From rustic surf camps to design-forward motels and cute-as-a-button cabins, here is some of the best accommodation in Wollongong and the Illawarra.

Whether it’s a work trip, family weekend, surf mission, romantic getaway or last-minute coastal escape, this guide rounds up the best accommodation in Wollongong and the Illawarra that fits the brief.  Our guide to the coolest places to stay in  Wollongong and beyond ranges from campgrounds to hotel suites and beach houses with wrap-around views. Take your pick from the following best places to stay in Wollongong.

In short, if you only have a few nights in Wollongong, stay at Surfside 22 Motel. It’s just steps from the rolling surf breaks dotted along Wollongong’s coastline and nails that sweet spot between affordability, location and easy, coastal style.

Best hotels and motels in Wollongong and the Illawarra

Wollongong’s accommodation runs from small design-forward retro motels to hotels with coveted waterfront locations.

Surfside 22

Best for: Surfers who want to enjoy Wollongong’s best breaks, but don’t want to rough it.

Australia’s classic roadside motels are getting a glow-up, retrofitted for the times. And pulling off the highway on the way to the kitschy-cool Surfside 22 is exactly the kind of throwback we need. This bougee oasis – all breezy Besser blocks, gelato hues and palm trees – has a plunge pool and sauna and is just minutes away from both North Beach and City Beach. Stay in a king with a kitchenette or book a connecting room to accommodate the family. The retro motel is also near to some of Wollongong’s best restaurants and cafes.

Address: 22 Crown St, Wollongong

Hotel TOTTO

Best for: Business travellers who want to walk to their meetings.

Totter into Hotel TOTTO to discover one of Wollongong’s smartest city stays. The design-forward 150-room hotel has reopened as an Independent Collection by EVT hotel that blends elegant, minimalist interiors with an industrial edge. Check in when it suits using one of the self-serve kiosks at the hotel, set right in the CBD, a short walk from some of Wollongong’s best beaches. Downstairs, Mediterranean-inspired restaurant Basta offers more than enough options from breakfast through to lunch, aperitivo hour and dinner.

Address: 60 Market St, Wollongong

Novotel Wollongong Northbeach

Best for: Romantic getaways and special occasions

If you’re looking for some romance in the Gong, book a long weekend at the Novotel Wollongong Northbeach. Dive headfirst into all the recently refurbished hotel has on offer: dinner at Palisade Kitchen and Bar and drinks at the North Bar, which looks like something out of a scene from an Entourage episode. Best of all, doe-eyed duos don’t need to leave the pool to order a cocktail at the spiffy Adrift Pool Bar.

Address: 2/14 Cliff Road, North Wollongong

Headlands Austinmer Beach

Best for: Guests who don’t want to stray more than 100 metres from the hotel

Headlands Austinmer Beach wraps around the Austinmer headland, making its ocean-view apartments popular for weddings, luxury escapes and cheeky weekends away. Stay glued to a sun-lounger by the hotel pool – one of the coolest on offer on the coast – then wander downstairs for dinner at the pub. Watch the light fade over the Illawarra Escarpment, Aperol spritz in hand, and then hang happily on your hotel balcony as night closes in.

Address: Cnr Headland Avenue & Yuruga St, Austinmer

Towradgi Beach Hotel

Best for: Live music fans

Towradgi Beach Hotel is a lively local hub where you can spend the night. The Comfort Inn Towradgi Beach is adjacent to the pub and just a short walk from Towradgi Beach and its rock pools. The pub has a steady roster of live music, comedy and trivia nights, which means you can enjoy a night out without needing to travel too far. The appeal here in the seaside city is the easy access to the beach, coastal walks and Wollongong’s main attractions. Wollongong’s CBD is just minutes away by car.

Address: 170 Pioneer Road, Towradgi

Sage Hotel

Best for: Families and NRL fans keen to cheer on the Dragons

Families with little ones will appreciate the fact Sage Hotel has an activities room with old-school video games, table tennis and Giant Jenga. The hotel, within walking distance of Wollongong CBD and City Beach, feels as if it could double as a lighthouse, with its glass-fronted floor-to-ceiling windows looking out over the Illawarra coastline. Parents will also appreciate the pool bar, which features Friday night movies. And sporting fans will dig the proximity to WIN Stadium.

Address: 60-62 Harbour St, Wollongong

Argo Apartments

Best for: Business and leisure travellers who want an extended stay in a central location.

Argo Apartments is one of the best places to base yourself in the heart of the Wollongong CBD. Many of the new apartments, which accommodate small pets, offer views over the ocean and iconic Illawarra Escarpment. The rooms adhere to a mainly minimalist palette of whites and charcoals enhanced by copper tones that are a lustrous feature of the lobby. Enjoy glittering city views at night as the Gong is lit up like a circuit board.

Address: 65 Church St, Wollongong

Best Airbnbs and holiday homes in Wollongong and the Illawarra

If you want space, privacy and the freedom to do Wollongong your own way, these holiday homes and Airbnbs should be on your radar.

Pepper Tree Passive House

Best for: Conscious travellers looking for a sustainable stay near Wollongong

Extend your time in Wollongong before road-tripping back to Sydney with a stay in this out-of-this-world treehouse in Mt Kembla. Pepper Tree Passive House wraps around a 50-year-old pepper tree that provides an enchanting canopy. Architect Alexander Symes and Adam Souter, of SouterBuilt, designed the eco retreat to showcase German-building passivhaus principles that showcase a more low-impact lifestyle.

Address: Pepper Tree Passive House in the foothills of Mt Kembla integrates with the natural environment

Farmborough Cottage

Best for: Families

You won’t need to listen to brown noise on Spotify to soothe yourself to sleep when you’re staying at Farmborough Cottage. Sleep will wash over you at this fabulous cottage in Farmborough Heights where the wind has a wild song all its own. The quaint cottage in the foothills of Mt Kembla has three bedrooms, including one with bunk beds. There’s an all-weather deck for entertaining and a fire pit for roasting marshmallows.

Address: Farmborough Heights

Ocean Blue Bed & Breakfast

Best for: Adventurous couples and multi-generational escapes

Surprise your squeeze with a thrilling tandem hang-gliding adventure or sky-diving adventure followed by a stay at Ocean View Escarpment Escape. The multi-level home has a lift and ample space for multi-generational escapes. It comprises two bedrooms on the upper level, and two on the ground floor.  Insulate yourself from the world at this bright and breezy Stanwell Park retreat, which has several relaxation zones and a large deck with ocean and escarpment views. Sleeps 8.

Address:  Stanwell Park

Lumière House

Best for: Extended families looking for something a little fancy for a special occasion

This is the kind of polished place every holidaymaker craves. Filled with natural light and sweeping views across Wollongong all the way to the water’s edge, the five-bedroom home looks like it belongs in an interiors magazine. Lumière House has a pool, two fireplaces, multiple living zones and a generous al fresco area for entertaining. Sleeps 10.

Address: 15 Elizabeth St, Mangerton

Wollongong Coastal Bungalow

Best for: Extended families, group trips and beach-hopping stays.

Wollongong Coastal Bungalow is one of the best Airbnbs in the area. Here are the details: the three-bedroom, three-bathroom bungalow is located in the Wollongong CBD, is a 10-minute walk to some of the city’s best beaches and packed with everything you will need. Ocean views an absolute bonus. Sleeps 6.

Address: Wollongong CBD

Easton’s Escape

Best for: Families and group gatherings.

Easton’s Escape is a well-designed, light-filled apartment that has room for up to six guests, and enough room for everyone to spread out in the communal living-dining area and sunny balcony. While there are plenty of reasons to just kick back and relax in the apartment, when you do leave, you’re just a few blocks back from the best beaches in North Wollongong and some of our favourite places to eat and drink in Wollongong. Perfect for those wanting a Wollongong weekender with easy beach access.

Address: Close to Wollongong’s major attractions, beaches and eateries

The Bower

Best for: Families looking for an off-grid reset

The Bower is not on the coast. But the Mt Kembla home deserves special mention in our guide to Wollongong accommodation as it’s a quiet oasis away from the bustle of the city. It’s also the perfect base from which to lace up your boots to do a loop of the Mt Kembla Ring Track. Fans of Mid-Century design will love the lines of this architecturally designed home. BYO marshmallows to make memories around the fire pit under the stars. Don’t feel like cooking? Head to the historic Mt Kembla Hotel for dinner and a drink.

Address: Mt Kembla

Best campgrounds in Wollongong and the Illawarra

Wollongong’s campgrounds provide some of the best access to beaches in NSW – the kind where you can surf, swim, fish and still be back in the CBD in under 15 minutes.

Coledale Camping Reserve

Best for: Couples or families who are new to camping

The Coledale Camping Reserve is a small, grassy campground just metres away from Coledale Beach. The campground has a cool, communal vibe and is filled with shaggy-haired surfers living their best #vanlife. It’s also a haven for families with little ones who aren’t up for anything too intrepid. Swim, fish, surf, dive and play French cricket. Next, head to Rosie’s for proper British-style fish and chips with a side of peas and mint.

Address: 677 Lawrence Hargrave Drive, Coledale

Corrimal Beach Tourist Park

Best for: Caravanners and families of fishos looking for a coastal break

Corrimal Beach Tourist Park is my go-to for a night or two under canvas when visiting the Illawarra coast. It’s one of the best places to camp in Wollongong as it offers the simplest of joys – proximity to a 1.4-kilometre stretch of sand and beach views – all within nine minutes of Wollongong’s CBD. The park backs onto sand dunes and native grasses that fringe the coastline. It’s also near Towradgi Creek, a top spot to catch dusky flathead.

Address: 2 Lake Parade, East Corrimal

Windang Beach Tourist Park

Best for: Beachfront camping in Wollongong

Windang Beach Tourist Park is sandwiched between Lake Illawarra and Windang Beach, which means water is always slapping at the edges of the campground. It’s a choose-your-own-adventure park, with cabins and powered campsites that cater to tents and caravans. The location – smack-bang where the waters of the lake meet the Pacific – is perfect for immersing yourself in the Wollongong lifestyle. Families should pitch their tent as near to the children’s playground as possible.

Address: 11 Fern St, Windang

Killalea Campground

Best for: Hardcore surfers who don’t mind roughing it as the amenities are very basic.

Forget jumping pillows and waterslides. The action at Killalea Campground is all about surfing, fishing and swimming. Thanks to the park’s reserve status, the campsite is surrounded by greenery. Bring your guitar. The campground is near to famed surf breaks, The Farm and Mystic’s, and lends itself to convivial, communal sing-alongs. The holiday park has large, unpowered camping sites that are popular with local surfers.

Address: 345 Minnamurra Falls Road, Jamberoo

Mellows Ridge

Best for: Couples seeking a secluded off-grid escape immersed in rainforest and escarpment views.

Set high on the Illawarra escarpment, Mellows Ridge offers one of the most secluded Wollongong camping experiences going. This off-grid Hipcamp abuts Macquarie Pass National Park wrapped in rainforest, fern-filled gullies and waterfalls that spill down to the forest floor. The elevation brings big valley views and a genuine sense of remoteness, making it feel more like a private rainforest retreat than a traditional camping stay.

Address: Calderwood, NSW