Everyone’s favourite Whitsunday island gets a hatted-chef restaurant

Hamilton Island opens its doors to new resort The Sundays on April 24 and within it the restaurant Catseye Pool Club that aptly features Josh and Julie Niland’s distinctive seafood focus.

The Nilands have made their name building esteemed eateries that focus on Josh’s next-level fish butchery skills and love of seafood and their Sydney restaurant Saint Peter, now operating out of the Grand National Hotel in Paddington, has three coveted Good Food Chef’s Hats.

Family-focused boutique resort The Sundays.

Being set in the confines of The Sundays, a family-skewed resort, Catseye Pool Club is an appropriately casual poolside diner, offering “family-style” or “share-style” dining, with dishes to share over long lazy meals with views of Catseye Bay.

Fish feast… the Nilands’ Catseye Pool Club.

As for the resort, it’s called The Sundays for a reason – or two. Of course, the name is a reference to its Whitsundays setting. But it also speaks to the relaxed barefoot luxury on offer, aiming to inspire a laid-back Sunday-style state of mind in its guests.

Hamilton Island owners, the Oatley family, of wine and yacht fame, created The Sundays in response to guest feedback, which indicated there was demand for a family-skewed boutique resort alongside the super-luxurious and adults-only Qualia.

The resort aims to inspire a laid-back Sunday-style state of mind in its guests.

Other accommodation options on Hamilton Island are Reef View Hotel and Palm Bungalows.

The Sundays is bijou at 59 rooms, but offers a range of experiences, including snorkelling and sailing – this is the Great Barrier Reef after all – spa treatments, wildlife encounters and cultural tours.

The latter includes Cultural Island Discovery with Indigenous guide Robbie Congoo, an adventure to Hook Island that combines the traditions of the Whitsundays’ Traditional Owners and ancient rock art with food featuring native ingredients.

From $891 a night. See hamiltonisland.com.au