It’s amazing what 24 hours somewhere magical can do. Time stretches, thoughts wander and a lush hideaway in Bouddi National Park can start to feel very much like home.
Pretty Beach House is the bolthole of dreams. Surrounded by bushland and with views across to Broken Bay, you feel miles from anywhere (even though, in reality, you’re a mere 90 minutes from the buzz of Sydney). This is luxury with an Australian twist - a collection of pavilions that celebrate the region’s natural splendour, allow you to slow down and smell the eucalypts, and leave you feeling deliciously calm. You’ll savour the joys of drifting off in a cloud-like bed, waking to birdsong, swimming beneath the stars, feasting, hiking and sharing something divine with someone you love.
The main house is the property’s chic heart - a place where you can partake in tipples by the fire, indulge in scrumptious, multi course extravaganzas and take a dip in the view-boasting infinity pool. Designed to disappear into the surrounding national park, the main house decor is the work of interior designer Michelle Leslie. Tones are earthy, sculptural brass pendant lamps abound, furniture is handcrafted and huge windows invite the outside world in. Featuring mud bricks from the Southern Highlands and the immense timber beams of a decommissioned Queensland bridge, the space is a conversation-starter to say the least.
I was ensconced rather happily in one of Pretty Beach House’s four pavilions - each of which is named for the element that makes it remarkable - and The Hideaway, framed by angophoras (and with its own private pool), felt as lavish and inviting as it sounds.
While a meander along the Pretty Beach waterfront is lovely (and the chance of striking up a conversation on the jetty is high), and an escape to the spa at Bells at Kildare truly restorative, you can spend your time simply unwinding in your pavilion - or embarking on one of the many hiking trails that begin by the main house. The Flannel Flower walking track, which links Tallow and Lobster Beach, is particularly delightful when spring arrives and these delicate natives bloom.
For those with more time, there’s the eight kilometre Bouddi Coastal Walk, which begins near Kilcare Beach and takes in Little Beach and Maitland Bay (site of the wrecked and rusting SS Maitland). Wildflowers abound, as do weathered rock formations, sand dunes, sea eagles and ornate, twisting eucalypts. Time you visit right and humpback whales may just make an appearance.
I’m the sort of person who hikes to eat. And what it comes to fine dining (or perfectly prepared picnics/cheese boards and bubbles in your pavilion), Pretty Beach House knows how to put on a show. Menus for the degustation dinner change daily and showcase the very best of what’s in season, with offerings described as being ‘simple, fresh and flavoursome, drawing inspiration from native ingredients … [which are] sourced and cooked with skill, care and love.’ When devouring chef Duncan Kemmis’ grilled WA marron tail (paired with corn puree and candied guanciale) or seared Murray cod (with smoked aubergine, spinach and macadamia and finger lime salsa), this rang absolutely true, our chatter suddenly halting so we could focus on the culinary artistry before us. Such scrumptiousness is matched by setting - a spacious sandstone dining room adorned with art sure to make you swoon.
Meandering back to The Hideaway, already excited about what awaited me the next morning (is there anything better than a hotel breakfast?), I paused on the garden path and drank in the stillness around me, absurd in the moment, utterly content. I hadn’t even been at Pretty Beach House a day and it had already worked its magic.
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