister-property to Angama Mara which debuted in Kenya’s Maasai Mara in 2015, Angama Amboseli will have exclusive access to Kimana Sanctuary, a 5,700-hectare game-filled wildlife corridor linking the greater Amboseli, Chyulu Hills and Tsavo ecosystems.

The lowering of border restrictions to Queensland has driven increased demand from interstate markets for Baillie Lodges’ recently reopened Daintree-based luxury retreat.

Global hospitality group Habitas has opened its newest property, dubbed Home, in Saudi Arabia’s AlUla.