Australians know our coastline is one of the most beautiful in the world; endless golden beaches and coves fringed with forests teeming with wildlife, pristine water and great surfing but ask anyone to name a place to stay between Sydney and the Byron region and they’d be hard pressed to think of great hospitality options worth a road trip stopover, let alone a destination in itself. Enter Sea Sea, a medley of vintage swag, je ne sais quoi luxury, iconic art and Palm Springs-esque motel cool that leaves its visitors sanguinely spoilt with hotel wide piped music, floor to ceiling wood paneling, delicious locally sourced produce cooked by top chefs, visiting Dj sets and sea salt pools in a popular surf town of Cresent Heads, a seaside townlet situated between lush dairy farms and pristine National Park forest.
George and Cisco Gorrow, original creators of The Slow in Bali have reproduced in Sea Sea a similarly impeccable juncture of mid century inspired architecture, sustainability + health focus and dedication to changing the game: from a retro inspired hotel sign and merch to clean, all natural ingredients in yummy toiletry products, high quality artesian choices of drinks in mini bars, sauna and cold plunge facilities , even down to the eclectically delightful choice of foliage ranging from desert like cactus to palms and lush rainforest lichen dripping from our patio’s tree it would be hasty to assume any of the above was incidental, rather it’s a multiverse power of the Gorrow brand to engage all the senses, a power equally nourished by the quirky artistic sarcasm of once Ksubi’s co-creator George Gorrow as it is with the luxe hippy style of his stunning German born wife Cisco, who lives and breathes the sort of organic lifestyle that LA people dream of in the venerated stalls of Erewhon.
Posing for the above picture , hair still dripping from the beach, the couple who are decades old friends of mine look at each other and burst out laughing : “We nearly killed each other during this renovation process” – they say and yet myrrh resonates warm in their voices before affirming they’d love to do it again. I tell them they need to do a chain spanning the coastline and their eyes sparkle.
Some people say it’s easy to open a hotel, all one needs is money they reason, but they are wrong – the thing that is most in necessity is good taste + an understanding of the available market and how people experience pleasure – George and Cisco excel here , which is why I made the trip to Sea Sea twice, both times for a foodie weekend- once solo for an Icebergs dining room and bar takeover where I ate fried calamari and local oysters, drank great cocktails and danced to a DJ set till wee hours and the second time with my partner for a romantic getaway and culinary delight of a collab between Sea Sea and Arlo Bar ( Arlo’s Tristian Greer pictured below with George Gorrow ) where we inhaled a 5 course seafood delight , then drank wine and danced in the room to the excellent Sea Sea sountrack available at the turn of a dial next to the bed, for that impromptu party vibe 24/7 and both times I had an excellent time. Children too, are more than welcome here and would find the spot sweet, with its beautiful pool, deck and sparkling beaches surrounding the town. The spirit of collaboration and innovation continues with plans for ongoing foodie weekends, gallery events and parties, making it more of a stand alone destination than a mere stopover and frankly I cannot wait to go back, eat my bodyweight in local produce and doze by the pool pretending to read a book the night after staying up a tad too late dancing.
