Where the world’s biggest celebrities stay when they’re in Australia
When megastars come down under they aren’t after five-star hotel suites and gourmet room service, they want to live like locals - albeit with a one key twist.
When megastars come down under they aren’t after five-star hotel suites and gourmet room service, they want to live like locals - but in the lap of luxury, of course.
Celebrities have been paying $5000, $10,000, and even in some cases more than $40,000 per week to rent private getaways when visiting Australia so they can feel right at home.
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Whether they’re here for a few gigs, or a stint on a feature film or talent show, VIPs are tapping into the top end of the real estate sharing economy like we’ve never seen before.
But finding the right digs for superstars isn’t easy.
Irish rock band U2 is reportedly struggling to find four multimillion-dollar mansions to rent for each band member during their Sydney tour dates in November.
And Sir Elton John’s people are also trying to score a pied a terre around Point Piper or Vaucluse for the singer during his upcoming Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour.
Monique Eyles and Steve Keir of Hotelesque, a luxury short term accommodation service, match some of the world’s most well-known identities with their collection of designer homes.
They said some high-profile tenants just want a luxury hideaway with little fuss, while others have more quirky requests; such as turning a tennis court into a basketball court, or organising private garbage collection so no one riffles through their bins.
“At the end of the day, they’re just human beings like the rest of us, but they do have their own nuances,” Mr Keir said.
“Sometimes there are homes that we all might think ‘that’s incredible’, but they might say ‘Oh it doesn’t work for me’.
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“Then we might hesitate about showing a big star something because we wonder if they’ll like it and they’ll surprise you and love it.”
“People think they’re only looking for very high-end homes, but some are just looking for something a little less obvious,” Ms Eyles said.
“They might be happy in an apartment building that on the outside isn’t incredibly spectacular, but it’s in an amazing location with easy access to everything.”
She said just like more humble house hunters, celebrities want a great location, especially when staying in Sydney.
“It’s massive for them. Some have come to us and said ‘It’s Bondi and nothing else’ but they also tend to love Bronte and Tamarama too,” Ms Eyles said.
“Some have seen big stars like Russell Crowe or Hugh Jackman spotted around Bondi and they feel like it’s home; somewhere their kids can visit them and do normal things like go to the beach and do the coastal walks.”
Another must-have on a star’s rental shopping list is space - and plenty of it.
“They just want to spread out. They might need extra rooms for nannies, some places have a full top floor main bedroom suite that’s like a house in itself.
“They can hold interviews in the house, they can entertain, cook, or have a private chef come in. They can’t do that in a hotel and many want to be healthy and don’t necessarily want to order room service all the time,” Ms Eyles said.
Big personalities also want to hold big parties too.
“They don’t want to be on top of other people or have the neighbours hear what they’re doing so they want enough room around them for entertaining, or rehearsing,” Ms Eyles said.
Christian Sergiacomi, principal at Pacifico Property and former owner of Byron Bay Luxury Homes, has housed countless celebrities during beach breaks in the North Coast playground of the rich and famous.
“They’re really after privacy and of course discretion in the booking, so they go hand in hand,” he said, adding that ultimate privacy in a holiday booking allowed even the biggest stars to fly under the radar.
“We had the Foo Fighters stay at a property up here during one of their Aussie tours and they just took a private jet in and out to play their gigs each night because they wanted to wake up in Byron,” Mr Sergiacomi said.
“They’re often after the type of home they’re used to, which is big, and opulent. Like the house they probably have in LA,” he said.
Despite its big reputation, Byron Bay remains a small town.
Finding a grandiose glamour pad often means a hinterland hideaway or renting out the handful of luxury homes right on Wategos or Belongil beaches with no expense it spared.
“But it’s got to be huge. There are a few including one we had several stars stay at for $40,000 a week - that’s the going rate whether you stay for five to seven days.”
Other Byron Bay houses can easily fetch $30,000 to $50,000 a week.
When Matt Damon spent the summer of 2017 near his Hollywood mate, Chris Hemsworth, he reportedly rented a secluded designer mansion for $5500 a week.
Blackwood House is surrounded by 58ha of bushland, has captivating views, a guesthouse and an infinity pool.
So why would the cashed up homeowners of multimillion-dollar mansions hand their keys over to rockstars and Hollywood heavyweights?
Mr Sergiacomi says the answer is simple.
“No matter how wealthy the owner, they’ll still rent their house out at Christmas and Easter, or in the right conditions, and then they go on their holidays to Europe, or New Zealand, or wherever.” he said.
“Even if they’ve got a billion dollars in the bank, there’s a good reason they’ve got a billion dollars - because they never pass up an opportunity,” he said.
Here are some other iconic homes that celebrities have stayed in around Australia
Known as Bronte Wave House, this is where Ricky Martin and his family spent their time during his stint on The Voice in 2014.
A collection of celebrities have stayed at this Queensland pad from Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, as well as Pink, Johnny Depp, Harry Styles and Dave Grohl have stayed.
Matt Damon and his family stayed at this designer retreat on the outskirts of Byron Bay in 2017 and reportedly paid $5500 a week.
Several international stars have been drawn to this Tamarama home (above) when visiting Sydney.
Originally published as Where the world’s biggest celebrities stay when they’re in Australia
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