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Where the Hip Stay in Bryon Bay :: Watermark @ Wategos

September 2, 2008 at 12:45 PM | 0 Comments

There are not many hipper holiday spots Down Under than Byron Bay, where celebrities hide away and Sydneysiders come up for weekend breaks. After some renovations the Watermark @ Wategos boutique hotel is an ocean-front place to stay that's had some good press lately.

Watermark does try to be trendy--you can see that just from the "@" in the name--but it usually manages to pull it off too. Guests get either upstairs or downstairs studio apartments that have marble bathrooms and designer furniture, although the rooms are not especially big.

The location is the best bit, right on famous Wategos Beach. It's also only about a fifteen-minute walk into the town center. But like many boutique spots in Byron, the Watermark @ Wategos doesn't come cheap. Rates vary between A$390 (US$330) and A$590 (US$500) a night depending on the suite and the season so it's not a place for the average surfer to bed down.

Australia Hotels

'Opulent' Boutique Hotel to Open in Byron Bay

November 29, 2006 at 1:45 PM | 0 Comments

When your advertising uses enormous letters to announce yourself as "The most opulent accommodation in Byron Bay", you've either got to live up to it or get out of the business. The Palace on Magnolia in trendy Byron Bay, north of Sydney, hasn't even opened yet (December 9 is the date) but its publicity machine is working overtime.

By this new boutique guest house's own description, it's

a luxury resort reminiscent of the glory days of The Raj when the sahib played polo, the memsahib played croquet and Britain's flag flew over her Indian empire ... The Palace on Magnolia takes its guests to a level where luxury and service are without equal. Only the polo ponies and the croquet mallets are missing.

But despite harking back to the days of the Raj, rooms and suites at the Palace on Magnolia are also fully equipped with mod-cons, like wireless internet access, air-conditioning, DVD players, stereos and plasma TVs. The cheapest rooms in off-peak season start at $230, and the luxury Pavilion at peak will cost $470; all not too bad if it really lives up to the hype.

Related Stories:
· Byron Bay hotel reviews [TripAdvisor]