Voyages Ayers Rock Resort lies at the gateway to the dual World Heritage listed Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, in Australia’s Red Centre. Given its remote location, a Resort of world-class standards is possibly something guests might not have expected to find ‘in the middle of nowhere’. Here, guests can immerse themselves in the natural and cultural landscapes of one of the world’s most beautiful natural wonders.

The Resort is situated on 104 square kilometres of private land: bordering the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park and Katiti Aboriginal Land.

Within the township of Yulara, Voyages Ayers Rock Resort was conceived by the Northern Territory Government in the late 70s. Importantly, the resort town replaced the haphazard facilities that had developed at the base of Uluru: hotels, motels and support industry had sprung up piecemeal, degrading the environment and damaging culturally significant sites.

Construction began in October 1982 with $160 million invested in the resort and regional infrastructure, including residential housing, 3 international standard hotels, campground, airport, 2.6 megawatt power station, roads, sewage and water plant.

Architectural and design qualities followed well established desert building techniques such as compact developments, thick cavity masonry brick, double-roof construction, highly reflective colours, careful orientation of windows and the use of eaves, verandahs, blinds and shade screens (or sails).

Yulara was designed and built with utmost sensitivity to the natural and cultural environments. Cultural mapping studies were undertaken with Anangu (Aboriginal people) and environmental impact assessments were carried out to select the site where Voyages Ayers Rock Resort stands today.

Deriving its name from the distinctive sail-like structures, which provide shade and a touch of elegance to its design, Sails in the Desert is the ultimate in luxury in the Red Centre. Art, history and culture are depicted through stunning architecture, aboriginal artifacts and landscaped terraces.

The extremes of the Australian landscape and Aboriginal culture, distinct to the Ulluru region, inspired CHADA’s design concepts for the recent refurbishment of the Sails in the Desert resort.

Key design elements reference this awesome natural environment and have been interpreted by artists and craftsmen. These elements represent the continuity of the ancient landscape, which hosts a unique cycle of nature played out through the seasons and through the stories of its indigenous people.

The resort-style guestroom is calm and relaxing with light, neutral colours overlaid with splashes of colour drawn from the environment – sage greens, mauves and ocres.

It features the custom designed Parched Earth Carpet inspired by the work of one of Australia’s greatest landscape artists, Fred Williams. Williams favoured the approach taken by Aboriginal artists, who depict the landscape running fully parallel to the picture plane. Knots of pigment indicate the presence of topographical changes, as if seen from the air.

Each room also features an original Aboriginal wood carving, a punu, The technique of carving animals and incising them with burnt wire decoration is one of main forms of art practiced by local artists.

The striking Seven Sisters decorative cushion on the bed is based on a design by Nelly Patterson from the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara The story is an epic Tjukurpa (creation) story in which a man, Wati Nyiru chases seven sisters across the whole of Australia, shaping the land as they go. He wanted to marry the big sister. The man, Wati Nyiru, was singing about how much he wanted the big sister. He loved all the girls. The girls kept running. This painting depicts some of these places where the where the sisters camped. The sisters eventually escape into the night sky and become stars, the Pleiades constellation, and Wati Nyiru is Oiron, forever unable to catch the sisters.

The canvas on the wall was also created locally by artists Elizabeth Douglas and Pamela Taylor

The design in the public area continues in the same vein as the guestrooms and stays true to natural materials and colours appropriate to the resorts locale. Through custom designed lighting features, art work and carpet designs, CHADA has celebrated the environment and its people.

Brintons supplied the carpet for the two main areas: guestrooms and public spaces/function rooms.
Both briefs were inspired by the surroundings, but the rooms not in a literal sense when you think of things to do with the outback or Uluru - more through use of colour. The design for the rooms was a modern inspiration which made use of the full room space, like a “slash” of colour starting from the entry point to each room, and extending to the guest window. The rust/red tones were used in the room carpets, but more as highlights, and the background or body of the carpet remaining neutral. Brintons utilized their Electronic Jacquard techniques to ensure the “slash” of colour happened in the same spot in every room type and to ensure there was no repetitiveness in the design. Chada provided clear artworks for them to interpret and make into carpet.

The function room/common areas were derived by artwork provided to by Chada, who jointly with Voyages commissioned an artist for inspiration and use for carpets and other finishes. Use of texture and large scale – non-repetitiveness - was the key to meeting this brief. Brintons worked closely with Chada to advise how this would work in a production and fitting sense and the end result saw a move away from a small scale design on the floor, to a dynamic, flowing series of designs which differed from area to area.