This was published 14 years ago
Beach Suites, Byron Bay review: Byron state of mind
Warm reception ... Cape Byron lighthouse.Credit: Tourism NSW
With children in tow, Peter Wilmoth compares two beachfront lodgings.
In the voice is joy and a little bit of talent. If my music radar isn't failing me, I think it might be a Snow Patrol song on her iPod and she is singing along raucously. As we wander through the park, my two kids and I, we wonder where this voice is coming from. We look up and there she is, a blissed-out woman lying in a tree.
Where I come from, you rarely see people lying in trees singing, even in the park I walk through every day, which does boast its fair share of representatives from the alternative community and "travellers" (as opposed to tourists).
Anyway, we're new in town, and we are loving this Byron Bay moment.
We check into John Cornell and Delvene Delaney's Beach Suites, across from the beach and a few doors down the road from the Beach Hotel. The couple sold the hotel in 2007 to a consortium that included Melbourne restaurateurs and hoteliers John and Lisa Van Haandel (owners of the the Prince Hotel and Circa, the Prince's restaurant, in St Kilda).
We'd spent our first night in Byron at the Beach Hotel, which helps us compare and contrast Cornell and Delaney's next venture (it opened in December 2007).
Our room is called a garden suite. At $350 a night, it's the most modestly priced room available. It has a double bed, which the children share, and a single bed brought in for me.
On the other side of the room is a couch and a large television. On the walls are paintings of bird of paradise flowers, and there are sliding doors that lead to a little courtyard.
It's very comfortable but it looks and feels like a room in a reasonably plush Sydney hotel, which isn't working for us because we want the beachy touch and it certainly hasn't got that. It's a personal judgment.
At our price point, we don't get access to a pool, which disappoints my children. I don't like an exclusive pool policy, where paying huge tariffs mean you can enjoy the hotel to its fullest and paying less huge tariffs means you can't. I know that's the market talking but it makes us feel less welcome than the richer clientele. It's like - there's a pool very nearby but it's not for you. At the Beach Hotel, it's one pool fits all, which is the way it should be.
You pay a pretty penny to stay here. A step up from our room is a garden suite with extra bedroom ($490), six beachfront studios (without a plunge pool for $420 and with one for $490). And there are penthouse apartments with two bedrooms (one for $1200, the other for $1500) and three bedrooms ($1700).
Still, you don't hang around in hotels when you're in Byron, so we hit the town. Around the corner we find a place called Savvy Teppanyaki Lounge Bar (9 Fletcher Street), which is welcoming, with a great atmosphere and good food. I could have done without the waitress responding to my request for attention with "What's up, buddy?" Am I a grumpy old man, or is it annoying being called "buddy" when you're a customer?
Next day we have breakfast at Twisted Sista, a well-known Byron cafe (4 Lawson Street). We try the full enchilada: pancakes, raspberry muffin, sourdough toast with jam, hot chocolates and coffee. Just like the rest of Byron, Twisted Sista is a great spot to watch tourists. We watch a table of young French people sharing stories of their time in Australia. When they leave, they make a point of thanking the waiters and compliment the food. Impressive. A credit to France's youth. Oh no, there's the grumpy old man again, loving it when young people are respectful.
We have lunch at the Byron Beach Cafe in Lawson Street, just off the main beach. When I was last here it was a casual, toasted-sandwich sort of joint. It's much swisher since it was rebuilt in 2007. Today there's a hen's lunch of 50 extremely well-dressed women. We have our milkshakes and feel just slightly under-dressed. The place has kicked on, like the rest of Byron.
On the beach the kids and I say to each other 20 or 25 times how much warmer the water is here than in Victoria. We usually wade in with our arms raised, emitting shallow breaths until we're sufficiently anaesthetised to swim.
Lying on our towels we watch some Italian tourists playing soccer while their girlfriends in G-strings spectate. They all have skin the colour of my antique chest of drawers - that is, deep, flawless brown.
No sign of the French group, though. Maybe they didn't want to compare tans. Because as we all know - comparisons are odious.
Weekends Away are reviewed anonymously and paid for by Traveller.
VISITORS' BOOK
Beach Suites
Address 20 Bay Street, Byron Bay.
The verdict Luxury accommodation, and expensive, in a great position opposite the beach. Our room is strangely lacking in character.
Price A garden suite costs $350 a night, to a three-bedroom penthouse apartment for $1700 (other room types available).
Bookings Phone 6680 9944 or see beachsuites.com.au.
Getting there From Sydney, take a one-hour flight to Ballina and then a 30-minute bus trip to Byron Bay.
Perfect for Well-heeled couples.
Wheelchair access Yes.
While you're there Eat, eat, eat — there's a huge range of options. Treat yourself to time in a day spa. Rent a longboard and head to Wategos Beach.
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