Cradle Mountain Lodge, Tasmania, Australia

A stay at Peppers Cradle Mountain Lodge (www.peppers.com.au/cradle-mountain-lodge) plunges you into the heart of Tasmania’s wilderness, with luxury that feels as organic as your surrounds. The cabins are nestled privately in the bushland, with wallabies bounding past the windows and wombats shuffling amid the trees. Locally sourced game, wine, cheeses and honey permeate the restaurant’s menu, one of Tasmania’s best. The view from the spa is a dense thicket of King Billy pine trees. Your immersion into Tasmania’s wilds would be total, if you weren’t being so thoroughly spoiled by the five-star service.

Travellers can choose from couples’ or family cabins, right up to suites with private outdoor tubs and fuel-efficient fireplaces. But you didn’t come to Cradle Mountain just to relax: walking trails spiral directly out from the lodge, right on the border of Cradle Mountain-Lake St. Clair National Park. Serene Dove Lake is a few minutes’ drive away, along with the thrusting silhouette of Cradle Mountain itself. And for a closer look at Tasmania’s most famous native animal, the lodge is moments from the Devils@Cradle sanctuary (www.devilsatcradle.com).

“Wildlife is best viewed from an outdoor hot tub. Don’t get me wrong, I was happy to be exhausted by long hikes in the national park and even I enjoyed Cradle Mountain’s dramatic weather. But the thrill of spotting echidnas and pademelons from the silky waters of a private hot tub is hard to forget.” – Anita Isalska