06 The Best 50 · 2026
The Whale
Narooma, NSW
A converted roadside motel above Wagonga Inlet in Narooma, reworked by Merivale into an 18-room boutique hotel. The original structure is kept, along with a retro pool and a forty-year-old frangipani. There is a heated magnesium pool, a sauna and seafood dining at Queen Chow.
What makes it
- Heated magnesium pool
- Retro pool
- Sauna
- Queen Chow restaurant