So beautifully captured by Alison Lester’s picture book ‘Are we there yet?’, the road trip brings back happy memories for many Australian ‘Baby Boomers’. Families would pile into the car stopping along the way at motels or caravan parks, an elite resort out of the question.
It’s worth looking back to those times and the reasons we hold them so dear. Holidays were as much about the journey as they were about the destination. We played games in the car, slept, and even read. A holiday was all about relaxing, enjoying time together as a family, perhaps with a visit to relatives slotted into the journey.
Simple holidays are within reach for most families, especially if they are only a short drive away from home. Revamped retro motels and hotels can provide a nostalgic staycation in another area of town or just over the state border. From your accommodation, you can take the time to explore and discover hidden gems beyond your immediate neighbourhood. Here are some local treasures worth discovering.
Blue Water Motel
129 Kingscliff St., Kingscliff NSW Ph: 02 6674 2999
With the help of renowned designer Jason Grant, Ryan Bowman, the new owner of the Blue Water Motel, has achieved something very special. Their makeover has brought the motel into modernity with appeal to a wide range of travellers, while maintaining the integrity and charm of its original 1970s design and purpose. Its success is due to the detail. From the chosen colour palette with its own unique shade of blue especially created by Grant to its pelican theming, pottery installations and quirky word detailing, ‘Wish you were here’, the coastal vibe is reinforced.
The kidney-shaped swimming pool, kitchen and alfresco common areas, bike hire and onsite parking help reinforce that this is a recreation of the motels of our youth; the place we stayed on a family road trip or on a summer beach holiday with friends. The seventeen motel rooms have been renovated with modern coastal décor and practicality in mind. Their easy-care floors are dog friendly and awning windows open to create a private coffee nook. Some even have a private backyard.
From the Blue Water Motel (or its adjoining 4-bedroom house), you can explore the undiscovered Tweed Coast by bicycle, learn to surf on one of the motel’s retro surfboards, enjoy a Greek feast at Taverna or grab a local beer at the Pot & Pint. (Pot & Pint will even collect you in a London taxi!)
The Chalet Motel
21 Mullumbimbi St., Brunswick Heads, NSW Ph: 02 6685 1257
Brunswick Heads has several 60s-style motels, The Chalet Motel being one of the cutest. Brought to life by its owners, the Bowman family, The Chalet is close enough to the village to walk everywhere, that is if you don’t borrow the motel’s bicycles. With a dozen stylishly renovated rooms, a saltwater swimming pool, cabana and BBQ area, The Chalet is also pet friendly. Family groups can also choose to stay in the Sunset Bungalow next door.
The coastal village of Brunswick Heads is full of charming shops, vintage stores and earthy cafés. Take in a show at the retro Brunswick Picture House, dine at Honour, Cadeau or one of the many coffee shops and restaurants in the area. Visit Bottle & Hoop to pick up your own picnic to enjoy at the beach. A stop at Natural Ice Cream Australia on the way back will give you a deliciously healthy dessert.
The Imperial Hotel, Murwillumbah
115 Murwillumbah St, Murwillumbah NSW Ph: 02 6672 7000
If ever there was a labour of love, it has been Shane Nugent’s five-year long restoration of the Imperial Hotel, Murwillumbah. Keeping the charm of ‘the Impy’, (the locals’ name for the 1931 pub), the pink exterior of the hotel remains. Inside, however, the hotel has been transformed to give a modern take on a classic Aussie pub.
Open areas flow through from dining room to bar, privacy granted by a row of bifold wooden doors adorned with sandblasted glass. Crisp black and white tiled floors meet navy tiled walls, while gold-embossed feature tiles displaying the hotel’s initials bring a wow factor. Some parts of the old hotel have been reborn, including booths crafted from the old bar. A main focus of the dining room is the quirky cartoon-like artwork featuring Nugent’s bull terrier, Loui, by illustrator Ben Godfrey. Chesterfields add a comfortable seating option, while a range of high and low table seating provides choice for different activities. Stained glass panelled doors featuring the King and Queen of Diamonds lead to bathrooms, where original concrete sinks, copper pipes and gauges have been retained as authentic working décor. The upstairs section of the hotel has been completely transformed, with 28 new rooms now available as accommodation, a perfect base from which to explore the town and surrounding Northern Rivers area.
There’s a lot to see and do around Murwillumbah, including the M-Arts Precinct on the next block, and the Tweed Regional Gallery and Margaret Olley Art Centre (which includes a re-creation of Olley’s Sydney home) a few kilometres away. Besides dining at the hotel, you can dine at hatted restaurants such as Bistro Livi fronting the M-Arts complex, Tweed River House or Mavis’s Kitchen, visit Kat Harvey Cheese, retro café Keith, or take in a movie at the newly refurbished art deco cinema, The Regent, built in 1947.
The Pink Hotel
171 Griffith St, Coolangatta QLD Ph: 07 5415 0598
If you are looking for the quintessential retro girls’ weekend away or a Baby Boomers’ second honeymoon, The Pink Hotel at Coolangatta fills the bill perfectly. Oozing swoon-worthy retro chic glamour, the renovated 1950s hotel is full of eye-catching features.
With neon signs, plush velvet couches, and even a record player in some rooms (with vinyls available from reception), each room has been decorated in its own unique mix of retro Scandi style to include a mini bar and coffee maker. There’s an Astroturf rooftop bar with open cabanas overlooking the ocean, a hidden Janitors Closet piano bar and Sugar Cube function/karaoke room.
The Pink Hotel overlooks Coolangatta Beach opposite Twin Towns Services Club, which offers shows and dining. Downstairs, Eddie’s Grub House serves retro-sized burgers along with a huge selection of whiskies and live music, with a range of casual dining scattered along the Coolangatta beachfront. A 20-minute drive away you’ll find Potager – A Kitchen Garden, a favourite hatted garden-to-table restaurant in a rural setting.