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Robin

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Private spa: tick


This one-bedroom pavilion, designed by Fender Katsalidis, takes its name from celebrated Australian architect and social commentator Robin Boyd. Hopefully he wouldn't have hated it.


Boyd was a social commentator as well as architect. In his book, The Australian Ugliness, 1960, he identifies our local strain of gentility with excruciating accuracy: featurism. This hideous 'decorative technique' infects the built environment with cloying prettiness, and disguises sound, elegant function. Featurism flourishes in Australia, writes Boyd:

Perhaps the explanation is that man, sensing that the vastness of the landscape will mock any object that his handfuls of fellows can make here, avoids anything that might be considered a challenge to nature. The greater and fiercer the natural background, the prettier and prettier the artificial foreground: this way there are no unflattering comparisons, no loss of face.

Ouch. Perhaps over the course of your stay in Robin you can confront the limitations of your own featurist mentality. Or failing that, get drunk and prank call the other pavilions.

Features

  • Guest-only access to a waterfront gym, sauna and heated infinity pool
  • Wine fridge stocked with top-notch bottles including Moorilla and Domaine A (for purchase)
  • Fully equipped kitchen and laundry
  • The usual trimmings: luxe mini bar and toiletries, free parking, safe, high-speed Wi-Fi, big fluffy bathrobes, daily housekeeping, incredible views, etc., etc.