'I'm Australia's top-rated Airbnb host. Here's what it's like.'

In 2019, Nicole Landgrebe and her husband David had a shared realisation: they wanted to build their dream home. 

"We used to visit the Blue Mountains a lot and always dreamed of living here," she tells Mamamia. "We'd had a little house there a long time ago, but our children just weren't ready to be here."

When all four of their kids finally graduated school, they leapt at the chance to fulfil a long-awaited goal. 

"We could finally get up there and buy our log cabin."

The pair fell in love with a fixer-upper in the Blue Mountains.

 "We bought our front house and had the dream of building a little bed-and-breakfast that would be a small romantic cabin for two," she says. 

"And that's exactly what we did."

A mound of soil on the edge of the best waterfalls in the area is what would become Falls Rest. 

For 18 months, Nicole and her husband worked to renovate their little property. With David being a structural landscape architect and Nicole being a store designer, photographer and graphic designer, they could combine their knowledge to figure out how they wanted their cosy spot to look. 

"For about six months we walked through and tried to figure out where the best spot would be [for the cabin]," she recalls. "We just watched how the property changed before our eyes." 

Of course, they ran into problems. 

Just six months out from finishing their build, they were hit by the "bad part of COVID."

"There were material shortages and all sorts of other challenges," Nicole describes. "We were starting to build things but then things were starting to change so we pretty much just had to buy everything we needed as soon as possible so nothing got held up."

Renovating their Airbnb meant they could implement features they'd always dreamt of. 

"I had always wanted to have a bathtub out in the open and even in the bathroom, we put in heating under the tiles, heated towel rails and we were thoughtful of even the lighting we had in our tiny little cabin," she tells Mamamia. "We went, 'Well, what do we need?' And because it is not a big house but quite compact, we wanted the little features that just make these trips even better for our guests."

Now, the Nicole's cabin is often booked out months in advance and provides her with a supplementary income. 

"We're in a place where we don't have to worry about nobody coming [to the Blue Mountains] because everyone is always coming," she says. "We are totally, completely booked. We have to block out days if we want a day off or to do some maintenance because if I don't watch [the booking calendar], there's suddenly not a date left."

The couple's hard work, combined with their eye for unique styling and desire for comfort, meant their property became the place to stay. And quickly.  

Before she knew it, Nicole was being told she'd earned the title of the Top Performing Female Airbnb host of 2022. 

"It was crazy... I thought it was a hoax," she recalls. "There are so many beautiful Airbnbs around, but I just never thought it would be us. But we always do strive for that five-star experience. We've also been pretty lucky with our beautiful guests."

Having a beautiful place for couples to come for a romantic getaway isn't the only thing on Nicole and David's agenda. 

In fact, they have big dreams for the future of Falls Rest. 

As creatives, the hosts noticed their cabin has become a popular destination for proposals and engagement celebrations. Right now, they're planning to build another component so couples can have micro-wedding celebrations. 

"We're building another component to the Airbnb now — a beautiful glass house in the back for proposals and elopements," she tells Mamamia. "I have a lot of people that do propose and elope or they come and have their wedding night here because they've gone to another venue to get married.

"Next year, this addition will work in conjunction with Falls Rest. It will also hopefully give my husband David more opportunity to landscape. And I'll continue photographing our couples and offering a new integrated package." 

It's been almost four years since Nicole and David started their journey together, and while they're still planning big for the future of Falls Rest, they're also feeling very thankful that their hard work has paid off.

"I'm just so proud of what we achieved," she says. "I am just so proud."

Read on to take a tour of Nicole and David's property in the Blue Mountains:

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