Private beach club in Sydney: A Euro-style private beach club at Bondi could be great. Here's why

Want to get a Sydneysider hot under the collar? Mention beach clubs. The proposal for a private beach club on the golden sands of Bondi Beach has tweaked a nerve, but why the fuss?

Beach clubs are private domains with an admission charge. The licensee pays an annual fee to the local authority, fences off their allocated zone, sets up beach chairs, lounges, cabanas, a bar with a food menu or whatever else local taste might require and opens up shop.

Beach clubs can be found from Mexico to Mykonos, Thailand to Tenerife, but it's on the shores of the Mediterranean that they have their spiritual heartland. Ground zero is the French Riviera, that delectable strip of coast between the Italian border and Marseilles, and despite beaches covered with galets, smooth, foot-hurting stones, they draw a loyal clientele, some of whom will spend every day of their holiday in le club.

While sunshine, sea and salt air are vital ingredients, so too is style. And there's something to be said for a beach with a restaurant, shady cabanas, waiters and day beds. One that laid down the template for the breed is Club 55 on Pampelonne Beach, a long strip of sand just south of Saint-Tropez. This is the ultimate glamour beach hangout. From its humble beginnings as a fisherman's hut from which Bernard and Genevieve De Colmont once served up bouillabaisse to beachgoers, Club 55 has morphed into a hangout for glitterati and Rolex-wristed yachties who relish its pared-back, barefoot chic.

You need to book, and a hefty charge applies for sun lounges, umbrellas and the other beach paraphernalia essential to a day out at Club 55. A pair of sunbeds with umbrellas will cost around €68 ($A110). A la carte lunch is currently €70. For a baguette with ham and cheese, a bottle of Evian and an orange juice, expect to pay about €30. You also get valet parking, showers, change rooms, a restaurant shaded by a pergola and tamarisk trees and the chance to rub shoulders with the beau monde. If the summer sun is shining and you haven't notched up several celebrity sightings by the end of the day, your sunnies need a good wipe.

The Italian job

Italy excels at the throttled-back version of the beach club, and the nation that gave the world gelato and Prada knows how to infuse a beach with la dolce vita. Arienzo Beach Club occupies half of the tiny beach in a cove located just east of Positano, the most famous of the beach towns along Italy's Amalfi Coast. At a modest €12.50, access to the private part of the beach gets you a sun lounger with umbrella, change rooms, showers and a boat shuttle from Positano. At the back of the beach club, the bar/restaurant dishes out seafood dishes, pasta and caprese salads, fruity desserts and limoncello straight from the freezer.

Liberte, egalite and fraternite notwithstanding, neither the French nor the Italians have a problem with a bit of beach off-limits to all but those prepared to pay for the privilege. Why would they? Wealth buys you country villas, Michelin-star dining and plenty more good things in life, so why not a better kind of beach? As long as most beaches are open to all, and both Club 55's Pampelonne Beach and Arienzo Beach are mostly free for all, what's the issue?