Kims Beachside Retreat by John Borthwick

You've got the moonlight dialled-in just right on the sentinel pines that frame your beach-house. The shore break nocturne rolls up from the surf. Towoon Bay could be To-swoon Bay. Kims Beachside Retreat seems to have been here forever (in fact, it's only since 1887) on this quiet scoop of coast two hours drive north of Sydney. Red cedar, Persian rugs, punkah fans, whip bird-song, long walks, Norfolk pines and privacy are the constants. Family-run Kims Beachside Retreat has 34 modern timber bungalows, each individually designed and with its own sundeck. Kims Beachsides Retreat does not accept children under the age of 10 years. The emphasis, according to the hotel, "is on comfort and life's simple pleasures, a place where busy people and lovers can relax in complete privacy." Most of which is achieved.

Competing for kudos with the architecture and ambience come breakfast, lunch and dinner. Kims' chef-prepared, cornucopia buffets of sushi, seafood, curries, roasts, tarts, home-made ice cream, and more, are deservedly famous. Later, there's an open fire, plus the moonlight sonata of the sea. If you can't get romantic at Kims Beachside Retreat, it's time for that celibate snow cave in the Himalayas.