The Atlantic Hotel Byron Bay review
Located in the centre of Byron Bay near all the action, The Atlantic is your home-away-from-home. From a week to a month, it’s the perfect escape. Here’s our The Atlantic Byron Bay review.
From Taipei to New York, Luke has slept everywhere. From luxury hotel rooms to the floor of a 747 as a diplomatic detainee, Luke knows what’s what when it comes to a hotel stay. If you’ve got a question for Luke, send him an email: [email protected].
The Atlantic Hotel, Byron Bay review: the location
If you want to be in the heart of the action, The Atlantic is the place to be. Located at the base of coastal paradise Byron Bay, The Atlantic puts you in easy walking distance to just about everything you could want to visit in the main village.
Nestled on Marvell Street, there is parking available for guests, but get ready to park on the street if it’s a particularly busy period. The parking spots themselves aren’t super conducive to huge SUVs, however. You may run into issues with the tight turning circles and narrow spots.
All told, however, you couldn’t be better placed.
Within a one-minute walk, you’ve got the incredible Italian faire of Targa, the Mediterranean faves at the Mez Club, and the breakfast haunts of Bayleaf at your disposal. Pair that with a solid pizza joint and a pub an additional two minutes’ walk and you’re laughing.
Feasibly you could be out of your hotel door and into the ocean in less than 10 minutes. And it’s a good thing too, as the hotel has every beach amenity you’d need available for hire. From bats and boards to towels and buckets, The Atlantic has it all.
The Atlantic Hotel: the rooms
This is where The Atlantic differs from most typical hotels. The Atlantic is set up to cater for both short- and long-term stays. That’s because Byron Bay is an attractive haunt for the long-stay crowd, and folks are moving from everywhere to live in Byron.
With boutique-style accommodation across a small compound, you’ll find something to cater to the length of your stay.
The Atlantic is a converted set of residential homes that have been renovated and restyled into blocks of hotel rooms. Each block of rooms has all the amenities of a home, including a well-equipped kitchen; handsome dining areas; outdoor living spaces and fire pit/barbecue facilities to boot.
Each room in the block has its own bathroom, but there are still a few communal facilities so you don’t have to visit your room every time you need the loo.
The Atlantic is also on the verge of opening a new block shortly.
If you don’t want to stay in the house accomodation, your room choices are more limited, but no less luxurious. There are more private, standalone rooms at the back of the property.
With Grown Alchemist products throughout, subway tiles in the bathrooms and a spacious outdoor courtyard to boot, you’ll have a very comfortable private room stay at The Atlantic. Just make sure you get in quick, as the private rooms are fewer and further between than other room types.
The Atlantic Hotel: facilities
Because half of the property is centred around shared spaces, The Atlantic has all the facilities you’d need for a longer stay.
Each “house” is centred around a large and well-appointed kitchen. With most hotel kitchenettes you’re equipped to make tea, toast and that’s about it. At The Atlantic, however, you’re equipped to let out your inner Top Chef.
As we stayed in the private, stand-alone rooms, we couldn’t truly test out the kitchen facilities. But we can confirm they are well-appointed. My one worry is what happens when two to three groups try to cook in the space at the same time. Literal food for thought.
But if the dining space is too crowded come dinner time, you can always head outside to dine fireside. That’s right: each house is appointed with a fire pit nearby. These are lit each night by the hotel staff to keep it simple.
Each guest is given a space in the house fridge to store their food and ingredients. It’s a little small, but it’s enough to stash meal ingredients for up to 5 days and replenish at nearby supermarkets after that.
Your room doesn’t come with a fridge for this reason. That means if you want a cheeky glass of wine in the middle of the night (who doesn’t?), you’re putting your slippers on and heading downstairs.
One thing to note here: staff at the hotel keep office hours. That means if you need something in the middle of the night from reception, you’ll be out of luck until 8am the next morning. Better not forget your key while out clubbing, traveler.
The Atlantic Hotel: the pool
The pool at The Atlantic is attached to one of the residences on the east-side of the compound. Adjacent to bush land, you’ll get an incredible overlook of trees and a soundscape of natural wildlife you’ll never forget.
The pool itself is a family-friendly space, but it’s not the best spot for lounging all day as with some Byron hotels. This is more of a lap pool designed for a quick cool off, rather than one surrounded by lounge chairs.
The pool at The Atlantic has a small deck area where you can soak up the sun. Attached (yet outside the pool gate) is a communal lounge and kitchen area, but it’s in the shade.
It can be nice to have the option of both shade and Sun when it comes to lounging by a pool, but The Atlantic might leave you wanting when it comes to space in the rays.
Our take
The Atlantic is the hotel for the modern traveler. Well-equipped; beautifully-styled and set up for long-stay visitors, it’s the hotel for everyone.
Located centrally, first timers will love it. Equipped for long-stays, tree changers looking to move to the area will love it. And with surfboard hire, picnic kits and staff who are locals, families will also get into the vibe.
It’s my favourite hotel in Byron Bay, and I’ll be back for sure.
Read more
If you’ve got some time to kill, check out our guide on what to do in Byron Bay.
If you can’t get a booking at The Atlantic, we also recommend staying at The Bower just outside of town. Check out our review of The Bower.
