Byron Bay has never been short of admirers, but the seaside darling has just been handed a new calling card. Forget the surf shacks and hemp cafés, ESTE Wategos has arrived, and it’s playing in a very different league.
Cradled beneath the white beacon of Cape Byron lighthouse and staring straight out at Wategos Beach, ESTE doesn’t whisper luxury; it literally shouts it from the rooftop terrace.
Rooftop Dreams and Glass-Bottom Realities
This isn’t your average Byron rental with a chipped surfboard propped by the door. We’re talking two architecturally chiselled residences, three storeys apiece, penned by the formidable Shaun Lockyer Architects.
Each comes with a rooftop terrace to die for, glass-bottom pools that toy with vertigo, and views stretching across the Pacific as if privately commissioned. Book both homes together, and a 12-guest seaside fortress concierge is included.
Interiors with a Pulse
Inside, ESTE trades clichés for character. Fiona Dunin of FMD Architects has curated a space like the ocean has crept indoors — calming, natural, yet quietly dramatic. Furniture by Mark Tuckey and Jardan completes the picture, proving that coastal design can be relaxed without surrendering its backbone.
It’s Byron chic, with its shirt tucked in. It’s still casual, but polished enough to impress even the most seasoned luxury nomad.
A Philosophy Written in Saltwater
Co-founders Dr George Bilios and Chris Bissiotis are at the helm. They believe ESTE is more than bricks, glass, and infinity pools. Their mantra? “Prescribing nature.”
They’ve built a retreat and a sanctuary where rainforest and ocean act as healers. “ESTE is about reconnecting people with the elements,” they say. “It’s about stepping out of the world’s noise and into nature’s rhythm.”
In other words, it’s a prescription you’ll want filled.
Byron’s Luxury Line in the Sand
Byron has long lured celebrities, yogis, and surf tragics chasing the perfect wave. But ESTE draws a different line in the sand, one for those who want the crash of the waves with their morning espresso and a rooftop pool that dares you to outdo the ocean.
Bookings are already open from September. And if past Byron trends are any guide, ESTE will be booked solid before most people can even spell “Wategos.”
For reservations and further details, visit estewategos.com or follow @estewategos.
By Karuna Johnson
