How Aussie island’s ’70s-style apartments became a luxe ‘house hotel’

They’re an inquisitive bunch, these Lord Howe Islanders.

In the turquoise waters off Ned’s Beach, chunky kingfish and their silver drummer mates dart and dive around us, nudging our legs and beating us to small yet perfectly formed waves. Later, when snorkelling in the island’s postcard lagoon, more stickybeaks arrive; a dozen or so sooty terns that form a circle centimetres above our bobbing heads.

Ancient stunner... Lord Howe Island.Credit:

“What are they doing?”

“Just having a look, I reckon,” our laid-back dive boat captain replies. But even he shakes his head when a wayward squid hits the deck after making a giant leap for squidkind from the watery depths.

The fact that this World Heritage-listed island’s birds and much of its sea life are protected may partly explain why the wildlife here seems so, well, in your face.

Or maybe shrinking violets just don’t make the evolutionary cut in a place as ruggedly beautiful as this coral-ringed dot halfway between Australia and New Zealand that’s also home to the broodingly formidable Mount Gower; giant banyan trees in the evocatively named Valley of the Shadows; and the ancient oddball that is Ball’s Pyramid, the world’s tallest sea stack that juts out of the water like a dark claw. It’s the sole haven for another long-term islander, the Lord Howe Island stick insect, or “tree lobster”, rediscovered in 2001, long after being presumed extinct.

Tranquil tree views... guest bedroom.Credit:

Lord Howe’s dominant traits of stoicism and beauty have long fascinated islander Tim Maxwell. So when he and his father, Michael, debated over many chats – “we needed to get this right” – how to transform their ’70s-style apartments near Ned’s Beach into a standout retreat, they took clues from the island itself.

“We weren’t interested in a building that would eventually need updating,” Tim says. “We wanted to create something solid, timeless and of enduring beauty and quality that would be here for future generations to enjoy.”

Kitchen-dining area, North House.Credit:

Construction began in 2016 – no easy feat on an island this remote – particularly when you consider that the architect-designed property is built of hardwood and copper, boasts solid oak walls with four-metre-high ceilings and wide oak floorboards, and plays host to authentic mid-century furniture shipped from Denmark, Japanese ceramics, high-end appliances, plus a rotating wealth of striking Indigenous and other artwork.

North House lounge and deck… the house is a showcase for artworks.Credit:

But this is an island that favours the bold. After battling delays, adverse weather – barges can be tricky beasts – and then the ultimate disruptor, COVID-19, Island House, comprising two art-filled pavilion-style dwellings, North House and South House, opened in late 2020, catering for up to eight guests in a set-up best described as a “house hotel”.

Here, guests have all the privacy and space to eat or relax when and how they want, while a discreet on-site team of four, including head Japanese chef Kimie Uemoto, tackle all the logistical tasks that can snaffle time that’s better spent curled up with a book or diving with colourful fish. So, seafood caught by you or others materialises as a gourmet meal, or comes pre-prepared with a recipe, complete with produce from the local nursery.

A picnic at Ned’s Beach magically appears in the shape of barbecue provisions, blankets and cushions, salads, chilled beer and champagne plus sunscreen; and, after snorkelling amid the coral or testing yourself on a Mount Gower hike, you’re handed a warm towel and a cool drink in the air-conditioned ride back to Island House. Care for a pre-dinner margarita? Alex, the barman, is on hand. Add to this a super-discreet cleaning service.

Private chef Kimie Uemoto prepares locally sourced seafood using Japanese culinary techniques.Credit:

We’re in the light-filled yet forest-facing North House. Its expansive living area boasts a chef’s kitchen with full pantry (anchovies, biscuits, sourdough, Pepe Saya butter, chocolate, ice-cream, bacon, cereals, yoghurt, jams, pickles, olives, local eggs … we could go on) and an eight-seater dining table. Books, as carefully curated as the pantry ingredients, line one wall. A separate nook contains a full bar, coffee machine and board games. There’s a wood-burning fire, generous lounges, a sound system and a deck with more enticing places to flop.

The two double bedrooms at opposite ends of the house have decks too, where you can relax in a copper bath, and bathrooms with rain showers facing garden courtyards. A shared adventure room offers snorkelling gear, bikes, wetsuits and yoga mats.

Bathe under the stars... a copper bath on the bedroom deck.Credit:

North and South House can be booked separately, though multi-generational families and groups of friends love the private-yet-separate experience presented when booking both. This is aided by yet another screened deck/dining space that straddles the two properties: a communal hub if, or when, you want to get together.

Lord Howe has many attractions: diving, snorkelling, fishing, bushwalks, mountain climbing. Visit the nursery nurturing island fresh produce and famed Kentia palms, and Lord Howe Island Brewery, for local ales and wood-fired pizza. But be warned: once at Island House it’s hard to leave. You will fight the urge to laze on a deck; to make a toastie with those super-charged ingredients in that kitchen; to gaze at the sculptures and artwork, or soak in the bath on the deck while spotting birds flitting among centuries-old banyans.

So many nooks, so little time.

And back to those other islanders with endurance and beauty in their DNA. The island woodhen tops the list of locals with chutzpah. These russet raucous balls pop up everywhere, rumbling with each other and ruling the roost on the island’s 20km/h roads, forcing its few cars to wait until the hens decide when they’ve ruffled enough feathers. Not bad for a flightless bird whose very existence was once pushed to the brink.

Built to last.

THE DETAILS

STAY
Island House Signature Experience, including a daily chef-prepared meal; transfers, all food and alcohol; use of outdoor gear and internet; from $8660 a night for up to eight guests. See islandhouse.com.au

The writer stayed as a guest of Island House.