Before boutique hotels were everywhere, there was Halcyon House

Opening in 2015 on the New South Wales north coast, Halcyon House helped pioneer Australia’s design-led boutique hotel movement. On a first visit a decade later, its sense of place, nostalgia and joyful maximalism still resonate

In 2015, during the early stages of my career in travel publishing, I got wind of a new luxury boutique hotel opening on the New South Wales north coast. That hotel was Halcyon House, a beachfront Cabarita property with just 22 rooms and suites, showcasing a vibrant, eclectic aesthetic that was downright audacious. Even more intriguing was that it inhabited what had previously been a run-down surfer motel called The Hideaway, whose main clientele had long been backpackers and road-trippers.

Rather than bulldozing the outdated building and starting afresh, new owners Siobhan and Elisha Bickle – working with architect Virginia Kerridge and celebrated interior designer Anna Spiro – kept the motel’s basic bones intact and fully embraced its 1960s roots, using its former life as the foundation of the hotel’s design language and guest experience.

In the decade since, motel-turned-luxury boutique properties have cropped up across Australia (Mollymook’s Motel Molly, Byron Bay’s The Sunseeker and El Definio, and the Gold Coast’s Mysa Motel, to name a handful). Residential-inspired design now reigns, marking a shift from the minimalist, neutral and ‘safe’ aesthetic of the corporate noughties to a luxury hotel landscape defined by personality and individuality. It’s easy to forget that Halcyon House was a trailblazer in this space – a hotel where the visual, tactile and relaxed-yet-attentive experience defined luxury, rather than the amenities alone.

But I haven’t forgotten.

Halcyon House’s new birthday suit

By the time I finally make the journey to the seaside retreat in late 2025, the hotel is celebrating its ten-year anniversary, and a few things have changed. For one, I now have a husband and three-year-old in tow; for another, Halcyon House – an instant success upon opening – has become a bona fide home-grown icon, firmly embedded in Australia’s luxury hospitality zeitgeist.

There’s still the blue, retro scrawl of the hotel’s logo emblazoned on the instantly recognisable white-washed façade, with its original open-air access corridors, arches and 1960s breeze blocks. And there’s still Paper Daisy’s French cafe-style tables and chairs, the interior walls covered with antique artworks that create the feeling of stepping inside the dining room of a well-travelled friend with a penchant for collecting art. 

But to celebrate reaching double digits, the terrace and poolside areas have swapped their signature nautical blue-and-white outfits for ice-cream-hued numbers of pink and mint, replete with scalloped edges and tasselled umbrellas. The collaboration with local luxury outdoor furniture brand Business & Pleasure Co. lends the poolside a vintage, Slim Aarons–inspired feel – an effortlessly glamorous spot to sip a welcome Paloma on check-in, before digging into the celebratory Mexican-inspired bar menu of grilled fish tacos and ceviche.

Where design does the talking

No two rooms are the same at Halcyon House. The hotel’s playful style incorporates an abundance of bespoke fabrics, wallpapers, artworks and antiques, making it tactile and charming, detailed and curated – without feeling busy.

Our Deluxe Room is positioned on the second floor, at the opposite end from Paper Daisy, and is among the quieter, more private rooms available. The space is unabashedly joyful, with layer upon layer of texture and detail that compel me to touch and feel everything. The hallmark whimsical Anna Spiro prints abound from floor to ceiling – stripes, florals and geometric motifs working in harmony thanks to a cohesive coastal palette of blue, white and driftwood brown. Antique furniture and art add another layer of lived-in charm, while the balcony looks out over the turquoise pool to the palm trees that frame the white sands of Cabarita Beach.

I particularly love the roomy bathroom, with its marble twin vanities and high quality brass English tapware. The traditional tub is not only beautiful but supremely comfortable – something that can’t be said of many modern tubs, which increasingly prioritise looks over practical comfort. 

If I had to nitpick, I find the choice of youthful, tongue-in-cheek Evo amenities slightly off-brand for such a curated property, particularly given the number of luxe Australian-made amenities brands now available, unlike when the hotel first opened. The exposed balconies, too – a legacy of the original motel – mean the level of privacy typically expected of a luxury stay is largely confined to the room itself.

Dining with Daisy

Dining at the one-hatted Paper Daisy is one of the joys of a stay at Halcyon House. The convivial atmosphere in the restaurant on Sunday afternoon is contagious, with tables ranging from ladies’ lunches to group gatherings and family meals with children in tow (like ours). It’s a vibe as we indulge in Sydney Rock oysters, king prawns and grilled Kiwami Wagyu chuck tail flap MB9+ 160g – although the wagyu takes rich unctuousness a touch too far for us.

The cocktails are standouts – something acknowledged at the 2025 Australian Wine List of the Year Awards, where Paper Daisy won Best Cocktail List in Australia – and if it were up to me, the tipples would continue to flow. But our restless toddler’s patience runs out. Thankfully, just beyond the terrace lies the sand and swell of Cabarita Beach, so we kick off our shoes and finish the afternoon building sandcastles. Experiencing this contrast of glamour and relaxed coastal energy in real time, it’s easy to see why guests return to Halcyon House time and again.

Peace by the sea

More coastal-style luxury is on offer at Halcyon House’s recently expanded spa – a serene, breezy and beautiful space. Its carefully curated atelier, with its array of elegant Australian lifestyle brands, is a good enough reason to pop in, even if you’re not enjoying a satisfyingly firm massage like I am. There’s a state-of-the-art sauna, a dedicated cold plunge pool, a steam room and treatment rooms, but I find myself drawn most of all to the wellness space’s design in the upstairs pre- and post-treatment lounge.

Harmonious print clashes and lashings of coral and baby blue are offset by nods to colonial plantation style – oak flooring, sturdy wooden antiques and wall panelling, botanical artworks, and walls lined with vintage magazines, including issues of the long-gone Collective Hub.

Spaces like this make you feel like you’re in a family establishment – you can see and feel the love that has gone into every nook and cranny to create a cozy and comforting home away from home.

BEYOND THE HOTEL

Hire the hotel’s Mercedes for the day and go exploring Byron Bay – 30 minutes north – and beyond. Make a pit stop at Bangalow, where you’ll find excellent bar-restaurant, You Beauty. A true surprise, we enjoyed one of the best meals of the year here. Be sure to order the green risotto.

A return to a simpler time

With the rise and proliferation of design-led boutique hotels over the last decade, there’s no doubt Halcyon House, with its softly-maximalist, curated, vintage-inspired interiors, is not as aesthetically unique as it once was. Indeed, even corporate hospitality brands now have their own boutique offerings targeted at Halcyon House’s very clientele – those seeking a design-led, individual experience of luxury.

But Halcyon House is a property so rooted in its destination that there is nowhere else like it. Its surfy bolthole roots tap into a nostalgic desire to return to a simpler, bygone era of Australian coastal life, something that feels increasingly rare in a busy modern world. Is it expensive? Yes. But you can’t put a price on a feeling, and Halcyon House does a superb job of transporting guests back to those halcyon days — minus the backpackers.

Hotel Notes

Rooms at Halcyon House start from AU$750 per night for a Classic Room, including breakfast at Paper Daisy. Apple TV, Foxtel, complimentary mini bar and use of the bikes and surfboards is available to all guests,along with unlimited WIFI. halcyonhouse.com.au