By James Wilkinson on Hamilton Island
Hamilton Island’s stunning new Yacht Club is set to open in less than a month, just in time for the 2009 Audi Hamilton Island Race Week.
Set to open: Hamilton Island Yacht Club
The Hamilton Island Yacht Club, designed by renowned Australian architect Walter Barda and developed in partnership with famed yachtsman Iain Murray, will not just add world-class club facilities to the island, but several new spectacular conference and event spaces.
During an exclusive site tour of the Yacht Club on Monday (Jul 27), Hamilton Island Yacht Club and Golf Course General Manager, Michael Saville, told SpiceNews the club would open in time for the 2009 Audi Hamilton Island Race Week, before closing again for the finishing touches.
“Level two will be open for Race Week,” he said. “We will then close the Club and re-open around late-October or early November.
“The Yacht Club will have a range of great quality meeting and event spaces, capable of having up to 200-banquet style,” Saville said.
Featuring three levels, several areas of the Yacht Club will be exclusive to members – and picked by owners the Oatley family – while a whole floor will be available for functions, conferences meetings and events.
Level one features an auditorium, 25-metre lap pool and gymnasium; level two features a multi-purpose room capable of sitting up to 200-banquet style, a boardroom for 20, signature restaurant with seating for 110 and a stunning outdoor bar on the adjoining deck area; while level three is for members only and will feature a private restaurant, bar and library.
The outdoor bar will be home to the Wild Oats Wine Bar during Audi Hamilton Island Race Week and once the venue is complete, will become the hottest event space in the Whistundays.
Located next to the Yacht Club are 35 three- and four-bedroom villas, the first of which is set to open at the end of 2009. All were individually purchased and several will be available through the Hamilton Island Holiday Homes rental division.
“The Oatley family have really created a world-class destination (with the Yacht Club and Golf Course)… at what is already a world-class destination,” Saville said.
Hamilton Island CEO Glenn Bourke said the opening of the Yacht Club would be another exciting element to the MICE facilities available on the island.
“The Yacht Club provides three more conference rooms as well as stunning new function spaces including outdoor terraces and private dining only available to either Yacht Club guests or groups,” he told SpiceNews.
“The conference space is premium – so it’s suitable for smaller groups looking for a premium product,” he said.
With the opening of the Yacht Club, Bourke said the timing of Virgin Blue’s new direct Sydney-Hamilton Island flights could not be better.
