Sundowner Surf Lodge Is Yamba’s New Three-Suite Stay With A Magnesium Pool

Sundowner Surf Lodge in Yamba doesn’t need to announce itself. It has the easy confidence of a place that knows exactly what it is.

Tucked beside the town’s old-school cinema on Coldstream Street, this new micro stay sits somewhere between boutique hotel, private beach house and laid-back social club, with the sun-faded ease of a place that has always been here.

Image Credit: Sundowner Surf Lodge | Anson Smart

Behind Sundowner Surf Lodge is Jamie Blakey, who was part of the creative team behind Byron Bay’s playful Western-inspired Sun Ranch, alongside her husband, surf media personality Ronnie Blakey. The couple fell in love in Yamba in the late ’90s, and the building has been in their family for more than a decade, long enough to feel as much like home as a holiday address. Rather than start again, they kept its original bones and personality.

Image Credit: Sundowner Surf Lodge | Anson Smart

The result is a mood rather than a theme, one that draws on design, surf culture, music and the easy rhythm of a beach holiday. Mid-century design meet surf culture, with echoes of old Hawaiian surf lodges, vintage Californian hotels and the low-slung architecture of Australian beach towns.

Image Credit: Sundowner Surf Lodge | Anson Smart

Original timber floorboards are complemented by weathered cedar, bamboo and seagrass, while local sandstone has been worked by a local stonemason (alongside Blakey’s eldest son). Blakey approached the interiors like a wardrobe, mixing custom pieces with vintage finds, collectible surfboards and objects from around the world, so everything feels gathered over time rather than decorated in one go.

The details are just as considered, from French linen and organic cotton towels woven in Portugal to vintage beaded key rings handed over at check-in and a curated soundtrack of Spotify playlists.

Image Credit: Sundowner Surf Lodge | Anson Smart

With just three self-contained suites, it feels closer to a private beach house than a hotel. Suites 201 and 202 sit upstairs, each with a king bedroom, full custom kitchen, sculpted living room and sun deck, and can expand into two- or three-bedroom stays when you’re travelling with friends. Suite 201 is adults-only while Suite 202 is family-friendly.

Image Credit: Sundowner Surf Lodge | Anson Smart

Downstairs, Suite 103 is an adults-only hideaway with a king bed, separate living and dining spaces and its own private outdoor hot and cold shower. Book everything and the lodge becomes an exclusive seven-bedroom takeover sleeping up to 14.

Image Credit: Sundowner Surf Lodge | Anson Smart

Every suite comes with complimentary access to the Mango Lounge, the open-air wellness and social heart of the lodge. It’s built around a magnesium pool, steam sauna, 10-degree pail shower and sensory rain shower, with a sunken lounge, daybeds and an alfresco kitchen and bar.

Image Credit: Sundowner Surf Lodge | Anson Smart

There’s no schedule or programme here, just room to swim, sauna, read by the pool, open something cold and stay for dinner, with soft reggae and vintage rock drifting through the afternoon.

Image Credit: Sundowner Surf Lodge | Anson Smart

The Mango Lounge is members-only, but getting in is simple. Staying at the lodge makes you a member, which comes with complimentary lounge access and priority booking, including lodge takeovers. Membership is designed to grow over time, with future events, collaborations and limited merchandise releases on the cards, and the potential for local memberships down the track. So think less velvet rope, more familiar faces.

Image Credit: Sundowner Surf Lodge | Anson Smart

And of course, step outside and Yamba is right there. Main Beach is a few minutes’ walk away, and the town’s cafes, restaurants and cinema sit on the doorstep, so your day can move from the beach to coffee back to Sundowner without a car in sight.

Image Credit: Sundowner Surf Lodge | Anson Smart

Sundowner Surf Lodge's motto is Stay Easy, and it’s hard to think of a better way to describe it. 

Main image credit: Sundowner Surf Lodge | Anson Smart