Louth Island luxury eco-resort in South Australia hits market with $30m price hopes

With more than nine kilometres of beach frontage and an off-grid set-up, this is the definitive place to get away from it all. 

Tech entrepreneur Che Metcalfe and his wife, Natasha Metcalfe, are selling the island, which they bought in 2021 for a reported $2.5 million. Metcalfe co-founded internet service provider and telecommunications infrastructure company Uniti Group, which was listed on the ASX in 2019 before being sold in 2022 to a consortium of investors for $3.7 billion.

The Metcalfes spent more than $30 million building Rumi, a boutique eco-hotel with six suites, and the Samphire Restaurant, which earned two hats from the Australian Good Food Guide last year.

“He has spent a lot of money on it from an infrastructure point of view,” says Nicholas Lower, managing director, hotel capital markets, Savills ANZ.

“It was an incredibly remote and somewhat dormant island prior to them doing all the work they have today. So, the infrastructure costs alone and energy costs and all those sorts of things have been significant.”

Rumi operates off-grid infrastructure such as a 500-kilowatt solar power system, desalination plant, advanced waste management facilities and sewage treatment systems. Travellers typically access Louth Island by flying to Port Lincoln, driving 10 kilometres to Louth Bay and then boarding a private boat, which takes less than 10 minutes to arrive at the island.

The sale also includes development approval for a two-stage expansion program comprising 22 luxury pavilions and 23 eco-friendly villas, a day spa, further solar infrastructure and a range of recreational facilities including a pickleball court. 

Lower says interested parties approached the Metcalfes before the island was placed on the market, so he expects a strong response to the expressions-of-interest campaign, which ends on October 21.

“We’re finding that the luxury end of the market is having really strong appeal,” Lower says.

“We’re expecting there to be some really interesting characters and groups having a really close look at this, not just domestic groups, but obviously international groups.”

Lower says he has fielded interest from Australian high-net-worth individuals, investors based in South-East Asia, America and Europe as well as domestic and global luxury hotel and resort operators. 

Freehold island sales are extremely rare and present opportunities for those seeking privacy and exclusivity – exactly the kind of retreat a celebrity might be seeking.

Kylie Minogue purchased a 20-hectare private retreat and farm holding on French Island in Victoria’s Western Port in 2005, which she sold four years later. But Lower said Louth Island was more likely to be purchased by a buyer keen to keep the resort open to the public. 

“Someone might simply have it as a family and friends hideaway island, which again, if you’re lucky enough to be in that category of wealth, it would be fantastic for that purpose,” Lower said.

“The property can be purchased for multiple uses, but I think the obvious one is to utilise what’s there today, which is an award-winning eco-friendly luxury resort.”

Rumi has closed for business during the sale process, but in the past two years the eco-resort earned a reputation for off-grid luxury and exceptional gourmet food. Of 59 reviews on Tripadvisor, it has a 4.9-star rating.

Lower says the Metcalfes are selling because they are relocating to Victoria.

“They felt that with all the work that’s been done, the timing was right for someone to pick it up who may either have a background in luxury resort operations or have a bit of a plan or desire to see a large scale project come to fruition,” he says. 

It’s a change of heart for Che Metcalfe, who told the Adelady tourism website in 2023 that he dreamt of retiring at Louth Island.

“At least if I do nothing else in my life, I’ve got somewhere to retire!” he said.