Tilly and Annies Place: a walk through the townhouse
Updated: Oct 6
Written by the owners of Tilly and Annies Place and Seacrest 7, Hawks Nest. Last reviewed October 2026.
Most Port Stephens holiday house listings are a list of features and twelve photos of the same lounge from different angles. This is the longer version for Tilly and Annies Place: what the house is like to be in, who it suits, and the things we would want to know before we booked it. For live dates and prices, use the booking calendar for Tilly and Annies Place.
In short: Tilly and Annies Place is a renovated two-level townhouse at 2/1 Margaret Street, Hawks Nest, with three bedrooms and two bathrooms, sleeping six. It suits families, two couples and three generations, a short flat walk from Jimmys Beach.
At a glance
Sleeps: 6, three bedrooms, two bathrooms
Where: 2/1 Margaret Street, Hawks Nest
Beach: Jimmys a few minutes' walk, Bennetts 10 to 15 minutes
Best for: families, two couples, three generations
In this article
The short version
A renovated two-level townhouse at 2/1 Margaret Street, Hawks Nest. Three bedrooms, two bathrooms, sleeps six. Walking distance to Jimmys Beach, the shops and the bridge, and a slightly longer walk to Bennetts. Parking on site. Linen not included. No pets, no parties. Booked through Tea Gardens Real Estate Holidays.
It is named after two women in the family, and it feels like a house that belonged to someone rather than a unit that was fitted out. That is the thing people say when they arrive.
Downstairs
The front patio. You come in past a small patio off the street. It gets the morning sun and is where the first coffee happens. There is a chair out there most of the time and a kookaburra on the fence more mornings than not.
Living and dining. Open plan, with the front patio at one end and the rear deck at the other, so on a warm day you open both and the air moves straight through. The living area has the fireplace, which is the room's centre in winter and a shelf in summer, a smart TV for your own streaming logins, bookshelves with some actual books, and seating for six without anyone on the floor. The furniture is new and the colours are quiet. White shutters on the windows.
Kitchen. A full kitchen with an oven, cooktop, dishwasher and a fridge big enough for a week's shopping. Pots, pans, knives, plates and glasses for six and a few more. It is laid out so two people can cook without colliding, which matters when the group is a family or two couples. There is no pod coffee machine; bring whatever you make coffee with.
Laundry and second bathroom. Down the back is the laundry with a washing machine, and off it the second bathroom with a shower and toilet. This is the sand bathroom: in from the beach, rinse, towels straight into the machine. It is also what makes the house work for six, because nobody is queuing upstairs at seven in the evening.
The rear deck. Timber deck off the living area with an outdoor table, a barbecue and a small patch of lawn, closed in by trees. This is the room everyone ends up in. Long lunches, dinner outside from October to April, and in winter the afternoon sun on the boards. The gums overhead bring the birds in. It is private without being walled off.
Upstairs
Bedroom one. Queen bed, built-in wardrobes, and a private balcony over the back garden. The balcony is small and is the best place in the house to read in the afternoon.
Bedrooms two and three. Two single beds in each. These are the children's rooms, or the second couple and the friend, depending on the group. Both have built-ins and fans.
Main bathroom. Shower, bath, vanity and toilet. The bath is the one thing families with small children ask about, and yes, there is one.
Heating, cooling, air
Ceiling fans through the house, heating for winter, and the layout does most of the work: open the front and back and the sea breeze goes through. The house faces the right way for it. On the handful of really hot days a year, the fans and closed shutters through the middle of the day do the job, and the beach is a few minutes away for the rest.
Wi-Fi and working
Wi-Fi throughout, fast enough for video calls and streaming at the same time. The dining table takes a laptop and the deck takes one when the glare allows. Several of our longer-stay guests work two or three days of their week here, and the pattern is the same: work until three, swim, finish up after.
Who Tilly and Annies Place suits
Families. This is the house we point families at when they ask us for Port Stephens family accommodation. Two children's rooms, two bathrooms, the laundry, the lawn, and Jimmys Beach with its flat water a short walk away.
Two couples. The queen upstairs and the two twin rooms work for two couples who know each other well, and the two levels mean people can be in different places.
Groups of friends. Up to six, no parties, which in practice means long dinners on the deck rather than anything louder. The neighbours are close and are home.
Three generations. Grandparents in the queen, parents and children in the twins, everyone on the deck at six.
What is not here
A pool; Seacrest 7 has one. An ocean view; you can hear the sea from the back deck on a big swell but you cannot see it. Linen; bring your own or hire from the agency office. A pet policy that bends.
The walk to the beach
Out the front door, left, and Jimmys Beach is a few minutes along the flat. Bennetts is further, a ten to fifteen minute walk, or a two-minute drive to the surf club car park. The shops in Hawks Nest are a short walk; the bridge and Tea Gardens are a longer one. You will not need the car much once you are here.
Booking
Availability and rates are live on the Tilly and Annies Place booking calendar. School holidays and the Christmas to Australia Day stretch go earliest. Midweek outside the holidays is usually open a few weeks out, and it is, as we have said elsewhere, the good version.
Frequently asked questions
How many people does Tilly and Annies Place sleep?
Six. Upstairs there is a queen bedroom with a private balcony and two bedrooms with two single beds each. There are two bathrooms: the main one upstairs with a bath, and a second downstairs off the laundry.
How far is Tilly and Annies Place from the beach?
Jimmys Beach is a few minutes' flat walk from the front door. Bennetts, the ocean beach, is a ten to fifteen minute walk or a two-minute drive to the surf club car park.
Does Tilly and Annies Place have a pool?
No. Seacrest 7, our apartment on Beach Road, has the shared pool. Tilly and Annies Place has a timber rear deck with a barbecue, an outdoor table and a small lawn closed in by trees.
A note for families: it is a two-level house with internal stairs, worth knowing if you are bringing a toddler. Instructions for the fireplace are in the house, so use the guard and don't leave it burning unattended or with small children in the room. Never leave small children alone in the bath.
Plan your stay
Tilly and Annies Place sleeps six across three bedrooms and two bathrooms, a short walk from Jimmys Beach. Pick your dates on the live calendar. Prefer the surf side? Seacrest 7 sits across the road from Bennetts Beach.
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