BEACH HOUSE Noosa...

"BEACH HOUSE - Noosa is a truly stylish and functional property. The views are breathtaking and the ocean can be seen (and heard) from every room in the house. The house would comfortably accommodate 6 adults or a combination of adults and children with three separate and spacious living areas. The furnishings and fittings in the property are of the highest standard yet, as mentioned, functional enough to create a relaxing oasis. The location of the property is excellent, being only a short drive to Hastings St yet far enough away to be able to escape the holiday crowds. The house is positioned practically on the beach, though with the beautiful salt water pool and deck with sea views you may find that you do not desire a visit to the beach as much as a swim in the pool! And finally, the letting agents were professional and the owners very lovely to speak to if needed. We will definately go back again next year."

"Before reviewing Beach House Noosa, let me tell you a little about ourselves so you can put this review in context. We are a group of 4 in our 30's and early 40's. We have traveled all over the world and when we go to the beach we stay at 5 star properties. Our preference is either modern, hip and practical (the last unfortunately often seems to be inversely proportional to the first two) or luxurious tropical casual. With beach hotels we've had a lot more success with luxurious tropical casual than with tropical hip. The Four Seasons Maldives and Bali, and Aman Hotels on any beach would be good examples of the kind of tropical luxury that works for us. We find Philip Stark Hotels beautiful to look at, minimalist to the point of impracticality, snooty to the point of being uncomfortable, but stylish enough to lure us back again. In short, we've stayed in a few hip beach hotels but it's always been a bit of a compromise between comfort and style. 5 star designer beach houses on Cape Town's Atlantic coast have been bringing us back year after year and when we came to Australia this was the beach house experience we were trying to match. With Beach House Noosa we found it. In the words of the taxi driver who dropped us off after dinner last night "That's a real flash house." Yes, it really is; but there is more to it than that. We did a lot of research before choosing this house. We chose Noosa because of its proximity to great beaches, interesting sights and good restaurants. We decided that the Hastings Street scene looked like a nice place to visit but we didn't want to live there (too busy and the beach there really isn't very nice and it is quite crowded). We wanted something with an un obstructed sea view where we could hear the sea and walk to the beach in 2 min. The kind of place where you can spur of the moment decide that you are going to take a walk along the beach. We also wanted something that was top of the line and stylish. The kind of place you feel great coming home to or inviting guests over to. We wanted something where we could walk to the national park and also walk to shops and restaurants. We wanted something with a pool that overlooked the sea and where all the bedrooms had sea views so that nobody felt shortchanged getting a room without a view. In short we wanted quite a lot; and we are happy to say we got it. The style of the house is modern and FUNCTIONAL minimalist. The design is eminently practical and stylish. There is nowhere in the house that you cannot hear the ocean. There is almost nowhere in the house that you cannot see the ocean. The living room and the pool and the bedrooms look out over it. The windows and glass doors are huge and the entire house opens up so that you feel you are outside even when you are inside. The views are great, not just the views of the ocean but even the views inside. Lots of space and very modern. The house looks great from the street as well. The materials are top notch, the furniture and appliances are high quality and there is central AC that is controlled individually for each room (works great but we rarely used it). You will find that you have plenty of room for your clothes, plenty of places to lounge indoors and out. The house has just about every type of glass, plate, and cooking utensil (we don't cook but we were impressed). The family that owns the place run it well. We had phone service go out on a Sunday and they drove up from Brisbane early Monday morning to make sure the phone company fixed the problem. When the phone guy said he couldn't fix the existing line that day they stood over him and forced him to put in a temporary line and while this was going on they had some guy drop by and give us a mobile internet connection for the time the line was down. A far cry from the service we have received (or failed to receive) at other beach houses we have stayed in. During that time we learned why the place is so nice. The owners' kids are grown up with families of their own and they live far away. The idea behind the house was to create a place that was so nice it would lure the family back year after year. Very very sneaky! but mission accomplished. If the kids don't visit every year they're nuts. As for the location of the house, it does not get any better. It sits across the street from the stairs going down to the beach. There are no houses between the house and the sea and the view is superb. 5 minutes walk to the left of the bottom of the beach stairs is the entrance to Noosa National Park and a stunning cliff walk that gives a fantastic view of Sunshine beach and the sea cliffs and surf. We walked it all the way to Hastings Street and saw dolphins and a huge beautiful (thankfully slow moving) lizard the size of my leg. 15 min walk in the other direction from the beach stairs and you are in the town of Sunshine Beach which although very small is actually more pleasant to eat breakfast or dinner in than Hastings Street. (Much calmer and there are at least three really good restaurants there.) In short, we really like this place and can recommend it to anyone without hesitation. One last note: We found that you can get a taxi anywhere in this area on 10 minutes notice. Great for going out and getting back when nobody wants to be the designated driver. Enjoy "