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The Beach Suites is a very beautiful boutique hotel right in the heart of the famous holiday destination of Byron Bay, built to cater for people who can afford the best when staying in beautiful Byron. With absolute beach front that's a good start.
This high quality block of private apartments are owned by a celebrity and designed to cater for celebritys with a sense of prestige and privacy to go with it. In fact, they bill the Beach Suites as: "Byron Bay's most private beachfront luxury accommodation. The best of Byron with light filled and spacious rooms, quality furniture and fittings.
Two and three bedroom penthouse apartments with their own rooftop pool, Studio style rooms in a garden setting or Beachfront studios with their own private plunge pool and private front gates for direct beach access." This truly is stunning accommodation with great uninterrupted views to that famous beach across the road. The Apartment we stayed in was absolutely spot on clean and well maintained to perfection. Below is a shot taken from entrance to one of the ground floor garden apartments.
The in-apartment facilities are beyond what you would expect in a typical hotel - private washing machine, dryer, fully equipped kitchen etc. The roof top pool has to be a hit with any sane person - the ultimate in luxury. The pool has been carefully designed so that the glass pool fence creates a frame that exactly captures the beach scene - it is very cleverly done... and the poolside shower is a work of art , obviously a "one off" created by an artisan.
That's the amazing Byron Bay beach above. Well to get that close to the ocean you have to be able to afford staying at the Beach Suites without worrying about the price and I would say that this is totally 5 stars except there is no on-site restaurant, and as a guest paying $1500 per night I thought I could reasonably expect to go to the front desk and ask for restaurant recommendations. I was met with blank stares and "Oh I went to the xxx the other night and it was OK..." which made us laugh. I'd make a small suggestion - get a list together for guests not looking to cook!! but the Thai across the road became a favourite of ours and Byron certainly has a great range of food choices. The other possible negative to consider is that because of the central location, the Beach Suites are potentially quite noisy at night (especially when the bars and pubs close and the party crowd hits the street). Then again if you're young at heart you come to Byron for that party atmosphere.
That's the view from one of the penthouses above. Well sure, if it wasn't Byron, the price tag would scream "rip-off", but then again Byron Bay itself is a premium product and demand is high in this beautiful little town, hence the premium tag for staying in the iconic and laid-back establishment, and they do offer a lot for your money, particularly in value added extras and complimentary items such as wi-fi and secure undercover parking. This is a wonderfully built development, with owners obviously possessing impeccable style and good taste. The apartments don't need to be described in detail - they are as in the images only probably better. This would have to a great choice for that once in a lifetime honeymoon, offering days of bliss!
The housekeeping standards are great, with a complete detail each day. A fellow even comes in and cleans the balcony of sand and polishes the glass every day! Very good attention to detail.
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We were looking for somewhere nice to stay in Coolangatta on Queensland's Gold Coast, not far from the airport as we had an early morning flight to catch and found Mantra. The Mantra Hotel is an upmarket tower, right on the beach, so the location is fantastic and within walking distance of the main CBD. Restaurants, cinema, supermarket are all nearby. Plus it's only about a 10 minute drive to the Coolangatta International Airport.
Our three bedroom apartment (limit four people) featured self contained cooking with complete kitchen facilities, three tvs, two bathrooms (one ensuite) and a laundry. There were two King beds and one bedroom with two singles. It's always a bonus when traveling to be able to wash clothes without searching for the laundromat and it's awkwardness. Also an awesome balcony with a southern view looks out onto the beach on the 17th floor - and the views were just beautiful. The apartment was well laid out with privacy for each room, and is peacefully quiet. Some nice touches were detailed here and there in the decor. There is undercover secure parking and good security. The receptionist was very professional, friendly and informative and made us feel at ease. The hotel pool is positioned on such a superb beach with barely a soul in sight, making for a lovely private swimming day.
Coolangatta has a nice mix of upmarket meets olde worlde beach village. For a night out on the town, you'll find is a first class venue at the Twin Towns Club. Just a block from the Mantra, major international, and local artists play, along with heaps of local music around the clock. Coolangatta Hotel is a big rock venue and the local Greenmount Surf Club has a jazz band and cheap meals on a Wednesday night. There is excellent dining nearby. We chose the O Sushi Japanese restaurant and the food lived up to it's award winning reputation. The second meal we had was breakfast at Belakai which was also more than adequate, and right next door.
If you're exploring the main street there is a fascinating Antique market with a fascinating, quite mind boggling array of interesting olde worlde items well worth the view. Make sure you walk up to the lookout on the southern point, it's breathtaking and inspiring.
Recommended: All-in-all a totally satisfactory and good value stay. Loved staying at the Mantra and would like to book that room permanently!
I entertain at the Yamba Golf Club on a Friday night every three months or so, and occasionally at the Yamba Bowls Club, and sometimes I stay over for a mini-break, rather than driving back to Byron Bay late at night. It's a price-driven decision where to stay, and on my last trip down I scored an online deal at the Aston Motel in Coldstream Street, Yamba.
It turned out to be a surprisingly good basic motel that is very close to the both the Bowling and Golf Clubs, and also an easy walk into the town centre. Super close to shops, restaurants, the pub and beach, and you must visit the quaint little fishing village of Yamba.
We were quite satisfied with our stay at the Aston, a calming and quiet stay, featuring a retro decor. The room, which had been expertly cleaned and presented, is quite large, cosy and comfortable. Featuring a large king bed with generous sized television, and free to air plus pay TV. We had an upstairs unit with a balcony overlooking an attractive pool area. It was a cold night, so luckily the room is equipped with reverse cycle air-con. If you are on a budget or prefer self catering, provided in-room are a microwave, cutlery, glassware and etc.
There's plenty of parking. The motel is located at the end of a road however, so there was little or no traffic noise and plenty of wildlife around. The grounds are manicured and the pool, spa and barbecue area looked well maintained and very inviting. Reception was friendly and helpful.
The little details are the most memorable. I appreciated fresh milk for tea, not UHF which I hate. An important drawcard for me was free wi-fi, but also Motel guests have free use of the adjacent fitness centre. The bargain rates and comfortable inclusions make the Aston a real gem for a budget stay in this laid back little town.
Yamba is on a river inlet and a nice drive from the highway through farmland, with river views - and as you get closer to town it's very picturesque with fishing boats and yachts moored in abundance at the marina in the river. There is a steep hill up from the main town centre to the headland and a small beach which is dominated obscenely by the big old Yamba Pub. The Yamba pub has bee turned into a backpacker style establishment with amazing views and live music on the weekends. There is a pretty lighthouse on the headland, and the town itself has plenty of interesting restaurants and cafes and some good antique op-shops. There's also good fishing, and a gentle, laid back, family friendly atmosphere.
Noosaville is a beach town with a river inlet, and the Villa Noosa Hotel is just two blocks back from the picturesque riverfront and restaurant precinct. Noosaville's main street Gympie Terrace, is right on the edge of the river with a host of restaurants and cafes looking out over the park and a wide stretch of water. The region's tourist hotspot is here, with a feeling of relaxed ambience, you can't help but linger over a coffee and Saturday paper.
The main part of the Villa Noosa hotel is a great big tavern style multi-function venue, with restaurant, games room and music venue and there's a comfy motel at the back. The guy on the check-in was friendly and helpful with directions to your room.The Motel itself has a very private feel and the rooms are a fine budget solution - functional, nothing awesome but with everything you would expect. Nice big bathroom, comfy queen-size bed, TV. There is a nice leafy feeling when you look out from the little balcony at the back and you looked down on an attractive pool area from the first floor when accessing the room from the front balcony.
There is certainly a fantastic choice for dining only two blocks from the hotel, and the sunset over the river was really spectacular. There is a classy affluent feel to the town. Our stay in the motel was delightfully uneventful and private, and we felt quite cosy.
The Villa Noosa Hotel has a big Dan Murphy's bottle shop attached, thus there is that certain Aussie "Tavern" feel about the main hotel area. Definitely the whole establishment is focussed on being an entertainment destination, featuring a major music venue for the region, with a lot of big name acts performing.
Popular with the locals, the hotel boasts a function room, and a typical pub bistro. Open seven days a week for lunch and dinner, and all the usual tavern attractions such as big screen TVs showing live sports (including UFC - I have to confess I'm am addict, so I noticed the ad), TAB facilities, gaming machines and it advertised some great live music on weekends.
It's handy that you have lots of food and entertainment options right on hand in the adjoining hotel, though we chose to get out and explore when we got hungry. A supermarket right across the road on one side for some impulse buying, and cheap snacks for the room.
If you're a business traveller, the Villa Noosa has a private function room for meetings, and offers 3 course packages, and caters for conventions and even suggests "cocktail parties"!
We made a quick weekend visit to Noosaville to play my Johnny Cash Show at the Tewantin-Noosa RSL Club, so was able to spend some time in the town of Noosaville.
Things to do in Noosaville
A few minutes from the Noosa Villa Hotel you will find Noosa Marina on the peaceful Noosa River. The river is the main feature of the town and there are plenty of boating activities available at the Marina, including deep sea and river fishing, or crab tours, cruises, ferry services and self-drive hire boats and craft.
The Villa Noosa is also only 5 minutes drive from the hub of Hasting Street and Main Beach Noosa, where you can dine upmarket alfresco, shop, and if you're a surf freak - the waves looked incredible. You can also explore the Noosa National Park and its walking tracks. Noosa Main Beach is a very protected beach with quite gentle surf conditions and is a great spot for beginners to learn how to surf.
On Gympie Terrace there is a Kayak business and that's a great way to get out on the water. They do "Dolphin Adventures" which was a highlight of our stay.
Directions
The Villa Noosa I can be found at 18-22 Mary Street, Noosaville, behind the Dan Murphy’s Bottleshop, or also via Gibson Road .
The Villa Noosa has undercover parking for overnight guests and also plenty of off street car-parking.
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