I had a mixed Thai & foot massage here ($60/ 60 mins) and loved it. I've lived in Thailand and this…read morewas a genuinely great treatment. My therapist Elle was cheerful and had really strong hands. Pressure was hard and very relaxing - if you are new to Thai massage maybe ask for lighter pressure.

Excellent eco-conscious resort, amazing room layout only surpassed by the pool and grill area!read more

I'm surprised to read the other reviews on this place as our stay was amazing. To start with I had…read morebooked us the wrong room- I had misread the floor plan and thought we would have a full one bedroom. We were travelling with our toddler and needed the separate sleeping area. I called to the front desk and had us changed within 30 mins. We upgraded to a two bedroom villa which was stunning and more than enough space for the three of us. The property itself is gorgeous. Very lush. Every morning our walk to breakfast was relaxing and gorgeous. The breakfast was fantastic and one of my favourite parts of the stay. They also have two pools- one is a quiet pool and the other more of a family pool. I appreciate this as then I don't need to worry about my kid making too much noise. All in all a fantastic two night stay.

Macadamia WHAT?! The Aussies are proud of their native nut and have chosen to build a medieval…read moremonument by the side of a busy NSW motorway to celebrate it. A stop-off for travellers driving the Pacific Highway the cafe at this place offers snacks and a rest stop. For those making a special trip, there is an Animal Park, where you can wander among and pet a range of native and introduced animals. Ethical points to this attraction too, for having a Frog Conservation Pond Project. The shop sells gift-wrapped chocolate macadamias, macadamia nut butter, fudge and too many products to remember! There's also a nut bar selling by the 100g with savoury and sweet flavours. Boutique local food products complete your selections of eats. As well as this mouth-watering collection of food there are also other gifts and homewares for others and yourself like magnetic poetry sets, cheese knives, garden statuettes, craft items and assorted plastic trinkets and novelties. Make this castle a stop-off point on your road trip or plan a day around it.

Driving past I saw a castle on our way up north…read more On our way back home, I needed a coffee and the best option was a castle. Because sometimes even I am a princess. So anyway, I park and run out of the car (as quick as I can considering it's 8am and I haven't had a coffee yet but had been driving for about an hour). Rush in and notice they have a lot of nuts. Everywhere. But I see the coffee counter shining at me like a beacon in the night and zoom in to order. They make a surprisingly great coffee. The muffs were just as yummy. Macadamia and chocolate. What a mix! And they had hats for sale. So I could gleefully try them all on. But this isn't about my minor hat fetish. Definiately worth a visit. Apparently they do rad things like mini-golf and parties too. If you ever want to drive the 8 hours!

La Vista is a wonderful place to stay in Byron Bay. It's relaxing, away from the downtown of…read moreByron, but close enough to be there in less than 15 minutes. We had a wonderful stay, and the owner, Damien, is a wonderful host and is very accomodating. We had plenty of privacy, and our own villa with great views, waking up to all kinds of bird sounds every morning. I highly recommend if you're looking to get away from it all in Byron.

Gaia is a fantastic place to unwind. Seriously if you want to get away from it all, relax, recharge…read morethe batteries and detox (so to speak) this is the place to go. The facilities and accomodation are lovely. The spa packages are top notch and leave you with healthy new habits to take back home. The staff are not only helpful but very friendly. The minute you walk into the place you are greeted as if you are part of the family. Oh and the food! Locally produced, very healthy and filling. I highly recommend this place and can't wait to go back again! P.S. When I arrived back home to the hustle and bustle of the city, I was watching everyone at the airport running around like headless chooks, full of anxiety. I wondered, "Why are these people so stressed? Life is good, chill people, take your time, smell the roses...". My point? That's how relaxed you'll be after a stay here. :)

This was one of the few places open at Murwillumbah on a long weekend. The food was OK and we were…read moreable to sample the local ale here too. There was no problem with parking in the street since so little was open. It was doing a roaring trade with the TAB and the drinkers who unfortunately were smokers too. While we were eating our meals the smokers were not wandering far enough away from the eating area. The service was good and we even got a second visit when we were nearing the end of our meal to see if we were OK. Look out for discounted meals. Some motels will offer a ticket that will give you the second meal half price.

My friend and I stopped in for lunch on Friday, we were short on time as we were part of a bus…read moretour. The friendly staff understood this and saw to it that our meals were brought to us quickly. We both ordered whiting with chips and a glass of white wine. The fish was fresh, perfectly cooked in a good batter, the chips were tasty and the salad was a great bonus, rivalling any side salad that I have had of late. It was a good, generous meal, the wine was well chilled and all was very reasonably priced. I highly recommend the food and the hospitality there and look forward to another visit.

The Beet is a great little gem tucked away in an unassuming shopping centre in Byron Bay (where the…read moreWoolies is). Though it might not look like much from the outside, it's got such a great vibe on the inside. The decor is elegant in a casual, sort of summery way, with white chairs, green plants hanging down from the ceiling, edgy wallpaper (is that an oxymoron?), and fashionable lighting fixtures. Sort of an odd mix in terms of decor but it just works. You feel like you're in a slightly upscale but not stuffy or pretentious place. Perfect for Byron Bay with its odd mix of hippie surfer residents, broke backpackers, and cashed-up tourists. The restaurant is all-vegan, but this place is popular with non-vegans too. I agonized over the menu because everything sounded delicious. Finally, I went with the Philly Cheesesteak ($23), in part because I was curious was a vegan version would taste like and in part because I was curious what an Australian version would taste like (I'm an American.) :D It was good. Not knock-your-socks-off-good, but interesting-good. Not even close to authentic, because it was more like a "deconstructed" plate, not an actual Philly cheesesteak sandwich. It didn't come in a bun -- instead, it had strips of sourdough bread with it. The "cheesesteak" part was made with vegan cheese and house-made seitan. I LOVED the seitan, but I felt the vegan cheese needed a little work (something about it just tasted like velveeta instead of a nice creamy cheese -- maybe they used nutritional yeast instead of cashew cheese or similar?) Generally, I find "deconstructed" food a little wanky, and at $19-24 for mains here, the portion size was pretty small. So that was the downside. Even so, I enjoyed my dining experience here, the friendly service, the people, and the vibes, and I'd definitely go back and try other stuff on the menu next time I'm in Byron.

So we guess you are reading this because you like to eat vegan now and then. So why aren't you…read moresitting in the beet right now. We loved it. There are a few things to forgive. The view at best is the supermarket car park, and the service is vaguely haphazard, but all is forgiven because these guys know how to put flavour into vegan food. Our experience is most chefs just don't understand how to do this, or you end up eating avocado, again. Sigh. We had courgette flowers stuffed with feta type cheese, an amazing big bowl, which was not oily, and fresh pasta with pesto, that again, was packing subtle but satisfying flavours. We even had dessert. We never have dessert. So this tells you something. We loved this place, next time we are in Byron we will be running, not walking back there.

This wasn't one of the best pubs that I have visited, but the walk to get here was rather pleasant…read moreso I'll certainly give it that. It is probably more a typical country pub, and since it is away from the centre of Lismore, you can probably also call it a suburban pub. They did have a reasonable outdoor area out the back, but the thing is that since this is for the smokers, it probably isn't truly a beer garden. However, the pub itself wasn't all that bad, though it certainly wasn't one of the best.