Photo: Jason Charles Hill and Emilie Ristevksi 
There are places that promise escape and places that truly deliver it. Kittawa Lodge, perched on the rugged west coast of King Island in Bass Strait, is emphatically the latter. This year’s winner of Best Regional Hotel is proof of what can happen when an adventurous vision meets an extraordinary landscape: a retreat that feels both luxurious and profoundly remote.
Just 65 kilometres long and home to more wallabies than people, King Island exists in splendid isolation between Victoria and Tasmania. Reaching it is part of the experience: a 30-minute twin-prop flight from Hobart, Launceston, Melbourne or Burnie deposits visitors into a place governed by weather, tides and the rhythms of nature rather than city life urgency.
There’s no public transport on the island and the car hire desk still hands over a map, a reminder that mobile reception beyond the main towns can be unreliable. But navigation is hardly complicated. Follow the road south from the airport and within 20 minutes you arrive at Kittawa Lodge, which opened in late 2019 when Sydney sea-changers Aaron Suine and Nick Stead traded corporate jobs for something slower.
Kittawa Lodge is a property of two architecturally designed self-contained one-bedroom lodges plus a two-bedroom retreat set within a 40-hectare coastal estate. Here, your only company is a mob of red-necked wallabies and a horizon that seems to stretch to Antarctica. Cleverly tucked into rolling sand dunes, the off-grid lodges offer maximum privacy from other guests.
Soak in a handmade concrete bath while gazing through a wall of glass at the Southern Ocean. The king-size bed, dressed in Cultiver linens, also faces a picture window fitted with an electric blind, so you can welcome the morning view without stirring from the covers. There’s internet access but no television. A stay here is an opportunity to unplug and enjoy the kind of silence that reminds you how rarely you experience it in the city.
Breakfast is included, as is a freshly prepared lunch delivered daily. Dinner can be as hands-on or indulgent as guests desire. Gourmet provisions arrive with recipe cards for those inclined to use the lodge’s fully equipped kitchen, while others can opt for a four-course dinner prepared by the lodge’s chef, showcasing exceptional King Island produce such as southern rock lobster pulled fresh from surrounding waters, renowned King Island beef and lamb, artisanal cheeses and seasonal local ingredients – all while you do nothing more taxing that watch the fire.
All winners in the Gourmet Traveller Hotel and Travel Awards have been determined by Gourmet Traveller editor David Meagher, deputy editor Ceri David and digital editor Georgia Condon. We also sought input from our team of luxury food and travel industry experts including our Victoria state editor Michael Harden, Queensland state editor Elliot Baker, New South Wales state editor Alexandra Carlton and travel writer Carrie Hutchinson.
How we pick the Gourmet Traveller Hotel and Travel Awards winners
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