InterContinental Hayman Island Resort

Among the Whitsunday Islands of the Great Barrier Reef is Hayman Island, a private island that’s been a luxe escape for well-heeled Australians since at least 1950, when the original Royal Hayman Hotel opened on this spectacular site. Through decades of expansions and improvements it’s slowly evolved into what it is today: the InterContinental Hayman Island Resort.

Its distinctive terraced wings still wrap around a vast lagoon-style pool, separated by mere yards from the beach and the picturesque south-facing bay. The accommodations range from rooms and suites to villas and residences, and the sky is more or less the limit — the four Residences stand on a hillside overlooking the bay and the resort, while even the humblest Lagoon Room is a lavish little retreat unto itself, complete with a marble-clad bathroom and a separate dressing room.

As any private island resort should, the InterContinental Hayman Island features no end of facilities, from a thoroughly well-equipped dive center to a capacious spa and athletic club, as well as a wealth of excursions by sea and land. Meanwhile the restaurants provide plenty of variety as well, from the versatile Pacific to the Vietnamese Bam Bam and Amici, an Italian eatery with a wood-fired oven.