Hut Bar - at the Tapa Lounge - Royal Hayman Hotel

Hayman Island, Queensland, Australia

The Royal Hayman Hotel, opened in 1950 on Hayman Island by aviation pioneer Reginald Ansett, was a pioneering luxury resort in Australia’s Whitsunday Islands. Known for its iconic, stylish beginnings and early royal visits, it was later transformed into what is now the modern InterContinental Hayman Great Barrier Reef, offering 182 luxury rooms.

It opened in 1950 as a premier luxury destination with a private airstrip and unique, colorful, open-air train transport. The hotel served as a key fixture of the island for decades before a major $300 million redevelopment in 1985.

Back when it was still the Royal Hayman Hotel, especially during the 60s & 70s, the Tapa Lounge was a thriving cocktail lounge on the premises, and its key feature was the Hut Bar.

Hurricane Ada wiped out much of the resort in 1970 but it was quickly rebuilt and running by 1973.

The Tapa Bar seems to have been re-opened after Ada but, ironically, does not appear to have survived the 1985 refurbishment.

The resort changed hands and saw even more alterations in the years ahead, but Hurricane Debbie hit it hard in 2017.

It opened once again in 2019 after $135 million in restoration and rebuilding.

Today, as of 2026, the site operates as the InterContinental Hayman Great Barrier Reef, featuring "refined, modern luxury" with three distinct wings (Beach, Pool, and Lagoon).

No sign of the Hut Bar remains...

It has multiple bars, but the exterior Aqua Bar is praised especially for its tropical drinks and is probably the closest equivalent to the Hut Bar today.