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If there’s one place in Australia where the crystal blue, flat sea puts you in mind of the Mediterranean, it’s Hyams Beach. So it’s fitting, then, that this pristine paradise in NSW’s Shoalhaven region is now home to a new Sicily-coded romantic escape.
Sirena De Sol is a romantic mini house designed for two, on the edge of national park and just footsteps from one of Australia’s most special beaches. Hyams Beach was actually named the beach with the ‘World’s Whitest Sand’ by the Guinness World Records – and one of the world’s top 10 beaches a few years ago on travel site the Big 7’s ‘World’s 50 best beaches’ list.
This new Hyams Beach property was thoughtfully designed and run by the Airbnb pros who also designed Machinery Shed at Logan Brae Orchard in the Blue Mountains. I’ve stayed at the other property, too, and the owners are masters of detail – from the design to your comfort and amenities, they think of absolutely everything.
What I like most about their properties (apart from the heavenly locations) is the stylish decor and premium finishings. At Sirena De Sol, the bathrooms are clad in beautiful terrazzo. The kitchen counter is a rich slab of polished stone with rich marbling, while the splashbacks are crazy-paved. The balcony is tiled in maroon and cream Harlequin-like triangle tiles. The bedding is luxurious – you feel like you’re sleeping on a cloud.
And then there are fun details all over the place – colourful crab and mermaid hangings, giant clam shells on the wall. Together, the colour palate and furnishings – and the sunshine streaming through the windows – put me in mind of Sicily, where I holidayed last year.
While the house is small (one bedroom, a kitchen, loungeroom, two bathrooms and a laundry), there’s a wrap-around balcony on the top level, with a breakfast bar and stools so you can look out over the bush (and get a peek at the ocean through the trees) while you’re having a coffee (or aperitivo-hour drink).
And the garden is actually bigger than the house – the accommodation has been designed for outdoor living. There’s a hot tub paired with a couple of deck chairs and a resort-style umbrella. An outdoor shower, dining table, barbecue, and a fire pit (BYO firewood). Most of the garden is pebbled and studded with hardy native plants as well as olive trees, and there are whimsical garden beds of cacti and succulents.
The kitchen is well-equipped – including a fancy Breville Barista Touch coffee machine. If you don’t want to bring supplies in, keep in mind that the only place selling food in walking distance is the Cooked Goose on Hyams café, which is open for breakfast and lunch, but not dinner. That said, all the restaurants and cafés (and pub) of Huskisson are a short drive away.
My husband and I bring most of what we'll need, though, so we can bunker down and make the most of this little pocket of paradise.
We start each of our days here with a walk on Hyams Beach, where the sea sparkles like Hailey Bieber’s engagement ring. You can see right through the water to the soft, white sand below.
We have breakfast at the café, then explore the bush a little before heading into town for fresh supplies (including seafood) for the rest of the day and night.
In the afternoon, we have a hot tub, then a happy-hour drink and snacks on the deck before the sun starts to set. We light a fire and grab some marshmallows from the cupboard to roast till gooey. We make prawn rolls for dinner, with prawns from the local Jervis Bay Shellfish Market.
The day feels long and leisurely – the kind where you lose track of time and barely look at your phone or the clock. There’s nowhere we need to be, nothing we need to do, and that feels like the ultimate luxury.
As we crawl into bed, the sound of the gently lapping ocean drifts up through the trees. The next morning, we’ll do it all again: coffee, beach, bushwalk, hot tub.
Sirena De Sol is a little slice of Sicily in the Shoalhaven – minus the long-haul flight, the crowds and the need to do much of anything at all.
Find out all about Sirena De Sol or book over here.
NOTE: I was hosted by Sirena De Sol, but our editorial recommendations are always honest.
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