Life is a Great Sunrise
Jonah’s Hotel, Whale Beach, Sydney
The Russian novelist Vladimir Nabakov said that about the great sunrise and life. And anyone on a jaunt to Jonah’s hotel, at the pointy end of Sydney’s Northern Beaches, would surely agree. This is THE place for great sunrises. We went for our first wedding anniversary 15 years ago and fell, hook, line and sinker, for this beautiful pint-sized hotel perched high on a cliff above Whale Beach. We’ve been a few times since then, but on each anniversary were given rooms further and further away from No 9, with its premier 360 view, until we ended up in the annex (that is now a private retreat).
Not so this time, 15 years after that first heady celebration. The hotel has just re-opened after the Covid lockdown in January 2021, and the staff are extra solicitous. The husky-voiced lady on reception congratulates us on our anniversary and hands over the key to No 7, a room close enough to that 360 vista to keep us sweet. She also sends a flunky with glasses of Bollinger. We drink these on the luxurious balcony, feeling like a couple of old rogues on Capri. The panorama is just so Italian somehow, with the houses tumbling down the lush green sides of the steep cliff.
Room No 7, Jonah’s
The rooms at Jonah’s are slightly Italianate too, or Roman anyhow, in their compactness. No 7 is off-white, spotless and minimal. It’s not really about the room, but the view. For the bathroom cognoscenti, there are Molton Brown unguents and nice big white towels. There are also beach towels.
We consider, far below, the waves on Whale Beach smashing in to shore with hypnotic regularity. We usually walk down for a dip, but we’re not getting younger. Should we just to succumb to more champagne? No. It’ll be good for us. Eyeing off the leafy mansions on the way makes the walk seem less arduous. On the gritty sand, a quartet of bikini-clad Mums chat furiously in the full sun while their kids jostle each other. The aura at this beach is very glam.
Whale Beach
Jonah’s elegant dining room is heaving at 8pm on a Friday night. We take our seats just as the sun gives way to the stars and start up a friendship with the sommelier. I suspect he is acquainted with all 1,700 bottles on the wine list. I have trouble choosing from the 37 glasses on offer, and my bone-dry Assyrtiko does, indeed, have a salty aftertaste. It goes very well with the sublime Moreton Bay Bugs. We were a little apprehensive after the last visit, maybe about six years ago, when the dinner was blah, but this meal is exceptional. The evening ends with a couple of stickies and a platter inscribed with Happy Anniversary in chocolate.
We could create a dark cocoon with the blinds in our room at the press of a button, but I want to see the sunrise. And at 5.51am there it is, a buttercup yellow flare on the rim of the horizon, which bursts in to flame at 6.05. It’s a new day with fanfare. The ocean turns from a flat steel in to a spray of gold. It is the most gorgeous revitalizing sight, like catching hold of life itself. Do the denizens of Whale Beach ever get blasé I wonder?
Breakfast at Jonah’s is not to be rushed. It’s a sumptuous 3-course meal that kicks off with fruit and croissants in a sun-drenched dining room. We gaze at the surfers in the mighty blue swell and ponder the paths not taken. “Life is a great sunrise”, said Nabakov, “I don’t see why death should not be an even greater one.” Which is the kind of thing that Russian novelists say and that gives you pause when you’re over 50.
As we leave, the husky-voiced lady on reception thanks us for supporting Jonah’s and gives us a pair of wine glasses in a beautiful box imprinted with an old black & white photo of the original 1929 building. Inside, it says that “Jonah’s has remained a refuge for people wanting to escape from the city but still remain in relative proximity.” Before refuge, I’d add the word “spectacular”.
EXTRA
Our Ocean Retreat Room Package with dinner, bed & breakfast cost $1,174. Check the website for special rates. Their Winter Getaway, from Sunday to Thursday nights, through May to August is $448pp.
Dinner & Lunch, from Thursday to Sunday, is $89 for two courses plus a side. You can also luxuriate in the view on the balcony (on less windy days) and do some share plates for less.