PROPERTY OF THE WEEK: BOUTIQUE BYRON RETREAT WITH FIVE-STAR RETURNS
A design-led hinterland escape near Byron Bay blends luxury accommodation with serious income potential, as The Brooklet hits the market with a $20 million price guide.
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An exclusive slice of Byron Bay’s hinterland hospitality has entered the property chat.
The Brooklet is a boutique adults-only retreat hidden in the hills around 20 minutes’ drive west of the iconic beach town.
As a getaway, each of The Brooklet’s luxury cabins earns between $800 and $2000 a night, but as a prestige asset, the 47ha estate is expected to fetch more than $20 million through selling agents Kim and Angus Jones of Kim Jones & Co Real Estate.
With a stellar reputation as one of the region’s premier design-led accommodation venues, coupled with its enviable location just outside of Newrybar, the expansive retreat has been turning heads since it opened about three years ago.
Time Out Sydney recently gave The Brooklet a full five-star rating, describing it as a “ridiculously heavenly idyll”. Across all booking platforms, the rural escape has earned an impressive 9.6 out of 10 rating.
Elevated above the surrounding countryside and just down the road from the late Olivia Newton-John’s former retreat, Gaia, this one-time macadamia farm has sweeping panoramic views, total seclusion from neighbours, and a sophisticated level of finishes throughout the personal and communal spaces.
The architect-designed accommodation includes six black-clad self-contained villas alongside two standalone three-bedroom residences, each with its own private pool; The Farmhouse and a reimagined dairy known as The Bails. There is the potential for the next owners to expand upon the existing accommodation offerings, with DA approval for two more villas and an additional recreational space.
Additional wellness perks in The Barn include an infrared sauna, an ice bath, a mineral hot tub, a fully equipped gym, and a full tennis court. There is also a treatment room and meeting space.
The Brooklet Bar is set up for wine tasting with another warming fireplace for intimate gatherings.
Walking trails weave through the property, and organic gardens provide herbs, flowers, and produce for guests to take back to their accommodations.
Bonus infrastructure with the property includes a private helipad, EV charging capability, 270,000L tank water storage and a bore supply for self-sufficiency.
The Brooklet is approximately five minutes from Newrybar with its general store and cafe, eclectic boutiques and future new dining precinct. It is also eight minutes to Bangalow and about 20 minutes to central Byron Bay, its world-famous beaches and lighthouse, plus the Ballina-Byron Gateway Airport.
The Brooklet at 841 Fernleigh Rd, Brooklet is listed with Kim Jones & Co Real Estate with a price guide in the vicinity of $20 million.
A Sydney couple has paid $15.5 million for the Grand Penthouse at Marquee’s $285 million La Belle Residences beachfront development which is nearing completion at Palm Beach, eclipsing the record for an off-the-plan apartment sale on the southern Gold Coast. The sprawling single level 640 sqm beachfront residence, with sweeping views of the Gold Coast …
Continue reading “$15.5m La Belle Penthouse eclipses southern Gold Coast record”
On the owner’s deck, a 20-metre swimming pool incorporates Feadship’s patented ContraWave technology and extends indoors as a suspended, glass-bottomed infinity pool.
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The Sydney developer-builder, which typically retains its projects, is offering 54 residences off the plan on Spencer Street, with prices starting at $3.9 million.
HSN Property Group has launched Maison Jolene in Rose Bay, giving buyers a rare opportunity to purchase off the plan from a developer-builder that has spent more than two decades building a predominantly build-to-hold portfolio in Sydney’s eastern suburbs. HSN values that portfolio at $4 billion.
Located at 2–16 Spencer Street, Maison Jolene comprises 54 residences, including house-sized two- and three-bedroom apartments, sub-penthouses and penthouses. Prices start at $3.9 million, according to HSN, with many residences designed to capture views across Rose Bay, Sydney Harbour and the city skyline.
James Nixon, head of projects at The Rubinstein Group, is handling the sales campaign alongside agency founder Gavin Rubinstein. He says the launch is an unusual opportunity for buyers who have followed the developer’s work.
“HSN is renowned for building entire projects and rarely selling a single apartment to the open market, so Maison Jolene really is a first for potential buyers who have been following the brand across previous projects,” Nixon says.
HSN worked with architecture practice MHN Design Union and interiors studio The Unlisted Collective on the development. A rhythm of arches and deep-set openings gives the building its presence on Spencer Street, while the residences are positioned to make the most of natural light, privacy and outlook. Landscaping frames the arrival and carries through to the shared outdoor spaces.
“Maison Jolene was conceived to bring a touch of European elegance to Rose Bay, drawing on the understated charm of Mayfair and the romance of Paris while remaining grounded in the relaxed character of Sydney’s eastern suburbs,” says Rafi Assouline, founder and director of HSN Property Group.
The apartments were designed with established Rose Bay downsizers in mind. Large kitchens, generous storage and flexible living areas are intended to ease the move from a family home, with layouts that can also accommodate families and professionals looking for more space in an apartment.
The shared amenities are designed as an extension of those homes. Residents will have access to a lounge, private dining room and landscaped alfresco entertaining area. A wellness retreat brings together a magnesium pool, cold plunge, sauna, steam room and heated stone recovery bench, alongside a gym and dedicated space for Pilates and yoga.
Inside the apartments, the curves of the façade recur in the cabinetry and balustrades. Custom wall sconces, tapware and patterned parquetry sit alongside carved marble basins, hammered-glass shower screens and recessed stone niches. Timber veneer wardrobes have leather-clad drawers, while an Art Deco-inspired motif appears in the raised ceiling detail, joinery and built-in velvet bedheads.
“Maison Jolene is at once contemporary and old world, with custom-designed parquetry flooring and an art deco-inspired motif juxtaposing with the curvature of the arched facade, balustrade and internal cabinetry,” Assouline says.
The kitchens bring several of those ideas together in a sculptural, bubble-shaped island. Assouline helped design and engineer the curved form and personally selected the marble, which is bookmatched so the veining mirrors across adjoining pieces.
“With each of our projects, I look for symmetry in design,” he says. “Crafting the apartments is like solving a puzzle of one thousand pieces; one little detail wrong could mean the picture doesn’t translate correctly once it’s finished.”
HSN will develop and build Maison Jolene, overseeing the project from design through to construction. The family-owned company says it has delivered more than 270 homes, has 200 apartments under construction and has a 100 per cent completion record.
“As a private, integrated developer-builder, we maintain close control over every stage of a project,” Assouline says. “We see our projects as collaborative partnerships with our architects, interior designers and specialist trades with whom we have refined a very unique aesthetic, to ensure every detail is considered for those who will live there.”
For Nixon, the developer’s involvement in both design and construction is part of the pitch to buyers. “The attention to design excellence, combined with HSN’s proven track record in delivering ultra-high-end developments, ensures a level of rarity and enduring quality seldom seen in today’s market,” he says.
“To purchase an HSN property is to acquire a property that will not just hold its value but stand the test of time as a timeless piece of Sydney real estate.”
The Spencer Street address puts residents close to Rose Bay’s village cafés and restaurants, foreshore walks and ferry service, with beaches, golf courses and schools nearby. Maison Jolene is now selling off the plan through James Nixon and Gavin Rubinstein.
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