Sir Richard Branson’s private Noosa island is reserved for those who want to do something truly extraordinary — and are ready to live like a billionaire, just for a few unforgettable days.
Most group holidays are a compromise. Someone wants activity, someone wants rest. The kids need to be entertained, and the grandparents need peace. The venue is nice enough, but it’s nobody’s idea of extraordinary.
Makepeace Island is nobody’s idea of ordinary.
The Queensland Homes team recently spent two nights on Sir Richard Branson’s private Noosa retreat as part of a group of eight spanning three generations, and left genuinely struggling to find the words for what we’d experienced. We’ll try anyway.
1. You Don’t Just Book a Room. You Take Over an Entire Island
Makepeace Island operates on an exclusive-use basis. One group. One island. No other guests, no shared spaces, no compromises of any kind. The entire 25-acre heart-shaped island is yours — every garden path, every daybed, every stretch of river — from the moment the private launch Shotgun collects you from Noosa Marina to the moment you reluctantly leave. There is simply nowhere else in Queensland where you can say that.
2. It Sleeps Up to 22 Guests in Extraordinary Style
This is not a case of squeezing everyone into one house and hoping for the best. Accommodation is spread generously across three oversized two-bedroom villas, four ensuite rooms in the stunning Bali House, and the Boathouse, a king suite perched right on the river’s edge with uninterrupted water views. Each villa’s second bedroom can be configured as a king or twin, and for families with babies, cots, high chairs and baby monitors are all complimentary. Children under five stay free. Everyone has space. Everyone has privacy. Nobody has to share a bathroom with someone they didn’t choose to.
3. The Design Is Jaw-Dropping
Our own Editor had just returned from a week in Bali when we arrived at Makepeace, and stepping onto the island produced an almost identical feeling. Because in a very real sense, it is Bali. The pavilions, lush layered gardens, Buddha statues half-hidden among the palms, and intricate timber detailing were all built in Bali by traditional artisans and shipped across, then assembled here by local craftsmen — a feat of design ambition that reveals itself slowly, detail by extraordinary detail.
At the heart of Makepeace Island stands a two-storey Balinese wantilan, open-sided and beautifully proportioned, its soaring timber roofline drawing the eye upward before the space opens out to the gardens and pool beyond. Antique pieces sourced from Balinese villages sit alongside generous lounges and a long communal dining table that anchors the space with a sense of occasion.
Each villa entry is framed by a lily pond and water feature that sets a tone of calm before you’ve even unpacked. Four-poster beds anchor the master rooms. Monolithic volcanic stone bathtubs are the stuff of interior daydreams. Daybeds are positioned throughout the property with an almost suspicious understanding of exactly where you’ll want to sit at any given hour.
For design-led travellers and interiors lovers, Makepeace Island is perfection.
4. You Have Your Own Private Chef — and He Is Exceptional
Chef Zeb Gilbert earned two chef’s hats for seven consecutive years at Noosa’s acclaimed Wasabi Restaurant. He is not cooking hotel food. He is cooking the best meal of your life, repeatedly, across every sitting of your stay. Menus are entirely bespoke, built around your group’s preferences and the finest local seasonal produce the Sunshine Coast has to offer. Over two nights, we travelled through Asia, Mexico and Spain without leaving the island — venison gyoza with yuzu ponzu, Mooloolaba prawn tostadas with fermented pineapple hot sauce, arroz caldoso bubbling by the outdoor firepit, and a Basque cheesecake with tangelo gelato that left the table briefly, blissfully speechless. We are still talking about those meals.
5. The Cooking Class Is One of Those Rare Experiences Everyone Loves
One morning, Chef Zeb led our entire group through a gyoza-making class that became one of the trip’s undisputed highlights. There is something about folding dumplings together that brings out the best — and most competitive — in people. Some of us produced neat, perfectly crimped little parcels that would have made Chef Zeb proud. Others produced something altogether more abstract. Delicious, yes, but perfectly imperfect. The kids, naturally, were annoyingly brilliant at it. Whatever shape they arrived in, those gyoza took centre stage at lunch and disappeared within minutes. Giggling, folding, crimping, eating — it was, in every sense, one of those shared experiences that a group holiday is made of.
6. The Activities List Is Extraordinary — and Almost All Included
This is where Makepeace truly sets itself apart from any other luxury stay in Queensland. The 500,000-litre lagoon pool and 15-person heated spa. Tennis is played Wimbledon style, complete with strawberries and cream served courtside. Stand-up paddleboarding on the Noosa River. Fishing off your own private dock for your own dinner (Chef Zeb and his superb kitchen team will take care of the rest!). Mixology classes with the island’s resident mixologist, Trevor, who has a remarkable talent both for teaching cocktail craft and for ensuring your glass is never, ever empty. Private massage treatments and yoga classes for those who need to properly unwind. Kids’ art and craft activities led by their very own personal entertainment guide. An outdoor cinema under the stars, the indulgent butler bath service, and for something truly unforgettable, a private Zoo to You experience through Wildlife HQ, who bring Queensland’s incredible wildlife directly to the island. There is genuinely nothing like it.
7. The Sunset Cruise Aboard Marge Is Non-Negotiable
No stay at Makepeace is complete without boarding Marge, the island’s own private barge, as the light begins to soften. Drifting along the Noosa River toward the edge of the Noosa Biosphere Reserve — one of only a handful of UNESCO-recognised biospheres in Australia, where the water lies glass-still and the surrounding wilderness feels entirely untouched by time — as the sky turns gold is something quite extraordinary. The kind of stillness that is increasingly rare and increasingly precious. Drinks in hand, the stresses of ordinary life felt very far away indeed. It is the kind of moment you file away and return to long after you’re home.
8. Noosa — One of Australia’s Most Beautiful Destinations — Is Right There
Ten minutes by private launch from Noosa Marina, and the entire region opens up. The mirror-still waters of the Noosa Everglades for kayaking. The breathtaking coastal trails of Noosa National Park. The boutiques and restaurants of Hastings Street. Championship golf courses. Day trips to World Heritage-listed K’gari. The island arranges everything seamlessly, then welcomes you back like it never wanted you to leave.
9. When You Do the Maths, It Makes More Sense Than You’d Think
At $19,950 per night for up to eight guests, with additional guests at $1,200 per person per night, the investment for a stay on Makepeace Island is significant. But consider what is included: every meal prepared by a hatted chef, an incredible array of bespoke activities, all transfers, twice-daily housekeeping, and the exclusive run of an entire private island. Split across a larger group celebrating something truly special — a milestone birthday, a significant anniversary, a once-in-a-generation family reunion — it reframes entirely. It’s not an ordinary holiday, and it was never meant to be. Some moments deserve something extraordinary. Makepeace exists precisely for those.
10. It Solves the Impossible Problem of Pleasing Everyone
If you have ever tried to plan a group holiday that genuinely works for everyone — toddlers to grandparents, thrill-seekers to those who simply want to sit quietly by the river with a glass of something cold — you will understand just how rare Makepeace Island is. We watched it work its magic across three generations, each finding their own version of a perfect day on the same small island. No compromises, no complaints, no one left out. That, more than the extraordinary food, more than the stunning design, more than the private island fantasy of it all, is what makes Makepeace the ultimate luxury family and group holiday destination in Queensland. It exceeds every expectation, for everyone, all at once.
For enquiries and to explore the three tailored guest itineraries — Makepeace Reset, Beyond Makepeace, and Makepeace Masters — contact Kate Gilbert at kate.gilbert@makepeaceisland.com or visit makepeaceisland.com
