Tiffany Falzon, owner of Bayside Glamping, is unveiling her latest project The Sanctuary—a luxurious retreat capturing the very best of coastal charm and natural beauty. Created with help from Tiffany’s father, local craftsman George Falzon, and her partner Luke, The Sanctuary blends sustainable design with unique, thoughtful touches. This space promises more than just a getaway; it’s an experience inspired by Yorke Peninsula’s stunning landscapes.
In this Q&A, Tiffany reveals her vision, the story behind The Sanctuary, and what guests can expect from her new property.
We’ve found what works for us is offering a variety of accommodations. We didn’t want to ‘copy-paste’ one of our existing properties. This way it gives our guests a chance to experience something new when they come back to Marion Bay, but be rest assured they’re in good hands, being hosted by Bayside Glamping.
Like our existing places, we wanted to create accommodation with a point of difference. We had the advantage of designing every detail from scratch, opposed to a standard house renovation. This let us get creative. It was one of the most fun parts about it, questioning the ‘why’, like, ‘why does it have to go there, or like that?’. Then going how about this, but then the tricky party was getting my vision across to my dad. Dad and I have had MANY discussions like this. He’s been in the building industry in many different areas over his career, and brings years of experience to the table, so sometimes some of my out of the box thinking takes a bit to get over the line. For example, we have a bridge in part of our design, that I wanted people to feel like they’re on a journey, going from one space to another. It’s now taken shape, and it feels exactly like it! It’s always amazing when the risk pays off.
With The Sanctuary we also wanted to enter the luxury space. We already love hosting guests for honeymoons, but we wanted to elevate that offering to a location worthy of a mood board. Think a dreamy bedroom with a four poster king bed.
We wanted a name that captures a feeling. We aimed for a blend of luxury, the healing powers of nature by the sea, and a space where memories are made... so, The Sanctuary was born. We’ve received amazing feedback on the name, and the feeling it evokes when they heard it.
I actually started the Glamping Tent while I was living in Sydney. Again, I couldn’t have done this without the forever grateful help of my dad. I was managing it from Sydney for a year, with the help of a trusty cleaner in Marion Bay, and my dad for maintenance. The Glamping Tent started by wanting to create a unique and intimate accommodation option for couples in Marion Bay, as the perfect base for exploring Dhilba Guuranda-Innes National Park. In all honesty, we thought it would just be booked every second weekend, and then to everyone’s surprise, including my own, it fully booked out once launching in December 2017
Sharing my business (from Sydney) and posting about Yorkes on social media really helped me fall back in love with the area, and appreciate it more, so I decided to leave my job, and move home to expand the business, and finished building the Tiny House with my dad in 2020.
Gosh, where to start. Yorke’s has a magical feeling, that not only its residents understand, but the visitors get to enjoy while here too. The calmness, lull of the ocean and sea breeze, and birds chirping all day, are just so good for the soul. So many places around the country have a gorgeous coastlines too, but they are so built up. Here you can be the only person on the beach, or driving down the road have an emu and 30 chicks cross the road – that’s pretty special, and something I’ll never take for granted.
Dhilba Gurranda-Innes National Park for sure. We are so lucky to be such a short drive away. The Stenhouse Bay Jetty, the water is just so blue! Chinaman’s Hill lookout – this had a recent development, and the lookout points are beautiful. West Cape and Cape Spencer Lighthouses, Pondalowie Bay, Dolphin Beach, and Shell Beach… haha, ok, basically the whole park!
We have created The Sanctuary to be an all encompassing feeling. The whole design can be captured in one stunning image. We have created sooo many outdoor spaces to be enjoyed by our guests, and internally, our main focus has been creating the ultimate luxe bathroom, that lets you soak in nature at the same time.
The Sanctuary again is only for 2 adults at a time, but we’ve actually created it large enough, that registered guests from the Tiny House and/or Glamping Tent, can mingle with their friends at The Sanctuary.
We have a couple of other exciting projects up our sleeves, but I think once The Sanctuary has been built, we need to rest and reset as a family, and celebrate this big achievement. But, I’m sure it won’t take long before I want to move onto the next thing. Let’s just say our next project likely won’t be accommodation.
The Yorke Peninsula is the traditional lands of the Narungga (Nharangga) people, who have lived on, and cared for, this country since the beginning of time. We work, live and travel on Nharannga Banggara [Country], and we take time away from those pursuits to acknowledge and pay our deep respects to the Nharangga Elders of the past and present.
Today, it is essential that we continue to care for and protect our spectacular natural environment. Tread lightly and leave no trace. Learn more about responsible and respectful travel on Yorke Peninsula.