Sir Richard Branson's Noosa getaway, Makepeace Island, booked out for summer in the tropics

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Cashed-up holidaymakers who were hoping to spend their summer break on Makepeace Island will have to make other plans – Sir Richard Branson’s $16,890-a-night Noosa getaway was fully booked over Christmas and New Year’s and is busy over the summer period.

Branson opened his private retreat to the luxury holiday market earlier this year, and spokeswoman Kirsty Aitken says it has proved popular with well-heeled travellers.

“The interest we have had after just four months of opening has been overwhelming, and we are thrilled with the bookings we have received,” she says.

Aitken says many of the island’s visitors have been well-known names who choose to holiday there to escape the pressures of fame.

“Our clients often book the island because of its seclusion and to meet their desire in most cases not to have their celebrity known,” she says.

Branson, along with Virgin Blue executives Brett Godfrey and former colleague Rob Sherrard, bought the heart-shaped island for $2.86 million in 2007. It rents for between $7,900 per night for up to eight guests during the off season to $16,890 per night for up to 22 guests during busy periods.

There is a main house, three two-bedroom villas and a four-bedroom guest house. It has a boathouse, lagoon pool and a 15-person spa.

Guests travel to and from the island by riverboat, and it contains a host of facilities, such as an outdoor cinema and a full-sized tennis court, to keep them occupied.

When he announced that Makepeace island would be available to rent, Branson said: "When neither Brett nor myself are visiting Makepeace, we will make the island and its facilities available for others to enjoy the tranquillity of what is a very special place.”

One can assume the Virgin chairman will be spending more time on his island the next time he is in Australia.