These hoteliers are deviating from traditional hotel models, opting instead for spaces and properties that are deeply personal and that encourage depth of connection
George Gorrow & Cisco Tschurtschenthaler, Sea Sea Hotel
Sleepy, sun-kissed surf towns hold a special place in George Gorrow’s heart. From the age of 11, he braved the waves of Crescent Head—an Australian town on the Tasman Sea coast halfway between Sydney and Byron Bay that Gorrow describes as “a classic Aussie beach village with a laid-back, retro vibe and a deeply entrenched surf culture”.
It’s also here that he and his wife, Cisco Tschurtschenthaler, will be opening Sea Sea, a “Seventies surf inspired boutique hotel” with just 24 rooms, immersed in the area’s native landscape and just a few streets away from what Gorrow swears is one of “Australia’s best surf spots”. “My dad is great surfer, and this was always a key spot for him to take us,” says Gorrow, who co-founded the cult denim brand Ksubi in Sydney’s northern beaches in 2000, before leaving the label in 2012. “The overall vibe [of Sea Sea] is inspired by times spent travelling the coast of Australia, surfing [and staying at] all the little family-run beachside stays.”
It’s a sweet full-circle moment for Gorrow, who has spent the last decade living on the islands of Indonesia. It was in Bali that Gorrow and Tschurtschenthaler made their mark as hoteliers when they opened The Slow in 2016, a tropical brutalist escape in the heart of Canggu
More than just a hotel, The Slow cultivated a sense of community with its thoughtfully curated culture calendar; and now they’re bringing that concept home with Sea Sea. The hotel’s clubhouse and project space, says Gorrow, will host “a revolving programme of art exhibitions, music performances and culinary events” featuring both local and international talent. The talent pool behind Sea Sea is impressive too.
The couple partnered with Claus Sendlinger, the founder of Design Hotels, a curated hub of design-driven boutique hotels, to transform a cluster of classic buildings—1970s brick with high-pitched roofs, long rafters and skylights—into the hotel.
“The initial concept for the project is an Australian Seventies surf club look, but recently we have started to let the project start forming its own style, which is for me much more interesting,” Gorrow says. “[I believe in] letting things lead you on a path and hopefully in the end it will have a style and personality of its own.” There will also be an in-house radio station curated by independent channel Reverberation, plus food and drink by the likes of Sydney’s revered P&V Wine & Liquor Merchants and Antonello Arzedi, who has worked with Sydney’s famed Icebergs Dining Room and Bar.