This apartment is a little gem, perfectly situated with probably the best views in Manly. We had a couple of seasonal downpours, but even in the rain you can just sweep back the balcony door and enjoy the sound of the surf.

The building feels very secure, with a key-fob to work the street-level access and lifts, which is comforting especially when arriving in a strange town past midnight as we did. That said, Manly is really friendly place, filled with bars, restaurants and shops. The apartment block is bang in the centre and provides easy access on foot to everything with covered walkways. That is important this time of year when the heavens can open, but you can still get around much of the town in the relative dry.

The apartment has two good sized bedrooms on different levels, joined by a great little sitting/dining area with that spectacular view across the bay. The three-level setup gives an excellent feeling of space, and a surprising degree of privacy in a compact space. It is well equipped, with a proper kitchen and you could cook if you wanted but we found the extensive range of restaurants and bars more than met our culinary needs. Strongly recommend the Insitu bar round the corner for breakfast, outstanding food laid back music and great service.

I picked Manly because it was convenient for my son (25) and I to attend a family wedding, but if you are looking for a brilliant place for a holiday, look no further. For UK readers, this is a cross between Bude and Brighton, with a hint of west coast USA for good measure. The surf is relentless, fantastic for beach people, and the block is less than five minutes walk to the ferries across the bay to Central Sydney and other attractions like the zoo. The apartment is best suited to adults and for two couples it would be ideal. A small family would be ok but kids should be over 5 years old because of the stairs between the levels and the awesome balcony.

In summary, a great find, splendid apartment well located for the amazing beaches, great town and ferries into central Sydney. Big thanks to Stephen for all his help in the run up to our visit, ask him anything and he will get back to you. All it lacks is a teleporter so I could get there without that 24 hour flight!

Happy holidays everyone.