Around three hours’ drive south, Mollymook Beach is a curving, two-kilometre stretch of pale gold sand and Hawaii-azure sea, flanked on both sides by bushy hillocks. Perched on the northern headland, overlooking nearby, more tumultuous Narrawallee Beach is Bannisters by the Sea, a 32-room luxury hotel with near-panoramic views and a design palette that evokes warm climates everywhere from Morocco to Mexico.
Bannisters by the Sea sports an astonishing infinity pool with clifftop views, set into a teak deck with a lovely little bar at the side, for when you feel like an Aperol spritz (always). Rooms have a sense of place, thanks to local landscape photography, and baskets and pendant lamps woven by Indigenous artists. All bar two of the property’s rooms have ocean views, and the ‘spa retreat rooms’ have generous outdoor Jacuzzis overlooking the sea. If you really want to go all out, book one of the two Penthouse Suites. They’re entertainer’s apartments with generous balconies, decorated – with breezy femininity – by Collette Dinnigan. More than half the guests here are New South Wales locals making repeat visits, and the hotel books out fast. In high season you should try and book at least a month in advance to get your pick of rooms.
If you really want to go all out, book one of the two Penthouse Suites. They’re entertainer’s apartments with generous balconies, decorated – with breezy femininity – by Collette Dinnigan. More than half the guests here are New South Wales locals making repeat visits, and the hotel books out fast. In high season you should try and book at least a month in advance to get your pick of rooms.
