The great AUSTRALIAN LONG WEEKEND

Sea suite

BANNISTERS, PORT STEPHENS

Three hours’ drive north of Sydney, in Soldiers Point, an offshoot of the sleepy seaside town of Port Stephens, a tired retro roadside motel has had a serious style overhaul. Terrace bar, infinity pool with day beds, award-winning restaurant, spa, penthouse … we’re talking coastal chic with a capital ‘C’.

The reborn hotel, Bannisters, a sibling to the South Coast classic, has 80 rooms and four suites, and it never feels overcrowded, because guests are either out on the beach, trekking through surrounding bushland or enjoying a vino on their private balcony, taking in that massive expanse of blue that is Salamander Bay.

Romy Alwill is the interior-design mind behind the project, which features soft furnishings in beautiful blush pinks and gumnut greens, terracotta-tiled floors, brass light fittings and

Japanese wallpaper. Her pièce de résistance is the main dining room, Rick Stein at Bannisters. A Prussian blue U-shaped bar anchors the space,