On the shortlist
Halcyon House
Cabarita Beach, NSW
When Siobhan and Elisha Bickle bought a tired '60s motor inn five minutes from the NSW–QLD border, they kept the bones, the pool, the open-air corridors and the easy seaside swagger. The high-water mark for what an Australian motel can be.
What makes it
- Heated kidney pool
- Paper Daisy restaurant
- 24-hr concierge
- Surfboard library
- Bicycles (gratis)
- Free parking