Sweven Estate: The Hawkesbury River hotel has hosted Ed Sheeran and Julia Roberts during isolation stints. Photo / Luxico
Sweven Estate: The Hawkesbury River hotel has hosted Ed Sheeran and Julia Roberts during isolation stints. Photo / Luxico
Since hotel quarantine was introduced in March 2020 last year, there's been countless horror stories from returning travellers stuck in filthy rooms with windows that don't open and getting served very unappetising food.
But if you're a celebrity coming to quarantine in Australia, things are vastly different.
Luxury home hotel service Luxico has been accommodating celebrities and A-listers in private quarantine throughout the pandemic, even offering extra services like a 24/7 concierge to carry out your every demand while you're stuck inside.
NSW is on the verge of throwing out hotel quarantine for fully vaccinated Australians after the first home quarantine trials kicked off on Monday.
As Australia prepares to reopen borders, travellers are looking for more luxurious quarantine arrangements. Photo / Getty Images
The trial selected 175 returning travellers at random to complete seven days of quarantine at home, rather than in a hotel. It's hoped hotel quarantine will be a thing of the past by November.
And after perfecting its home quarantine service for celebrities and VIPs, Luxico are now opening their luxury homes and concierge service to the masses.
The service, which starts from $400 a night, can include everything from a full grocery provision, unpacked and ready for your arrival, Covid cleaning measures, and a 24/7 concierge to run errands while you stay relaxing in your sprawling estate.
Not only is the concierge there to greet you in person when you arrive, they also offer to impart all their knowledge about the local area.
The pool at Sweven Estate where A-Listers have isolated on arrival in Australia. Photo / Luxico
Celebrities desperate to maintain their creature comforts in Australia have been embracing the service for months.
In March, it was revealed Julia Roberts and Ed Sheeran had agreed to save a bit of extra cash by quarantining together at the luxurious Sweven Estate, a sprawling 141-acre property on the Hawkesbury River.
For the bargain price of $4700 a night, Roberts and Sheeran spent two weeks together, with their families, at the estate.
The property, described by Luxico as a favourite for VIPs and celebrities, is available for booking until the end of the year for Aussies able to fork out $33,000 for the week-long quarantine.
Fresh out of quarantine, Ed Sheeran at Melbourne's Marvel Stadium in March. Photo / Quinn Rooney, Getty Images
Ironically, the property Roberts and Sheeran shared to save money on - two celebrities who have consistently been some of the highest-paid in the world - is not even the most expensive on Luxico.
For Melburnians, or VIPs having to quarantine in the Victorian capital, a mansion in South Yarra can be booked for $5700 a night.
The massive home, with an outdoor pool and four bedrooms, is called Wisteria Place.
And up in Byron Bay, overlooking Watego's Beach, sits Twenty Six.
The mansion, which includes an infinity pool and floor to ceiling glass windows overlooking the ocean, can be booked for $6500 a night.
Twenty Six in Byron Bay. Photo / Luxico
And some of those properties don't even fall in Luxico's "Ultravilla" section.
The all-inclusive section includes a personal butler, daily maid service, a fully-stocked fridge on arrival and a Sommelier's Honesty Bar with some of the world's best alcohol.
Most "Ultravillas" include a helipad and are described as suiting the company's "most discerning guests".
"These homes are sure to meet even the highest of holiday expectations," the company promises.
Luxico Managing Director Alexandra Ormerod and her partner Tom manage $700 million worth of property in Australia.
Ms Ormerod said the idea was born out of having her three kids.
"When we had young kids we quickly found that hotels were dead to us," she said.
"At the time property rentals resembled something of a yard sale with their mismatched furniture and possessions. In addition to poor styling, you'd be fumbling to find a key under a rock or be stranded in a new city without any idea where the nearest supermarket was, and we just thought 'how hard would it be to have someone greet you, or have fresh groceries unpacked in time for your arrival?'"
Julia Roberts spent two weeks quarantining at the luxury Sweven Estate. Photo / Karwai Tang, Getty Images
Luxico launched in 2013 and has since been connecting with celebrities and VIP travellers to help them find the most luxurious homes in Australia to stay.
But this is the first time Luxico will expand its high-end services to the masses.
The company is usually defined by its exclusivity - only 1 in 8 homes that apply to be featured on the website are approved.
In 2017, Luxico also acquired technology start-up Hello Scout, a digital concierge service to provide further touchpoints with guests.
Roberts will quarantine again in Australia soon as she and George Clooney prepare to shoot romantic comedy Ticket To Paradise.
The movie will be filmed across the Whitsundays region, with filming kicking off next month.
While it's not known exactly where the two megastars will quarantine, it's safe to assume one of them will likely snap up Luxico's AQUA, a four-bedroom "architectural masterpiece" in Airlie Beach.
The home, which also boasts a helipad, sits on a private peninsula and a private beach.
According to the Sydney Morning Herald, the film is expected to pump more than $47 million into the local economy, which has been decimated by coronavirus border closures and the usual tropical storms.
Palm Bay Resort, on Long Island in the Whitsundays, has already been booked by the production to mimic a Balinese resort for the movie.
Home quarantine will be commonplace for returning Aussies from next month, with South Australia already successfully pulling off a number of trials and NSW, Victoria and Queensland soon following suit.
While Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said home quarantine for tourists likely wouldn't be a reality until 2022, pressure is building on the leader to reopen the nation before Christmas, to help boost the vital tourism industry in its peak season.
