The Art of Island Hospitality
When guests step onto Picnic Island’s new jetty, they enter a world that transcends traditional luxury service rules—in all the right ways. Here, 800 meters offshore from the nearest road, exceptional hospitality doesn’t mean anticipating which champagne you prefer (although we’ll certainly have a bottle of local bubbly waiting for you).
It means reading the weather, understanding the tide, and recognizing the exact moment when you’re ready to stop planning and start being.
And that’s what the new Picnic Island experience is all about.
Remote modern luxury demands a fundamentally different approach to service.
Without the infrastructure of a traditional resort—no spa desk to call, no concierge bell to ring, no room service menu to browse—hospitality becomes more intuitive, more personal, and paradoxically, more luxurious. Our team’s expertise lies not in executing a standardized service protocol, but in genuine attentiveness to each guest’s specific needs.
To us, modern luxury means practicing hospitality as genuine care—a philosophy, practice, and value system that guides every interaction with our guests.
Modern Luxury is Curated
In many luxury resorts, great service often means a swift reaction to requests. On Picnic Island, it means (as much as possible) anticipating those needs before the request is even made.
Your island host notices you lingering over morning coffee and quietly adjusts the day’s departure time. The chef observes your enthusiasm for a particular local wine and packs a bottle for tomorrow’s picnic lunch on a wild beach. Your skipper spots dolphins on the horizon and adjusts the boat’s course, allowing the moment to unfold organically.
This anticipatory approach requires deep knowledge—not just of luxury service standards, but of this specific place and its rhythms.
When does the light hit Wineglass Bay most dramatically?
Which penguin burrows are most active this week?
Which experience will bring you the deep relaxation you’re seeking?
You won’t find these details in any service manual. They’re earned through presence, attention, and genuine connection to our island’s unique character.
The Luxury of Genuine Care
Today’s sophisticated travelers distinguish immediately between scripted and authentic attention. At Picnic Island, our small team makes it a priority to get to know you and understand why you’ve chosen our special corner of the world, and what you hope to find here.
We remember that you prefer your coffee black, yes, but more importantly, we notice when you seem ready for conversation versus comfortable in silence. We recognize when an unusual experience requires explanation—and when it is best to let the magic speak for itself.
This genuine care extends to honest communication about what remote island life actually means. When weather affects plans, we don’t offer hollow apologies or scramble to manufacture an equivalent experience. Instead, we embrace the island’s teaching:
Some of the most profound moments emerge precisely when nature refuses to accommodate our schedules.
Perhaps the storm that keeps us island-bound creates the evening of unhurried conversation you didn’t know you needed.
The Greatest Luxury of All: Space & Time
The most radical aspect of our philosophy of modern luxury is understanding that sometimes the greatest service is absence. Complete privacy on your own island means our team remains available yet unobtrusive—present when needed, invisible when not. This means trusting that guests will ask for what they need while creating an environment where asking feels effortless.
Picnic Island co-owner Mark Israel describes this approach simply:
“The most luxurious thing we can offer isn’t thread count, though we’ll give you that too, but the space to unplug, sit back, and enjoy life in one of the most extraordinary wild places there is.”
In this space between attention and absence, between anticipation and allowing, true modern luxury flourishes as genuine care, authentically experienced.
About Picnic Island Tasmania
Picnic Island is a private island retreat located 800 meters offshore from Coles Bay, Tasmania. The island accommodates up to eight guests in three luxuriously appointed bedrooms and a primary suite. As a protected seabird sanctuary, the island offers unprecedented access to wildlife, including resident Little Penguin and Shearwater colonies and occasional visits from whales, dolphins and seals, all while providing sophisticated luxury and exceptional service.
Reach out to [email protected] to enquire about your travel dates and create your dream visit with our concierge team.
