Rae's on Wategos review, Byron Bay: Weekend away

Originally a house built in the 1960s, Rae's is the creation of restaurateur and hotelier Vincent Rae who bought it in the 1990s (he recently sold a half-share and has plans to renovate) and filled it with an eclectic collection of antiques and artworks. Its curvaceous facade is Greek-villa white, offset by timber shutters, bangalow palms and a green lawn down to the beach. There are seven "rooms": three penthouses (all with open fireplaces), three suites and one split-level villa, each unique but sharing an exotic aesthetic – think Moroccan alcoves, Javanese teak doors, Italian marble floors – with artist David Bromley's bold canvases throughout. Also on site are a secluded swimming pool and a sea-green subterranean day-spa designed in 2006 by spa-goddess Marionne de Candia (now Rae's manager).

THE ROOM

My room, the Mirabella Penthouse, has two spacious patios facing the glimmering sea through the trees and one overlooking the pool. You can leave the french doors open day and night (there are no screens, but the sea breeze seems to keep the mozzies away) and one of the patios has two sun lounges ideal for star-gazing after dinner. Inside, there's a conservatory-like living room, a spa bath in front of a stained glass window, and a rather dark bedroom with two imposing chocolate-brown leather armchairs and a four-poster king-size bed. Unlike the Bromley birds and butterflies gracing an entire wall of Rae's restaurant and his paintings of storybook children in other rooms, there are nine larger-than-life nudes painted straight onto the walls and onto a surfboard in the corner. There's free wi-fi and pay TV, a DVD player and a portable stereo, Aveda toiletries and white cotton robes (BYO slippers; the marble floors are chilly underfoot).

THE FOOD

Take your pick of fine restaurants in Byron, but make sure you dine at least once at Restaurant @ Rae's (I can recommend the deconstructed salted caramel goats' curd cheesecake for dessert). It's open every day for lunch too, which is when it really shines: cushioned seats, glassware sparkling in the sun, those ocean views.

STEPPING OUT

There's world-class surfing at Wategos; Rae's has longboards and bodyboards for guests to use, and local legend Rusty Miller offers private lessons and coaching (see www.rustymillersurf.com). The seaside walk to the lighthouse is sublime; keep your eyes peeled for bottlenose dolphins and humpback whales. Byron-based activities include markets (there's one on somewhere every Sunday), diving Julian Rocks, sea kayaking tours on the bay, shopping in town or at the Arts & Industrial Estate, and festivals (Byron Writers Festival, August 7-9, and Bangalow Music Festival, August 14-16).

THE VERDICT

Rae's is one of a kind: worldly without being ostentatious, warm-hearted enough to never let style get in the way of making its guests feel at home.

ESSENTIALS

Rae's on Wategos, 6-8 Marine Parade, Byron Bay. Suites from $550 a night including breakfast. The "Romantic winter escape" package from $1390 for two people for two nights until the end of August includes a bottle of Prosecco and cheese plate on arrival, a two-course dinner for two, continental breakfasts and a one-hour massage for two. See www.raesonwategos.com/

The writer was a guest of Rae's on Wategos.