Construction has officially begun on the new Southern Ocean Lodge, more than two years after the original was destroyed in the January 2020 bushfires.

The $50M luxury accommodation facility is expected to open in the second half of next year.

James and Hayley Baillie of Baillie Lodges visited the site yesterday with Premier Steven Marshall to turn the first sod, using a shovel retrieved from the ashes of the first lodge.

The luxury lodge will offer accommodation from $2000 per night, with prices reaching $12 000 per night for a suite in the Ocean Pavilion.

The new design will recreate many of the original features, including the Osprey Pavilion and the Great Room and its suspended fireplace.

The original lodge opened 14 years ago.

Baillie Lodges operate a string of luxury accommodation sites at some of Australia’s most beautiful locations including Uluru, Daintree Rainforest, Lord Howe Island and the Barossa Valley.