Spectacular luxury lodge to re-open after major investment

One of Australia's most spectacular rural luxury lodges is to re-open with new branding and a new attitude.

Emirates and Marriott International this week signed an agreement to open Emirates Wolgan Valley, a Ritz-Carlton Lodge - a 40-key all-inclusive lodge on a 7,000-acre conservancy in the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage area.

Emirates Wolgan Valley, a Ritz-Carlton Lodge, will be the first Ritz-Carlton Lodge in the world. It was previously operated by One & Only. 

Ritz-Carlton Lodges are conceived as purpose-built sanctuaries in nature, designed to reflect their surrounds while prioritising minimal environmental impact and "delivering a heightened sense of luxury, comfort and craftmanship".

Since 2006, Emirates has invested $150 million in the Emirates Wolgan Valley Resort, including restoration of historically significant landmarks - including the original homestead dating back to 1832.

This has included planting of more than one million native trees across the site.

After closed since 2023 due to access issues, Emirates is now investing an additional $50 million in renovations.



The new iteration is scheduled to open in mid 2026.

Guests will access the resort by a four-wheel drive service via the Donkey Steps, which will become part of the rural off-road experience of the resort, or via helicopter.

“In our 30 years of operations in Australia, Emirates has consistently sought to deliver value to our customers, and to Australia," says Sir Tim Clark, president, Emirates Airline.

"Our commitment extends well beyond the provision of air transport services. It is reflected in the strong, enduring relationships we have built with our industry partners, and in our active engagement with the broader Australian community through Emirates Wolgan Valley, and our extensive sponsorships in sports and the arts.

“We are proud of our long-term investment into the Emirates Wolgan Valley Resort which launched one of Australia’s first conservation-based luxury resorts. Our unwavering commitment to the resort leads us to today’s announcement of an exciting agreement with Marriott International to open the world’s first Ritz-Carlton Lodge.

“For us, Emirates Wolgan Valley, a Ritz-Carlton Lodge will not only be an extraordinary resort appealing to discerning travellers seeking to be close to nature, but also a powerful engine for local economic growth, helping to rejuvenate the Wolgan Valley locality."

Rajeev Menon, president, Asia Pacific forMarriott International, said: "This milestone development sees the world’s largest hotelier and the world’s largest international airline come together to reinvigorate the luxury tourism offering in New South Wales."

Guests will enjoy exclusive access to pristine landscapes beneath some of the world’s clearest night skies, rare native flora such as the ancient Wollemi Pine, and an extraordinary array of wildlife including kangaroos, bare-nosed wombats, and brush-tailed rock wallabies.

Major airline offers big apology

As it clears a backlog of around 30,000 delayed bags, Emirates Airline has issued a rare fulsome apology for its failings.

Airline president Sir Tim Clark admitted that the airline had let down its customers through a lack of contingency planning after the United Arab Emirates was last week hit by storms and unprecedented flooding.

"I would like to offer our most sincere apologies to every customer who has had their travel plans disrupted during this time," Clark said.

"On Tuesday, April 16, the UAE experienced its highest rainfall in 75 years.

"Lashing storm winds and rain disrupted activity across the cities. Our 24/7 hub in Dubai remained open, with flight movements reduced for safety, but flooded roads impeded the ability of our customers, pilots, cabin crew, and airport employees to reach the airport, and also the movement of essential supplies like meals and other flight amenities.

"We diverted dozens of flights to avoid the worst of the weather on Tuesday, and over the next three days we had to cancel nearly 400 flights and delay many more, as our hub operations remained challenged by staffing and supply shortages."

The chaos extended to suspending check-in for passengers departing Dubai, implementing an embargo on ticket sales, and temporarily halting connecting passenger traffic from points across the network coming into Dubai.

"We sent over 100 employee volunteers to look after disrupted customers at Dubai Airport departures and in the transit area, prioritising medical cases, the elderly and other vulnerable travellers," Clark said.

"To date, over 12,000 hotel rooms were secured to accommodate disrupted customers in Dubai, 250,000 meal vouchers have been issued, and more quantities of drinking water, blankets, and other amenities."

But a lot of customers were extremely unhappy that Emirates had no plans to deal with the chaos and were left to fend for themselves in the airport. .

"We have put together a taskforce to sort, reconcile, and deliver some 30,000 pieces of left-behind baggage to their owners," Clark said.

"We know our response has been far from perfect. We acknowledge and understand the frustration of our customers due to the congestion, lack of information, and confusion in the terminals. We acknowledge that the long queues and wait times have been unacceptable."

Among the stranded baggage was that of Australians en route to Gallipoli for Anzac Day events. 

Personally, I'm not surprised. A while back I need information and help from Emirates' PR team. The response was underwhelming and I vowed to avoid them, where possible, in the future.