Centurion Australia Spring 2015

BLACKBOOK HEAD HERE

BLACKBOOK HEAD HERE Clockwise from top: surfing at Cabarita, location for Halcyon House; a view down the beach; looking on to the balcony of one of the suites; chef Ben Devlin at the hotel’s icecream cart Coast and added a dash of Kit Kemp to create Instagram-ready interiors of whitewash and stripy Aegean blue, mosaics and folk art, textures and colour. The mark of the hotel is in the detail – the handmade floor tiles, walls upholstered in English fabrics by craftsmen flown in especially for the task, Frette towelling, and antiques and vintage pieces foraged from Brimfield Flea Markets in Massachusetts. No two rooms are alike – each has its own cleverly conceived charms – but the one to book is 308, a master suite with show-off terrace and sightlines beyond the pandanus trees to the blue sparkle of the Pacific. General manager Mauro De Riso comes direct from JK Place and brings more than a touch of Capri’s style and service to the 21-room boutique hotel. “I can see something in common here,” he says of his new posting a world away from Marina Grande. “The same clientele, the same vibe, happy times. And both places are still very authentic, with plenty of nature.” There is substance to match all the style, most notably at Paper Daisy where the highly awarded young chef (and keen surfer) Ben Devlin creates uniquely local plates that guests are likely to remember long after departing. Cases in point: fat pipis (local clams) infused with the indigenous flavours of lemon myrtle and warrigal greens, and agnolotti farced with creamy ricotta and showered with shavings of cured tuna. When guests tire of admiring the hotel’s aesthetics or lazing by the pool, they can book a lesson with pro surfer and hotel ambassador Joel Parkinson, hike up to nearby Norries Headland to watch for humpback whales on their annual pilgrimage or explore the unspoiled, empty beaches of the north coast. For a town that was, until now, relatively unknown, Cabarita is easy to reach. Just 20 minutes from Gold Coast airport, itself an hour from Sydney, one of the best surf beaches and most stunning small hotels in Australia are about to gets their international close-up. halcyonhouse.com.au PHOTOS © HALCYON HOUSE 36 CENTURION-MAGAZINE.COM CONTACT CENTURION SERVICE FOR BOOKINGS

hardybrothers.com.au • 1300 231 393 Brisbane • Sydney • Chatswood • Melbourne • Chadstone • Perth