Orpheus Island Lodge

With just 14 suites and step-off-the-beach access to the Great Barrier Reef, Orpheus Island has delighted visitors since the 1930s, but it wasn’t until a recent major overhaul that it joined the Luxury Lodges of Australia collection. Reopened July 1, the private island resort now offers laid-back luxury with a lighter environmental footprint. Suites and villas are bigger and brighter, with higher ceilings and new bathrooms, and the experience is just as much outdoors as indoors. Guests can enjoy the new restaurant or private beachside dining (all-inclusive plus select Australian wines and beers) and take part in daily excursions, be it snorkeling, fishing, or unlimited use of paddleboards, kayaks, catamarans, you name it. Only 28 guests can stay here at a time—the resort is available for exclusive use—making this one of our Travel Masters’ new favorite hubs to explore the Great Barrier Reef.