Aussie fashion designer’s new Byron stay gets a perfect score
The hotel
Sun Ranch, Coopers Shoot, Byron Bay, NSW
Check-in
Poolside at Sun Ranch with the off-grid barns up on the ridge beyond.
Development in Byron is at an all-time high, with everyone from Justin Hemmes to Maurice Terzini nabbing their piece of the rainbow region pie. But while out-of-towners are moving in, locals are heading to the hills, which is where you’ll find this locally owned eco-lodge, set on 22 hectares of former farmland in Coopers Shoot. The new ranch is by Byron-born Julia Ashwood (co-owner of the nearby Eltham Hotel) and Sunshine Coast-born Jamie Blakey (founder of fashion brand One Teaspoon). After driving through the western-style gateway entrance grab a welcome margarita and a seat on the lawn, watch the ranch horses amble through the surrounding fields and let the “hotel of good times” (as their tagline goes) do its bidding.
The look
Inside the revamped and rustic Rambler Longhouse.
Working with sustainable building company Balanced Earth, Ashwood and Blakey (with the help of 11 friends from Australia’s design and hospitality industries) overhauled the original ’80s farmhouse into the vibrant five-bedroom Rambler Longhouse. There’s a ’70s feel to The Lair lounge – where breakfast is served, yoga is held and nightcaps and records are spun – with its sculptural fireplace, tiger-print wraparound sofa and blood orange walls. Wander 100 metres up the hill and you’ll find a 25-metre pool fringed with local basalt. Keep walking up to the ridge and you’ll arrive at the six new two-bedroom off-grid barns.
The room
If the Rambler Longhouse is a little Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, then the barns are Man From Snowy River. The eucalyptus-hued exterior and recycled timber finishes blend into the surrounding pastureland, which has been reforested with more than 10,000 native plants and trees. Inside, there are wood-panelled walls and ceilings, a potbelly fireplace in the lounge, and ginger-licked bedrooms with khaki linen sheets, all lifted by the tangerine bathroom. Sunrise views don’t get much better than those from the cabins, except maybe at the Stoney Ridge fire pit 10 metres behind them. Rooms in the Rambler Longhouse, with tongue-in-cheek names like Wam Bam and Getting Lucky, have energetic colours including Yves Klein blue and bright burgundy, and front onto a second pool.
Indoor meets outdoor at the Longhouse.
Food + drink
For full ranch buyouts and sporadic pop-ups, local chef Pip Sumbak creates fire feasts in The Field House outdoor dining space. Ingredients are from Byron farmers markets and the property’s organic kitchen gardens: Ballina prawns over coals with curry leaf butter, or wild-caught kangaroo skewers. Included ranch breakfasts are a sprawling smorgasbord of local cheeses, eggs, charcuterie, pickles, smoked fish and fruit, while local produce packs including handmade pasta, organic meat and market vegetables are available to purchase for in-between times.
Out + about
Byron’s famous beaches are a 20-minute drive down the hill, while the charming town of Bangalow is a few minutes away, with some great restaurants for dinner including Ciao Mate and You Beauty. But with the floating wood-fired sauna and ice bath, daily yoga classes, kayaking, e-bikes, badminton, horseback riding, sound healings and more on offer, it’s likely you won’t go anywhere at all.
The Verdict
Whether you and your 33 mates book the whole ranch out for a big birthday, or you escape here with your partner or another couple for a weekend of nature immersion, Sun Ranch is indeed a place of sun-splashed good times.
Essentials
From $1700 for two nights for two in a Rambler Pool Room; two nights in a Sun Ranch Barn are $2900. Full buyouts can be booked for 34 guests, from $35,000 all-inclusive a night, with a two-night minimum stay. 17 Byron Creek Road, Coopers Shoot, NSW. Phone: 0428 043 509. See sunranch.com.au
Our score out of five
★★★★★
Highlight
Sitting around the sculptural fireplace sipping natural wine, reflecting on the day’s horse riding and pool lazing.
Lowlight
The Pool Club is a few minutes’ walk from anything else. Which you could complain about, or realise it’s why it feels so transporting.
The writer was a guest of Sun Ranch.
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