Yamba, Australia

Il Delfino

Price per night from$522.96

Price information

If you haven’t entered any dates, the rate shown is provided directly by the hotel and represents the cheapest double room (inclusive of taxes and fees) available in the next 60 days.

Prices have been converted from the hotel’s local currency (AUD800.00), via openexchangerates.org, using today’s exchange rate.

Il Delfino Photos

Style

G’dolce vita

Setting

Slow-tempo surf town

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Murmuring waves set the metronome at Il Delfino, a Forties seaside inn bringing Italian Riviera living to Australia’s east coast. Five self-contained suites – each with a kitchen – are artfully composed of restored mid-century fixtures, vintage finds and local artisans’ work. Descend your nearby private staircase to the beach, spot dolphins from the sun terrace or amble into chilled-out surf town Yamba. But here, il dolce far niente (the sweetness of doing nothing) is the prevailing motif.

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Facilities

Photos Il Delfino facilities

Need to know

Rooms

Four suites and one bungalow.

Check–Out

10am. Check-in is at 3pm; both are flexible with at least 48 hours notice, and subject to availability.

More details

Rates are room-only, but you can order a Mediterranean-inspired breakfast box and an Italian dinner box to be delivered to your suite, as long as you give the hotel 48 hours' notice.

Also

Unfortunately, Il Delfino is not suitable for guests with limited mobility.

At the hotel

Sun terrace, beach nearby, outdoor shower, 24-hour laundrette and free WiFi throughout. In rooms: smart TV, Tivoli Bluetooth speaker, air-conditioning, Smeg coffee machine, tea-making kit, free bottled water, binoculars, beach bags and hats, Baina beach towels, bathrobes, slippers and Aesop bath products.

Our favourite rooms

The five suites, named after Italy’s most postcard-worthy seaside spots, are each a sunbathed collage of restored mid-century features, vintage furniture and bespoke, artisan-made pieces. Portofino’s ocean-facing balcony has an alfresco dining space for evenings spent scanning the horizon for dolphins over fresh Yamba seafood and Aperol spritzes.

Spa

There’s no spa, but in-room massages by local practitioners can be arranged on request.

Packing tips

Come armed with recipe ideas — Yamba has a thriving restaurant scene, but the town’s fishers’ co-op and farmers’ market should inspire you to get busy in your Smeg-outfitted kitchen, too.

Also

In each suite, you can shop an edit of sustainable coastal essentials: sunglasses upcycled from ocean plastic, locally made diving masks, an oystershell-shaped incense holder (when you see it, you’ll agree it’s as much a necessity as the rest).

Children

Little Smiths aged 10 and up are welcome. A few times a year, the hotel holds Bambino Weeks (the next one is 6 to 13 July 2025), when the doors are thrown open to under-10s, too.

Food and Drink

Photos Il Delfino food and drink

Hotel restaurant

There’s no restaurant, but you can order pantry boxes filled with produce from the region’s farmers and makers to be delivered to your suite. Choose from curated options including a Mediterranean breakfast, aperitivo treats and a full Italian feast.

Location

Photos Il Delfino location
Address
Il Delfino
4 Ocean Street
Yamba
NSW 2464
Australia

Il Delfino is set atop an ocean-gazing bluff in Yamba. A staircase leads down to the beach, and the heart of the quiet seaside town is a short walk away.

Planes

The hotel is over an hour’s drive from Ballina Byron Gateway Airport, where flights touch down from Melbourne and Sydney; regional hubs Coffs Harbour Airport and Gold Coast Airport are both under two hours away. Staff can arrange airport transfers on request: each way, it’s $220 from Ballina, $255 from Coffs Harbour and $340 from Gold Coast.

Automobiles

Yamba is a three-and-a-half-hour drive south from Brisbane, and a tempting stop for East Coast road trippers setting out from Sydney. It’s an easy walk into town or down to the beach from Il Delfino, but you’ll want a car for roaming further afield. Each suite has a reserved space with an electric-vehicle charging point in the hotel’s private carpark.

Worth getting out of bed for

A private staircase leads down from Il Delfino to Convent Beach, a quiet, cliff-backed stretch of golden sand. It’s worth branching out to Yamba’s other beaches, too: get your laps in at the ocean pool on Main Beach, or take a picturesque stroll along Pippi Beach. Dolphins are a common sight along the coast, and from May to November, migrating whales make their way through. For the best of the surf, head south to Angourie Point. Serious hikers can take on the Yuraygir Coastal Walk, a 65-kilometre stretch tracing ancient emu trails along untamed cliffs and beaches.

On Wednesdays, forage for artisan bites at the Yamba Farmers and Producers Market. Otherwise, walk into Yamba armed with your suite’s woven tote bag for a sweep of the town’s indie boutiques.

Local restaurants

Karrakin deals in down-to-earth fine dining, with a four-course set menu rooted in seasonal Australian produce. A short stroll from the hotel, Paradiso pairs modern Asian fare with a curated selection of craft cocktails and natural wines.

Local cafés

Start your morning as you mean to go on at Good Days, an airy pitstop for organic coffee, cold-pressed juices, açai bowls and other mood-boosting light bites. Yum Yum's Angourie welcomes browsing with your brews, where locally roasted coffee and home-cooked staples are served between produce-packed pantry shelves.  

Local bars

Secure a seat on the sun-soaked deck at El Ocaso for flavour-packed sharing plates, craft cocktails and oh-so-sweet dessert wines.

Reviews

Photos Il Delfino reviews

Anonymous review

By Mr & Mrs Smith

Every hotel featured is visited personally by members of our team, given the Smith seal of approval, and then anonymously reviewed. As soon as our reviewers have returned from this characterful inn in New South Wales and unpacked their local ceramics and Seafolly swimsuits, a full account of their beachside break will be with you. In the meantime, to whet your wanderlust, here's a quick peek inside Il Delfino in Yamba…

If you’ve ever thought to try scrapbooking, do it at Il Delfino. In salvaging her guesthouse’s mid-century features and mixing in pieces by local artist pals, owner Sheree Commerford has created interiors that feel lived-in and laced with nostalgia. 

Days here are full of vignettes that demand to be shot on film: sun streaming through original picture windows, steaming coffee on your suite’s tiled kitchen counter, a snoozy, sunhat-over-face candid on the lido terrace. You’ll want a double-page spread of oceanscapes, pods of dolphins skimming the horizon pasted alongside surfing pratfalls. Remaining blank spaces can be filled with jam jar labels from the farmers’ market, doodles inspired by the artist-in-residence’s murals, and shells combed from Yamba’s sandy beaches.

It all makes for the kind of vacanza Luca Guadagnino might shoot on 35mm, but it doesn’t take an auteur’s eye to capture this Aussie seaside stay’s star quality.

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Price per night from $522.96