Minor Hotels will begin opening Avani Cypress Lakes Resort in phases from October 2026, transforming two existing Hunter Valley properties into what the company describes as Australia’s largest wellness precinct integrated into a resort.
Spanning 340 acres in Pokolbin, New South Wales, the project will bring Oaks Cypress Lakes Resort together with the adjoining Elysia Wellness Retreat. After completion, it will rank as Australasia’s biggest Avani property, with 204 rooms and suites split between two distinct accommodation experiences.
The resort will combine wellness programmes with an 18-hole golf course, family activities, destination dining and 24 meetings and events spaces. Guests will be able to arrange a structured retreat or add individual treatments and classes to a weekend break, family holiday or corporate stay.
Rates and packages are due to become available from 1 October 2026. The first new facilities are scheduled to open that month, while completion of the wider redevelopment is planned for the third quarter of 2027.
AvaniWell will make its Australian debut
The centrepiece of Avani Cypress Lakes Resort will be AvaniWell, the hotel brand’s flexible approach to spa and wellness. The concept first appeared at Avani+ Hua Hin Resort in Thailand in 2024 and allows guests to choose between individual treatments and structured programmes.
Currently a short walk from the main resort, Elysia Wellness Retreat is set to become AvaniWell at Cypress Lakes Resort. Plans call for the enlarged facility to have 70 wellness suites, plus a magnesium pool, 26 treatment rooms and 10 Pilates reformers. Infrared saunas, outdoor cold-plunge pools and areas for seminars or group sessions are also planned.
Guests seeking a focused reset will be able to book multi-day programmes, while those on broader resort stays can choose individual treatments, classes or day-spa visits. AvaniWell will also be available to day visitors and members of the Hunter Valley community.
Craig Hooley, Chief Operating Officer of Minor Hotels Australasia, said the region could develop into a national wellness destination.
“We believe the Hunter Valley has all the hallmarks necessary to establish itself as Australia’s home of wellness,” Hooley said. “Avani Cypress Lakes Resort has been designed around this shift, allowing guests to incorporate wellness into a family holiday, corporate retreat, golf escape or weekend break.”
The format reflects the resort’s setting among the vineyards and rolling hills of the Hunter Valley. Winery visits and long lunches can be combined with Pilates sessions, spa treatments, cold plunges or educational programmes without requiring guests to spend their entire stay on a prescribed timetable.
Golf, pickleball and outdoor cinema
The existing Oaks Cypress Lakes Resort is a sprawling villa resort with private balconies, three outdoor pools, tennis courts and a country club. Its one-, two- and three-bedroom villas currently provide flexible accommodation for couples, groups and families, with kitchen facilities available in the larger categories.
The resort’s 18-hole golf course will remain, while the redevelopment will add an outdoor cinema and three pickleball courts. It will also bring in a pool bar with a DJ booth.
AvaniKids activities will focus on movement and creativity, often outdoors. Flexible packages are expected to combine accommodation with children’s activities, golf, wellness programmes or hot-air balloon experiences over the Hunter Valley.
The approach allows different types of guests to use the same 340-acre property in different ways. A family could divide its time between the pool, outdoor activities and nearby attractions, while another guest could stay in a wellness suite and follow a multi-day programme at AvaniWell.
The resort is around two hours by car from Sydney and about one hour from Newcastle. Newcastle Airport, also approximately an hour away, is the closest airport listed by the current operator.
New restaurants and poolside dining
Avani Cypress Lakes Resort will introduce two concept-led restaurants, an all-day dining option and a pool bar. The named new restaurant, Chakraya, will draw on Sri Lankan flavours and culinary traditions.
The future dining programme is separate from the property’s current Oaks venues. At present, the resort lists Oaks Cypress Lakes Bistro & Bar and Oak & Vine Cypress Lakes, with the latter combining Hunter Valley produce and Sri Lankan influences.
The new restaurants will expand the options available within the resort, although full menus and opening schedules have not yet been released. Guests will also remain within easy reach of Pokolbin’s cellar doors and winery restaurants, making the resort a convenient base for food and wine trips through the Hunter Valley.
A larger setting for events and retreats
Avani Cypress Lakes Resort will have 24 meetings and events spaces when the redevelopment is complete. These will support conferences, incentive trips, weddings and corporate retreats, building on the existing property’s established events business.
Programmes will be able to incorporate yoga or other wellness sessions alongside golf, pickleball and outdoor activities. This gives organisers the option to break up conventional business itineraries with more active sessions while keeping accommodation and facilities on one site.
The combination of formal event spaces and the AvaniWell centre also allows corporate groups to arrange anything from a short treatment between meetings to a structured wellness component. Weddings and private celebrations will have access to the golf course setting, resort accommodation and the expanded dining programme.
Avani continues its expansion across Australasia
Cypress Lakes is due to become the third Avani property in Australasia under the expansion outlined by Minor Hotels. Avani Mooloolaba Beach Hotel opened on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast in May 2026, while Avani Queenstown is scheduled to open on New Zealand’s lakefront in September.
The Queenstown project is also a conversion of an Oaks property, turning the former Oaks Shores Resort from serviced apartments into a full-service lifestyle hotel. Its planned facilities include AvaniSpa, AvaniFit, all-day dining and spaces for private events or après-ski gatherings.
Avani began in 2011 and now has more than 40 properties across five continents. The brand is part of Minor Hotels, whose wider portfolio includes more than 640 operating and planned properties, including branded residences, resorts and hotels across 67 countries.
At Cypress Lakes, the transition will remain visible for almost a year after the first facilities arrive. Travellers booking from October 2026 should check which restaurants, leisure spaces and AvaniWell facilities will be operating for their dates, with the full resort scheduled for completion between July and September 2027.
