Surf Hotel is making waves in Australia’s surfing capital.
Torquay is widely regarded as Australia’s surf capital, famed for its epic and diverse breaks and reliable swells year-round. Once a sleepy beach town, the starting point of the Great Ocean Road has doubled in population size from 10,000 residents in 2011 to an estimated 26,000 to 29,500 today. It’s also a much-loved holiday spot with visitors being drawn not only to its world-class beaches, but also its vibrant hospitality scene.
An exciting new accommodation that speaks to the coastal town’s surfing identity and barefoot luxury style just opened, and it’s a ripper.
Retro charm meets modern design
An ’80s motel was transformed into a chic coastal stay.
Surf Hotel is the brainchild and first property of Melbourne-based hospitality and property developers Jack Davis and George Robinson. Their latest venture sees an ‘80s motel completely transformed into a chic seaside stay by Melbourne-based architects Forum Studio and interior designers Pasquale Cook on Torquay’s beachfront main strip, The Esplanade.
Fit for surfers and design enthusiasts alike, each space within the accommodation is swathed in earthy tones and pays homage to the building’s ‘80s roots: think cork floors and record players with vinyl curated by Torquay’s J Wray Records. Bespoke belly boards produced exclusively by Rip Curl co-founder Doug Warbirck and Kodachrome photos taken by legendary Australian surf photographers adorn the walls. Terracotta floor tiles run throughout alongside exposed timber beams and mid-century modern furnishings.
The hotel’s offerings
The penthouse features an entertainer's kitchen.
Relax in one of the suite's circular baths.
Rooms exude minimalist coastal charm.
Modern bathrooms feature green tiled backsplashes.
There are just 16 rooms and suites on the property, all enveloped in warm minimalism. For added luxury, suites feature freestanding circular bathtubs under custom skylights. But the room to book is the penthouse, which sleeps up to eight guests across four rooms and flaunts sweeping ocean views and an entertainer’s kitchen.
The laid-back restaurant and bar is helmed by Jo Barrett (2024 Australian Good Food Guide’s Chef of the Year), who is renowned for her closed-loop gastronomy. The changing menu will hero local produce against a backdrop of the Bass Strait. Diners can expect modern bites such as an elevated fish finger sandwich, chicken and prawn larb with lime, chilli and fish sauce, fried king oyster mushroom with cashew and aged fenugreek and sweet treats like rice pudding cream with plum and finger lime. The breezy space features a wood-burning fireplace to cocoon next to during the cooler months.
The penthouse boasts expansive sea views.
A wellness space with a timber sauna, cold plunge and loungers will round out the offerings later this year.
Surf Hotel proves a tasteful example of a development aimed at enriching the community rather than simply existing within it. Division and Robinson’s second project, The Roy at Rainbow Beach in Queensland will open later this month.
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Rachael Thompson is Australian Traveller's Evergreen Editor and Hotel Addict. She's responsible for the foundational content on AustralianTraveller.com, helping to manage and grow the brand’s destination guides. With a background in design and travel media, Rachael is dedicated to curating content that is as much informational as it is beautiful. She began her career at Belle magazine, before taking up editorial roles at Homes to Love and Bed Threads. When she's not writing, editing or optimising content, Rachael enjoys exploring the city's newest restaurants, bars and hotels. Next on her Aussie travel wish list is Lord Howe Island.
Theatres have always been a cornerstone of regional Victoria, reflecting the character and history of their local communities.
From grand, gold rush-era masterpieces to Art Deco wonders to repurposed prisons, we’ve rounded up four of Victoria’s best regional theatres to catch a show at next time you’re travelling through.
Her Majesty’s Theatre, Ballarat
Her Majesty’s Theatre in Ballarat has been standing for 150 years. (Image: Michael Pham)
A monument to the immense gold rush wealth flooding through Ballarat in the second half of the 19th century, Her Majesty’s Theatre (‘Her Maj’ to locals) celebrates its 150th anniversary as the city’s premier performing arts venue this year.
Built in a classical style and immaculately preserved (thanks largely to a recent $16-million restoration), this Lydiard Street landmark is the oldest continuously operating theatre in mainland Australia, notable for its double balcony and a stage that slopes towards the front, making it one of the most audience-friendly venues in the country to see a show.
The Capital, Bendigo
The Capital in Bendigo was built in 1873 as a Masonic Hall. (Image: Michael Pham)
Denoted by its distinctive Corinthian columns, more reminiscent of ancient Greece than regional Victoria, The Capital theatre in Bendigo has been through several iterations since the first stone was laid in 1873.
Originally a Masonic hall, the renaissance revival-style building became a theatre in the 1890s, falling into disrepair for a time during the 1970s, before being restored and reopened (as the Bendigo Regional Arts Centre) in 1991. Today, the 480-seat venue hosts everything from comedy to cabaret to traditional theatre, dance, opera and live music.
Ulumbarra Theatre, Bendigo
Inside Bendigo’s Ulumbarra Theatre, a former prison. (Image: Michael Pham)
Bendigo has busted out as a regional performing arts hotspot, so it’s fitting that one of its newest venues is housed within a former prison. Meaning ‘meeting place’ or ‘gather together’ in the language of the local Dja Dja Wurrung people, the $26-million, 950-seat auditorium rose from within the red brick walls of the historic Sandhurst Gaol in 2015.
It’s an eerie feeling as you approach the imposing granite facade, pass beneath the old gallows and pick up your ticket from the box office occupying a repurposed cell block. With the building playing a main character in the show, this is performative architecture at its finest.
Rex Theatre, Charlton
The 1938-built Rex Theatre in Charlton is an Art Deco gem. (Image: Jenny Pollard)
Regional theatres don’t come more romantic than this Art Deco gem in the river town of Charlton, in north-central Victoria. Built in 1938, the 350-seat community-owned theatre provides an essential entertainment outlet for residents in the Wimmera Mallee region, as well as visitors making the trip up the Calder Highway from Melbourne.
The volunteer-run venue is the last remaining purpose-built cinema in regional Victoria, and hosts the Charlton Film Festival every February, plus three weekly film screenings (Tuesday, Saturday and Sunday).
