The Best New Hotels in Australia and Asia: 2024 Hot List
"Byron’s center of gravity has long been swinging inwards from its shorelines to its greener pastures and charming weatherboard villages. Already the not-so-secret postcode for eco-entrepreneurs and Hollywood hideouts, the Byron Hinterland has increasingly felt out of bounds to anyone without an invitation to one of its hillside homes, which has made the opening of Sun Ranch inevitable. The hotel is the vision of Jamie Blakey, who launched rock ’n’ roll denim brand One Teaspoon, and her best friend, Julia Ashwood, who grew up in the area and has cofounded some of the buzziest restaurants in this go-slow region. Spread across more than 55 acres of undulating green hills, this groovy ranch is a loud maximalist hee-haw of color, textile, and pattern. There are bright walls in shades from azure to flamingo, swirling terra-cotta flooring, opulent velvet lounges, and sculptural beaded chandeliers. In the coral Cowboy Bar, bottles of tequila and mezcal are infused with chillies for varying levels of spicy kick. In the main “rambler” house, the four bedrooms offer access to a private pool. Outside, where horses roam, families staying in the colorful two-bedroom timber barns have a hoot on electric bicycles, while young couples and mates down by the dam time each other in the wood-fired sauna and ice bath. Up in the distance, overlooking the property, a monolithic slab of concrete has been chiseled into the Pool Club, where sunbaking and lazy laps to a background of funky jazz and tequila are the order of the day." - CNT Editors
