The writer lived in Bondi in the early noughties while working at The Australian, and recently went back to stay in a two-bedroom Airbnb called "Flat in Bondi Beach" — and found the suburb has changed, but not its heart.
The flat itself is a tranquil, simply furnished space in off-whites and pale neutrals, three minutes' walk from the beach. There are two double bedrooms, a third with a kids' bunk bed, an open-plan kitchen with sage subway tiles, Nespresso machine and dishwasher, a dining and sitting area, and a large balcony over a leafy street. Bath and separate shower, a laundry, a separate WC and two lock-up garages round it out. Sydney homes are notoriously bad at winter, so it's worth knowing this one has a gas heater plus a Dyson Hot+Cool purifier that kept things warm on a winter visit. Managers Kate and Dan left water and a welcome note.
The location is the real draw. You're a short stroll from the Bondi Icebergs club, whose landmark 50-metre ocean pool costs just ten dollars a swim and stays swimmable year-round — a breeze for British cold-water swimmers. That's also the start of the Bondi to Coogee coastal walk, six kilometres of cliff path through Tamarama, Bronte, Clovelly and Coogee, with humpback whales breaching offshore in season. The 333 bus to Bondi Junction and the city is a skip away, yet the flat is quiet enough that the main soundtrack is morning birdsong.
Bondi has gentrified hard since the scruffy backpacker days. Gould Street is now boutique central, and the restaurant go-tos include Raw Bar, Sean's, Bills and Totti's, plus The Shop & Wine Bar. The renovated Bondi Pavilion is genuinely pleasant to hang out in, and Gertrude & Alice Cafe Bookstore on Hall Street remains the last outpost of counter-culture Bondi. Detractors call it a "beige Byron", but the writer's verdict is that the core is untouched: a kilometre-long sweep of amber sand, free-for-all beach culture, surfies and headlands — even after last year's appalling anti-Jewish shootings, Bondi is still Bondi.
For something slower, Ryan Der of Love, Ryan Ceramics runs wheel-throwing classes ten minutes down the coastal path at Tamarama Point, teaching centring and throwing in a style that celebrates small marks and natural imperfections. A magic morning by the ocean.
Who is this for? Families (the bunk room helps), couples who want space, or nostalgic former expats chasing their twenties. If you want Bondi's lifestyle without paying Bondi's hotel prices, a homey flat like this one — walkable to the pool, the coastal path and the bus — is a smart way in. Source: Condé Nast Traveller UK.
