whale

Merivale Hotel Website

Exhibitionist partnered with Merivale to deliver the digital home for The Whale, an 18-key boutique hotel in Narooma on the NSW Far South Coast. Once The Whale Inn, a fixture on the Narooma skyline for decades, the property has been reimagined as a coastal escape that feels both nostalgic and new.

Design and Development Partnership

We worked alongside TCYK, who led the creative direction and design for the project. TCYK brought the visual language, the editorial feel, and the sense of place that runs through every page. Exhibitionist handled the build, translating that design into a fast, flexible, and fully content-managed platform.

Full-Stack Build

We stood up a brand new Sanity CMS environment from the ground up, paired with a Next.js front end. The result is a site the Merivale team can shape and grow themselves, from room descriptions and imagery to the editorial content that captures Narooma and the surrounding coast. Background video, layered photography, and handmade detail all sit within a system built to stay easy to manage.

Booking and Reservations

The heart of the project was a seamless path from browsing to booking across two platforms.

  • Custom date pickers built for the seven room types, wired into both SevenRooms and RMS
  • SevenRooms iframe embeds for dining and experience reservations
  • RMS integration for accommodation availability and bookings
  • A consistent booking flow from any entry point on the site, from the homepage availability bar to individual room pages

Rather than rely on off-the-shelf widgets, we built bespoke date selection so the booking experience feels native to the site rather than bolted on.

Forms and Capture

We integrated forms with Momento, connecting enquiries, newsletter sign-ups, and guest capture into the wider Merivale ecosystem so the team can stay in touch with guests before and after a stay.

Technical Stack

  • New Sanity CMS environment, purpose-built for the property
  • Next.js front end for speed and flexibility
  • Custom SevenRooms and RMS date picker components
  • SevenRooms iframe reservation embeds
  • Momento forms integration
  • Responsive, image-rich layouts optimised for a visual, editorial brand
The Whale Narooma | Exhibitionist Digital