Looking for the entrance to Basq House? Make sure you check your map. Guests enter the new boutique hotel via a discreet rear laneway away from the crowds of downtown Byron Bay. If you know, you know.
A stairway sweeps off the street into a stylish lounge and reception area, a Moroccan-inspired space packed with plants, paintings and bespoke furniture evocative of a minted mate’s beach retreat. Opened in June 2024, the hotel belongs to Melbourne-based owners Matt Walsh and Shane Wilkinson, who worked with Mathew Dalby of Studio Fab to create the boho luxe look.
The reception spills out onto the heart of the hotel: a sparkling, heated magnesium pool with a clear, windowed edge. The turquoise water is framed like a glamorous aquarium, revealing swimmers splashing languidly behind thick perspex. This is the place to bust out your best bikini or boardies – no dodgy speedos, please.
Around half of the property’s 32 rooms have a view of the pool deck, with its station of fluffy striped towels, comfortable cabanas and cushioned day beds. Chilled tunes float from the speakers as uniformed staff do the rounds to make sure everyone stays well fed and watered with spicy Margs, tortilla chips and salsa, or oversized toasties.
Moving further into the hotel, you’ll find a library stacked with beautiful hardcover books, board games and the latest magazines. Luxe lounges and an oversized coastal artwork dominate the space, with a flickering faux fire that is hardly needed in this temperate corner of northern New South Wales. Keep going around the corner and you’ll find a dark wood-panelled lift lobby and main street access.
The two upper levels have an indoor-outdoor vibe that brings to mind Brisbane’s Calile Hotel, blending contemporary comfort with 1970s retro details. The rooms are warmly minimalist in shades of crisp white and clean concrete, polished oak, brass and burnt orange.
Designer wooden bedheads sit over cloud-like king-size beds, and large sliding windows fringed with linen curtains beckon in sunlight and ocean breeze. Private bathrooms are stocked with Mr Smith toiletries, while the minibar offers bottles of chilled Louis Roederer champagne and French rosé , and cans of yuzu soda and coconut water. Tick, tick, tick.
It’s hard to leave the compound, but the buzz of the town will surely draw you outside. The property is ideally located, surrounded by boutiques and bars and just a few minutes’ walk to the beach. Hotel Marvell’s restaurant is just across the street, and one of Byron’s best brunch spots, Bayleaf, a few doors down. There are fat-tyred Lekker bicycles for guests to borrow, so strap on a helmet and explore nearby Wategos Beach or the famed Cape Byron Lighthouse. Want to go further afield? Gregarious hotel staff can help you out.
Byron Bay’s incredible rise keeps on keeping on, with the hotspot more popular every year. The original bohemian surfers and hippies seem to have been driven further afield, and the streets are packed with smoothie-chasing, yoga-loving, activewear-clad couples and families. But there’s no better place to live the new Byron dream than at Basq House, which strikes the perfect balance of luxury, style and privacy.
Rooms start from $425 per night. The writer was a guest of Basq House.
Basq House
4 Fletcher Lane, Byron Bay
(02) 5671 1000
