In 2007, Emirates Hotels & Resorts purchased a 4,000-acre site in
Australia’s Blue Mountains with the intention of building a
resort-cum–conservation project. Two years later, the new Wolgan Valley
Resort & Spa—which is based on Emirates’ Dubai Desert Conservation
Reserve and Al Maha resort in the Middle East—delivers on both fronts.
At the heart of the resort, which opened to guests in October in a
picturesque setting 45 minutes northwest of Sydney by helicopter,
Emirates restored a circa-1832 homestead once visited by Charles Darwin.
New buildings bordering the homestead mirror its design and house 40
contemporary suites.
The bushland surrounding the guest rooms was previously used for cattle
grazing, but Emirates is repopulating the area with native flora and
fauna including flowering eucalyptus trees, flying foxes, and wonga
pigeons. Activities at Wolgan Valley include guided nature walks through
the bush and feasts of Coffin Bay oysters in the dining room.
