CHRISTMAS Island has a new style of accommodation with the opening of Swell Lodge, offering luxury eco-accommodation perched on the rugged west coast of the island.
Swell Lodge is the first ecologically sustainable accommodation to be approved in an Australian Federal National Park and is the first of a planned eight.
The sustainably designed lodge has floor-to-ceiling windows boasting sweeping views of the Indian Ocean and is luxuriously appointed.
Guests can choose from daily activities including boat trips to the best snorkel spots, guided walks to waterfalls, beaches and blowholes, cave swims, a visit to the National Park’s research station and bird rehabilitation centre, tickets to the outdoor cinema, golf and access to a four-wheel-drive vehicle for island exploration.
Optional extras include yoga and massage sessions, dive trips and fishing expeditions.
They can also feast on gourmet meals prepared using locally grown and foraged ingredients by their private French chef, Felix Legrand.
“Christmas Island is Australia’s best kept secret, a jungle-clad island full of rare and unusual birds, crabs, waterfalls, turtle-nesting beaches and some of the world’s best snorkelling and diving,” said Swell Lodge co-owner Chris Bray.
“Swell Lodge has been several years in the planning and we consider now is the perfect time to launch” he said.
“With the island’s mine and detention centre winding down, eco-tourism is the new future for Christmas Island and has huge potential.”
Rates at Swell Lodge start at $690 per person per night.
