One&Only Lord Howe Island

We celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary here and it couldn't have been more perfectly conceived — sensational views, flawless service, and a four-course dinner that delivered at every turn.

Capella is brilliantly conceived and managed — it hits all the right notes for a milestone occasion. The setting does the heavy lifting, but the kitchen and the team both rise to match it. I'd recommend it wholeheartedly for any special occasion.

The property sits on a bluff overlooking Mt Gower and the hospitality team was impeccable across every interaction.

The food was fresh, varied, and delicious, the views were breathtaking and genuinely serene, and the service was faultlessly five-star. A place you remember.

The view is possibly the best in the world — and I say that having traveled extensively — but what truly made it was the staff.

From the welcome onwards this felt like a masterclass in how arrival should be done. Food sublime, rooms brilliant. Lord Howe Island itself is a terrific place, and Capella positions you perfectly within it.

Everything exceeded our expectations so completely that we rebooked for next year before we'd even left.

The room was pure luxury, the food was five-star throughout, and the staff treated us in a way that's increasingly rare. When you find yourself at the airport already planning your return trip, you know a place has done something right.

The staff lifted the whole experience to a different level — knowledgeable, friendly, and genuinely invested in making sure we saw the best the island had to offer.

Three nights and four days felt both perfectly paced and not quite long enough. Every evening the food was excellent, and the team consistently helped us make the most of the island rather than just the lodge. Capella is a very special venue on a very special island.

Even the coffee was better than anything we'd had on the mainland — the attention to detail really does extend to every small thing.

Outstanding on every level, from room quality to service. When a remote island lodge is getting the coffee right alongside everything else, you know the standards are genuinely high throughout.

We stayed in a maisonette with a private hot tub and came home already planning our return — this place is genuinely magical.

It's a small property, just nine rooms, but that's precisely what makes it feel so special. The mountains and the sea fill every view, and after a hard day's hiking, sliding into the hot tub on our own deck was the perfect reward. Breakfast and dinner were both included, along with evening canapés and cocktails, and every single meal hit the mark. The staff were warm and genuinely helpful throughout.

The service began the moment we were picked up from the airport and didn't stop until they dropped us off for departure — faultless from start to finish.

Every detail was covered: welcome drinks, sunset canapés, varied evening menus that were genuinely delicious, and a packed beach picnic delivered complete with tablecloths and napkins to whatever cove we chose that day. Our room had rain shower, hot tub, a fully stocked fridge — and surprisingly fast internet given there's no mobile reception on the island at all. What really stayed with me was how the team called every guest by their first name without exception. We'll absolutely be back.

We came to Capella as a treat after seven nights elsewhere on the island, and unfortunately it didn't live up to the premium it charges — the dinner food was genuinely disappointing.

The staff were lovely and the views from the deck were everything the photos promise. Housekeeping was exceptional and the evening cocktails with staff were a real highlight. But the dinner let us down considerably — it didn't match the quality we expected at this price point. When you're arriving with high expectations having already had a wonderful week on the island, the gap between the package cost and the food quality feels wider.

If Lord Howe Island calls to you at all, just book Capella and don't overthink it — the food and wine alone are beyond wonderful.

The island itself is extraordinary — there's something about the way it's been consciously preserved and kept pristine that makes you feel the privilege of being there. Capella amplifies that feeling. Every staff member genuinely wanted our stay to be perfect, and it was. The food and wine were the highlight after the views. We'll be back.

The Lidgbird Pavilion faces the twin peaks with absolutely nothing in the way — no road, no building, nothing — and arriving here felt closer to Bora Bora than anything I expected from Australia.

We booked the 125-square-meter Lidgbird Pavilion for four nights specifically for the views, and it delivered completely. Standing in the reception and seeing Mt Lidgbird and Mt Gower framed by the ocean with zero civilization in the sightline was genuinely arresting — the equivalent of Diamond Head or Mt Otemanu in terms of visual drama. The maisonette layout is the trade-off you make to get up high enough through the lush vegetation to earn that view. It wasn't a perfect stay overall, but the location alone justified the trip.

Eight nights in a Capella Suite and we used e-bikes nearly every day — the staff made both the lodge and the island feel completely effortless.

We'd start the mornings with really excellent breakfasts, then head out on e-bikes to reach the island's far corners quickly. Evenings meant canapés, a daily-changing dinner menu with premium wines, and the most attentive team I've encountered at a property this size. The staff — from Monica on arrivals through the full restaurant team — were consistently friendly and professional without being overbearing. You feel genuinely looked after rather than processed.

The food was fantastic, the communal atmosphere with other international guests was genuinely enjoyable, and having a pool at all on this island feels like a real luxury.

Our room was comfortable and private with a hot tub that earned its keep on cooler evenings. The meals were outstanding throughout, and I loved the casual conversations that developed at the bar and deck between guests and staff. Worth noting: Capella is one of only two or three properties on all of Lord Howe Island with a swimming pool, which gives the common areas a resort feel the rest of the island simply can't match. My one gripe was that the e-bike fleet runs out quickly — more bikes would be appreciated.

They were one step ahead of me at every turn — anticipating needs I hadn't yet recognized — and then they surprised me with a birthday cake and a personal gift.

I've stayed at properties that claim to personalize the experience, but Capella actually delivers it. The food was extraordinary, each meal a proper culinary event with something new each day. My room was serviced twice daily without fail. Every morning, a staff member sat with me to plan activities for the day with genuine enthusiasm — not a scripted checklist. The birthday celebration was the kind of thoughtful gesture that makes you realize how rare this level of care actually is.

A full week at Capella and I can honestly say the cuisine alone — a different decadent menu every night — would justify coming back.

Libby, Mark, and their team have built something genuinely special here. Every evening the chefs produced a new menu, imaginative and genuinely fine dining, not the kind of 'lodge food' you might brace yourself for in a remote island setting. The whole experience left me grateful we chose Capella over any alternative on the island. I've already thanked the team personally, but it deserves saying publicly: a phenomenal week.

The boutique exclusivity felt genuine — nine rooms means you're never jostling for a view or a table, and the mountain panorama from our balcony never got old.

There's real intentionality to the design here: rooms positioned to capture the full mountain-meets-ocean sweep, comfortable beds with proper linens, and a scale that actually allows the staff to be professionally unobtrusive rather than performatively attentive. All meals were delicious and nicely presented with wine pairings on offer. It's not a flashy property, but the substance is quietly excellent.