Property of the week: 6 Bulkara St, Wagstaffe

Agave may only be six years young, but the glamorous Central Coast beach house is already a record holder two times over.

Crowned HIA-CSR Australian House of the Year in 2018, the Dennis Rabinowitz-designed waterfront residence set a price benchmark for the region in 2020 when it sold for $9.5 million, then again in 2022 after reportedly achieving “well above” its $13.5 million price expectations.

Cathy Baker, principal of Belle Property Central Coast, sold the property each time and has just listed the insta-worthy retreat again with a $16 million guide.

“This is a world class offering. The parcel of land is incredible and it has such a unique north-facing aspect in an exclusive gated community,” Ms Baker said.

“It’s rare to find properties like this one which tick all the boxes for a beautiful home or luxury holiday house.”

Set in the private San Toy Estate on 2188sq m, the Wagstaffe weekender is a sophisticated snapshot of laidback coastal design blending the great outdoors with carefully curated interiors featuring clean white lines and a minimalist palette.

Created for outdoor entertaining on a grand scale, or just lazy days on the water’s edge, Agave’s savvy open-plan design flows freely from three separate living zones onto alfresco decks a lanai-style internal courtyard with welcoming palm trees and feature tiles.

The grand central deck is focussed on capturing the tranquil water outlook and has an integrated barbecue area with ample room for all year round dining or soaking up the sun by the saltwater pool or private sandy beach.

Boating enthusiasts can pull right up to the jetty with deepwater mooring suitable for a super yacht or luxury cruiser while a separate deck is home to a private boathouse retreat that is ideal for yoga or meditation. There is also plenty of space for kayaks and stand up paddleboards.

At the heart of the home an open plan dining area takes centre stage and the state of the art kitchen has sleek marble bench tops, high-end appliances and a big butler’s pantry.

The indulgent seven-bedroom layout features five deluxe ensuites including a luxury hotel-inspired primary suite on the ground floor privately positioned away from the main living areas and other bedrooms. A second level houses six more bedrooms including a bunk room, ideal for multiple family getaways.

Previously listed as a luxury holiday rental earning in excess of $4000 a night, Agave can sleep up to 14 people comfortably, and with multiple entertaining areas and lounging spaces there is a place for everyone to retreat to inside and out.

In addition to landscaped gardens, there is a a top-of-the-line security system, air-conditioning and a double lock-up garage.

Agave is close to Lobster Beach, the Palm Beach and Ettalong ferries and the Bouddi National Park.

Many luxury hotels only build on their gilded reputations with each passing decade. But others are less fortunate. Here are five long-gone grandes dames that fell from grace—and one that persists, but in a significantly diminished form.

The Proto-Marmont |

The Garden of Allah, Los Angeles

A magnet for celebrities, the Garden of Allah was once the scene-making equivalent of today’s Chateau Marmont. Frank Sinatra and Ava Gardner’s affair allegedly started there and Humphrey Bogart lived in one of its bungalows for a time.

Crimean expat Alla Nazimova leased a grand home in Hollywood after World War I, but soon turned it into a hotel, where she prioritised glamorous clientele. Others risked being ejected by guards and a fearsome dog dubbed the Hound of the Baskervilles. Demolished in the 1950s, the site’s now a parking lot.

The Failed Follow-Up |

Hotel Astor, New York City

The Astor family hoped to repeat their success when they opened this sequel to their megahit Waldorf Astoria hotel in 1904. It became an anchor of the nascent Theater District, buzzy (and naughty) enough to inspire Cole Porter to write in “High Society”: “Have you heard that Mimsie Starr…got pinched in the Astor Bar?”

That bar soon gained another reputation. “Gentlemen who preferred the company of other gentlemen would meet in a certain section of the bar,” said travel expert Henry Harteveldt of consulting firm Atmosphere Research. By the 1960s, the hotel had lost its lustre and was demolished; the 54-storey One Astor Plaza skyscraper was built in its place.

The Island Playground |

Santa Carolina Hotel, Bazaruto Archipelago, Mozambique

In the 1950s, colonial officers around Africa treated Mozambique as an off-duty playground. They flocked, in particular, to the Santa Carolina, a five-star hotel on a gorgeous archipelago off the country’s southern coast.

Run by a Portuguese businessman and his wife, the resort included an airstrip that ferried visitors in and out. Ask locals why the place was eventually reduced to rubble, and some whisper that the couple were cursed—and that’s why no one wanted to take over when the business collapsed in the ’70s. Today, seeing the abandoned, crumbled ruins and murals bleached by the sun, it’s hard to dismiss their superstitions entirely.

The Tourism Gimmick |

Bali Hai Raiatea, French Polynesia

The overwater bungalow, a shorthand for barefoot luxury around the world, began in French Polynesia—but not with the locals. Instead, it was a marketing gimmick cooked up by a trio of rascally Americans. They moved to French Polynesia in the late 1950s, and soon tried to capitalise on the newly built international airport and a looming tourism boom.

That proved difficult because their five-room hotel on the island of Raiatea lacked a beach. They devised a fix: building rooms on pontoons above the water. They were an instant phenomenon, spreading around the islands and the world—per fan site OverwaterBungalows.net , there are now more than 9,000 worldwide, from the Maldives to Mexico. That first property, though, is no more.

The New England Holdout |

Poland Springs Resort, Poland, Maine

The Ricker family started out as innkeepers, running a stagecoach stop in Maine in the 1790s. When Hiram Ricker took over the operation, the family expanded into the business by which it would make its fortune: water. Thanks to savvy marketing, by the 1870s, doctors were prescribing Poland Spring mineral water and die-hards were making pilgrimages to the source.

The Rickers opened the Poland Spring House in 1876, and eventually expanded it to include one of the earliest resort-based golf courses in the country, a barber shop, dance studio and music hall. By the turn of the century, it was among the most glamorous resort complexes in New England.

Mismanagement eventually forced its sale in 1962, and both the water operation and hospitality holdings went through several owners and operators. While the water venture retains its prominence, the hotel has weathered less well, becoming a pleasant—but far from luxurious—mid-market resort. Former NYU hospitality professor Bjorn Hanson says attempts at upgrading over the decades have been futile. “I was a consultant to a developer in the 1970s to return the resort to its ‘former glory,’ but it never happened.”