• Creekside Spa Cabins: These lovely romantic cabins are set amongst the rainforest, close to the creek. This traditional cottage-like accommodation has a cosy, warm and romantic feel with exposed cedar ceiling beams. A separate bedroom with king-sized bed adjoins the en suite with its large double spa bath with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the rainforest.
• Rainforest Canopy Bungalows: Luxury private cabin accommodation with spa and fireplace. An intimate split-level cabin with a curved, oak-lined ceiling sweeping over the whole interior, with expansive floor-to-ceiling windows. On the mezzanine is the bedroom and double spa bathroom with rainforest vistas.
• Glass Terrace Bungalows: These very spacious open-plan bungalows are almost totally enclosed in glass, maximising the impact of expansive rainforest and mountain views. Eight sliding glass-screened doors open onto a large covered verandah. The large double spa bath has dramatic floor-to-ceiling wraparound rainforest vistas on three sides.
• Luxury Lodges – Mountain View: Luxury Lodges feature breathtaking aspects to the surrounding tropical landscape, either high in the Retreat or immersed in the rainforest. The private decks incorporate an outdoor kitchen and large endless heated plunge pools featuring wet edges on three sides. With ultra-spacious open plans, each Luxury Lodge features a double-sided fireplace, generous walk-in wardrobe and much more.
• Luxury Lodge – Rainforest: With a striking contemporary design, an intoxicating airy spaciousness, floor-to-ceiling windows, private deck with heated endless pool and premium-quality appliances, the Luxury Rainforest Lodge is also a truly immersive rainforest experience. It is nestled within genuine old-growth rainforest with ancient trees; dominating the high horizon to the north is the majestic ridge of Mount Springbrook.

Guiding you through the lush tranquility of the rainforest are over 8 kilometres of tracks at the Retreat. They wander throughout the property, 60% of which is protected by the Voluntary Conservation Agreement. Many guests are so entranced by their surroundings that they never leave the property between arrival and departure.

The paths are well signed and marked and we provide good maps. However they are wilderness tracks and can be uneven underfoot as well as slippery, rocky and mossy. Walking sticks for extra support on the walks are available outside the entrance to the Guest Games Room near reception.

Crystal Creek Rainforest Retreat is situated on a property of 100 hectares (250 acres) bounded on three sides by Numinbah Nature Reserve. The Reserve forms part of the Central Eastern Rainforest Reserves Australia, an area of World Heritage significance. The rock escarpment of Mount Springbrook and the ridge to the north is the New South Wales state border with Queensland.

The World Heritage-listed rainforests of the Mount Warning volcano have evolved over 100 million years and are home to many rare and endangered plants and animal species. A romantic escape to Crystal Creek Rainforest Retreat is a perfect excuse for exploring the biodiversity of this region.

Formerly part of a banana plantation, the property that is now Crystal Creek Rainforest Retreat was purchased in 1988. Four years were spent planning, restoring and building the Retreat, which opened in 1992. The Voluntary Conservation Agreement on Crystal Creek Rainforest Retreat was initiated by the land owners. Taking about one year to process, the agreement was signed in May 1997 and set aside 60 per cent of the 102-hectare property as a buffer to the adjacent nature reserve. The NPWS not only helped prepare a plan of management but, through Conservation Volunteers Australia, has also helped Crystal Creek attract voluntary labour for projects, provided project building material, and helped design and produce interpretive boards on the property.

From the Owners:

“We’ve been surrounded by pristine rainforest for many years now and we have to say: we’re deeply in love with it. With their long experience of the Retreat, our staff are a great source of knowledge about the fascinating eco-system that makes the Retreat so unique. Our guests soon value how important it is not to compromise a place that is one of the most special on earth.

In creating the Retreat we have been challenged by creating accommodation that’s right inside a subtropical forest, but which is also as comfortable as possible during your time together. This is why we’re always looking for ways to achieve this by using less energy, or by taking environmentally sympathetic measures. These include:

• LCD televisions in all our bungalows (except Cedar Lodge and the Luxury Mountain View Lodges) use less electricity.
• Our Guest Games Room is on stilts of galvanised iron drilled into bedrock. All our buildings are in fact elevated off the ground, so their physical footprint is absolutely minimised.
• ‘Comfort Plus’ insulating glass is used throughout the Luxury Lodges to minimise heat transfer during hot days or cold nights, thus requiring less air conditioning.
• Cedar Lodge uses a heat pump to warm its interior.
• As a cleaning agent, disinfectant and anti-fungal product, we use diluted lemon myrtle oil. The pure oil itself is very powerful and can be heavily diluted. Unlike conventional chemical cleaners, it has a fresh, uplifting aroma.
• We provide local pure lemon myrtle and macadamia oil soaps in the bungalows – they’re ‘almost good enough to eat’! Pure lemon myrtle oil is used in the ‘bath salts’ we make and provide for the guests.
• We even have lemon myrtle trees around the Retreat if guests wish to use it for cooking!”