Rae's on Wategos, Byron Bay
Rae's on Wategos was built in the 1960s by the Wategos family themselves on the hill above Wategos Beach, beginning life as a seaside kiosk before becoming Byron's most storied boutique hotel. Reimagined by Sydney designer Tamsin Johnson in 2017, it's just seven rooms - original marble floors, mosaic tiles, one-of-a-kind vintage pieces - with a hilltop position overlooking the beach that's hard to match anywhere on this coast.
It's the kind of place that draws the likes of Elle Macpherson, Tom Cruise and Kate Winslet, without ever feeling like it's trying to impress anyone - "unpretentious luxury at its absolute finest," as one review put it. With full hotel exclusivity available, it's one of the most private, intimate settings in Byron.