Ten oceanfront villas hand-crafted from Australian hardwood on the southern tip of Long Island inside a Great Barrier Reef green zone, adults-only, all-inclusive, 100 percent solar-powered, the smallest five-star property in the Whitsundays and the most quietly refined.
The Whitsundays' answer to a private home, ten Australian-hardwood villas on the southern tip of Long Island, twenty guests at a time, no day visitors, 100 percent solar-powered, all-inclusive across three meals and the wine list. The mainland resort closest in feel to a small Aman.
Elysian was redeveloped from the former Paradise Bay Eco Escape, itself an established eco-property, by the current owner-operators in 2018, with the full property reopening in November of that year. The location is the southern tip of Long Island, inside a Great Barrier Reef Marine Park green zone (no fishing, no commercial boat traffic) and accessible only by the resort's private boat from Hamilton Island Airport (a 50-minute crossing) or by helicopter (15 minutes).
The property is the smallest five-star resort in the Whitsundays. Ten oceanfront villas, twenty guests maximum, no day visitors. The villas are constructed from solid Australian hardwood with cathedral ceilings, floor-to-ceiling windows, and private balconies looking directly across Paradise Bay to Pine Island. The two villa categories, the Oceanfront Villa (33 square metres, the entry-level room) and the larger Pool Villa (42 square metres with a private plunge pool and outdoor daybed), are the only choices. Every villa is the same orientation: the bed faces the water, the bathroom looks back to the rainforest, the deck steps onto the sand.
Elysian runs as fully all-inclusive. Three meals a day, prepared by the on-island culinary team and served in the central pavilion or in-villa on request; unlimited wine, beer and cocktails throughout the day; the daily snorkel-and-paddle programme; the morning yoga session at the rainforest pavilion; transfers from Hamilton Island both ways. The only thing that doesn't move on the bill is the spa treatments, which are added at the end of the stay.
The 100-percent solar operation is the second proposition. Elysian generates its own power from a 200-kilowatt rooftop array and a battery bank, draws drinking water from on-island bore wells, and operates a closed-loop waste programme, the only fully off-grid five-star resort in the Whitsundays. The third proposition is simply the geography: Paradise Bay's south-facing aspect produces fifteen minutes of additional evening light at sunset over Pine Island that the northern Whitsundays islands don't get; the reef immediately offshore is on the official Reef research-monitoring map; the closest neighbouring resort is forty minutes by boat. The Whitsundays' closest match to a small Aman, at one-tenth the price of qualia's Beach House.
Elysian is the Whitsundays honeymoon for couples who want a private home rather than a resort. Pool Villas are the booking; the in-villa breakfast in the morning, the pavilion dinner with the other eight to eighteen guests, the snorkel-and-paddle programme from the resort beach in the afternoon. The 100-percent solar story is the unexpected honeymoon hook, the resort matches the kind of values-aware luxury that the current generation of newlyweds responds to.
For anniversaries the all-inclusive structure is the central advantage, the bill is set on arrival, no surprises, the wine list runs without supplement through Australian and New Zealand premium ranges, the pavilion dinner can be re-set as a private beach dinner for a milestone night. The boat from Hamilton Island is the arrival cinematic, slower than Hayman's helicopter, more romantic.
For dedicated wellness retreats the small group size is the proposition. Twenty guests maximum, morning yoga at the rainforest pavilion, paddle-board and snorkel in the green zone immediately off the beach, in-villa massage, no Wi-Fi pressure (the connection is available but slow by design). Elysian is the closest the Whitsundays comes to a contemporary wellness retreat without leaving the reef.
Paradise Bay, Long Island
4802 Whitsunday Islands
Australia
Long Island, Whitsundays
10 oceanfront villas (twenty guests maximum)
Oceanfront Villa (33 sqm) from AUD $1,495/night per couple
Pool Villa (42 sqm, plunge pool) from AUD $1,795/night per couple
All meals, drinks and activities included
Minimum 2-night stay
Check-in: 2:00 PM
Check-out: 11:00 AM
Private boat transfer from Hamilton Island (50 mins) included
Adults-only (18+); no day visitors
Reopened November 2018
All-inclusive (three meals, unlimited drinks)
100% solar-powered, off-grid
Rainforest yoga pavilion
Snorkel & paddle in Reef green zone
In-villa massage (additional)
Spa pavilion overlooking Pine Island
Maximum twenty guests at a time
From AUD $1,495/night per couple, all-inclusive. The ten villas book three to six months ahead for southern-hemisphere winter (June, September) and four to five months for shoulder. The private boat transfer from Hamilton Island Airport is included; helicopter from Hamilton runs AUD $580 per person each way as an add-on.
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