Take me back to the '70s: why nostalgia holidays are on the rise

It's the music that lures me in first. Obscure synth and psychedelic beats swirl my senses, piped from the custom speaker sideboard next to the bed. I run my hand along the timber wall panelling and throw my bag down beside a low-slung tan leather chair. Above, a framed shot by renowned surf photographer Peter Crawford shows a long-haired surfer carving a red-sepia toned wave.

In the six hours it's taken me to drive here, I've seemingly time-travelled back five decades. The 1970s are alive in Crescent Head, on the NSW Mid North Coast, and Sea Sea Hotel is the latest in a line-up of new accommodations resurrecting the spirit of the decade - not just in design, but in energy.

Over in the restaurant - aka the Sea Sea Surf Club - barefoot patrons sit at the bar next to a vinyl listening station while a mirror ball twirls above. Raked ceiling, exposed brick walls and amber-hued pendant lights speak the visual language of the '70s - but what's happening here isn't just surface-level retro. It's a full-body feeling. A rooting in place and time.

As a child of the '80s, my affinity with the free-loving decade of hedonism and disco can't be explained by direct nostalgia. And yet, like so many travellers today, I feel a magnetic pull toward its warmth, colour and carefree spirit. As more and more hotels and motel conversions launch with brown-tiled bathrooms and playlists that hero Led Zeppelin and Fleetwood Mac, I find myself wondering: why are we all so obsessed with the '70s?

"It's the spirit, the nostalgia of it all, and the freedom that it showcased," says Sea Sea co-owner and creative director George Gorrow. "[The era] was experimental in all ways and shapes and forms, and less crowded."

The former Ksubi creative director and co-owner of cult Bali hotel The Slow, Gorrow has never been one to take a conventional approach to design. His own '70s childhood spent on the beach with his family - barefoot and salt-crusted, often on surf road trips to Crescent Head - is the lens through which he sees and shapes space today. Perhaps explaining why Sea Sea feels less like a hotel and more like a perfectly preserved moment in time.

Beyond its iconic surf culture, the '70s ushered in a cultural awakening - birthing disco, punk and mainstream reggae. It was the era of bell bottoms and platform shoes, of Farrah Fawcett flicks and lava lamps. But the transformation ran deeper than just style and sound. It was a time of growing environmental awareness and collective consciousness: Greenpeace was founded in 1971, anti-war protests surged across campuses and city streets, and hippies wore homemade flower crowns to symbolise peace and love long before they became an Instagram cliche.

At a time when the world can seem frighteningly uncertain - when there is an undercurrent of hopelessness, even chaos - is it any wonder that we seek out escapism when booking a holiday? While those on TikTok are questioning why the world is losing its colour, those over 35 are openly yearning for the halcyon simplicity of childhood nostalgia. So maybe the real question is: why stay somewhere beige or boring, when you could book yourself into an immersive time warp instead?

Of course, to really, truly "time travel", it takes more than just a fringed lampshade or an orange kitchen. You need to feel it in a visceral way.

At Sea Sea, most of the big photos on the wall are by either Alby Falzon or Peter Crawford - both icons of the Aussie surf scene in the '70s, as Gorrow says. "Alby Falzon did a movie called Morning of the Earth, which has pretty much the most iconic soundtrack to anything you've heard," says Gorrow. "If you play that, you really get it."

And that's the point. The most successful throwbacks don't feel staged - they feel alive. Which is why designers are tapping into colour palettes, decor and even music as emotional portals to eras past. In short, minimalism is out and expressive, personality-filled interiors are in.

Across the country we're seeing this ripple effect. Coloured bathrooms are back. Sunken lounges and chocolate-brown kitchens are sneaking into new house builds in the 'burbs. But before you start recoiling at the thought of shag carpet, lime green swirls, and other forgettable '70s trends, you only have to look to new hotel launches in Australia in the past five years to see that the revival is happening - and travellers are loving it.

Hotels like Ace Sydney, The StandardX Melbourne, The Sunseeker in Byron Bay, and Ovolo South Yarra - the latter with Rockstar suites named after John, Yoko, Sonny and Cher - started planting the '70s design seed from around mid-2020. Now, perhaps without quite realising it, guests are more affronted by a stark white bedroom than by shagadelic wallpapers.

At Sun Ranch in the Byron Bay hinterland in northern NSW, the hedonistic vibe of the '70s is unapologetically turned to high, especially in The Lair - a sunken lounge with a vibrant colour palette, bespoke light fittings that hint at beaded wood curtains, '70s hi-fi equipment and vintage birdcages sourced from California flea markets.

"Some people come here and think 'Mick Jagger's country estate'," says co-owner Julia Ashwood. "I think it's the fabulous Italian tiger velvet upholstery throughout The Lair in particular which Mick would really embrace."

Sure, animal-print upholstery might pull in a few bona fide rockstars. But what is it about the '70s that's striking a chord with the average Australian traveller?

"The '70s says freedom of expression, a bohemian existence," Ashwood says. "Most of all I think the era had a lovely playfulness, think Studio 54! The ranch areas [at Sun Ranch] were designed to hold a great sense of joy and celebration."

Wanting to feel fun and fabulous is certainly part of the appeal. But there's something deeper going on too - a craving for realness. With so much of modern life feeling either staged or mass-produced, the thrill of originality is increasingly rare. Which is why hotels that truly surprise us - the ones that feel unexpected, and maybe even a little risky - stand out so powerfully.

"It's so hard to have that cut through," says Ashwood. "I think what really helps is just the eclectic collection of furniture that we're using, and colour!"

A similarly bold approach was central to the recent revamp of Halse Lodge, a historic guest house in Noosa on Queensland's Sunshine Coast. Led by local design firm CLO Studios, the reimagined lodgings reopened in December 2024. Punters arriving at the former backpackers' - whether to stay or just enjoy the restaurant and bar - were met with heritage interiors emblazoned with bright colours, contrasting combinations and lots of fun throwback fabrics.

"There are so many layers to '70s beach culture, and I think it was really evident in Noosa," CLO Studios director Chloe Tozer says. "We just wanted this really laid-back, not-fussy interior, but really warm and welcoming. You can't not smile or be happy in the spaces."

She's right. The pink and yellow casement windows, painted ceilings and vintage furniture all give the lodge an unmistakably cheerful vibe, while the wide breezy verandas exude a barefoot energy that doesn't take itself too seriously. As I sit in the beer garden dunking shoestring fries into sauce and sipping a tap-poured cocktail, I hear bursts of laughter from guests at the nearby ping pong table. It's hard not to smile along, as I gaze out at the gum trees, my phone - for once - tucked away in my handbag, forgotten.

Maybe that's the real allure of the '70s revival - an invitation to unplug, be present and remember the simple pleasures: good tunes, good company and a world that moved just a little slower.

"Times were much simpler back then," says Gorrow. "We're all too connected now, and too digitised. Everyone's looking to check out completely."

Ironically, at places like Halse Lodge, Sea Sea and other stays embracing this revival, the best way to check out of modern life - is to check in.

The writer was a guest of Sea Sea