Just under an hour north of Sydney, where the bushland of the Hawkesbury gives way to the first stretches of the Central Coast, something is being built that doesn't quite fit the neighbourhood. No, not another golf resort, or even a caravan park; The Grand Saddles Lodge, a new 20-villa luxury venue hidden among the trees, each with its own living space, open fireplace, private terrace, and plunge pool.
In fact, it has all the amenities you’d need to close the door behind you for the duration of your stay, disturbed only by the morning chorus from the local bird inhabitants. That is, of course, if it weren't for the fact there's a communal infinity pool and pool bar looking out over the bush.
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Set to open in spring 2026, The Grand Saddles Lodge is the brainchild of John Singleton, a man better known for backing racehorses and writing ad jingles than building luxury hotels. And it represents the next luxury chapter of Saddles Mount White within its 28-acre precinct.
If the name Saddles rings a bell, it's probably because of The Homestead, the restaurant across the way that Condé Nast Traveller once named among the most beautiful in the world – no small claim in a category that includes restaurants built into Icelandic glaciers and Moroccan riads.
The Grand Saddles Lodge sits directly opposite it, and is the perfect stopover for any NSW road trip from Orange or the Hunter Valley, for example, breaking up the drive with a luxury stay and a place to hang your boots.
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Michelle Leslie and White + Dickson Architects have designed the Lodge to feel less like an import and more like it grew out of the ground it sits on.
You arrive via a winding driveway through native bush, the kind that makes you forget you were in Sydney traffic forty minutes ago, before the road opens onto a glass-domed entrance.
Inside, sandstone walls, spotted gum, brass, and handmade furniture from the Central Coast complete the stable aesthetic – a ubiquitous look for Australian luxury in recent years, done here with the added credibility of Singleton's own decades-long relationship with the region. Hey, we’re not complaining.
Food, unsurprisingly, is central to the operation — this is a Singleton project, after all. The main restaurant, housed inside the Lodge, is built around Australian produce with local seafood, organic beef and poultry leading an ever-changing menu. Of course, if it’s not sourced locally, the kitchen leans heavily on its own herb and vegetable gardens out back.
Come evening, the energy shifts next door to Ned's, an intimate piano bar anchored by a grand piano, where classic cocktails and live jazz do the work of a CBD rooftop bar – minus, well, the city.
There's also a proper spa with five treatment rooms, traditional and infrared saunas, ice baths, and treatments built around native botanicals, for the early morning refresh.
Beyond the property line, there's the Hawkesbury River, nearby oyster farms and walking trails through the bush, with the Lodge team on hand to build out an itinerary for guests who want more than a long lunch and a nap.
The Grand Saddles Lodge is roughly 45 minutes from both Sydney CBD and the airport, which puts it firmly in weekend-away territory rather than full-holiday territory – head out of the office early on a Friday afternoon, and you're drinking a martini at Ned's by sundown.
Bookings open this spring, joining The Homestead, The Barn and The Caravan as part of the wider Saddles precinct. For a stretch of coastline that's spent years being overlooked in favour of destinations further south, that's about to change.