Contestants enjoy champagne and cheese at the Breakaways, a stunning rocky landscape in the Australian Outback. | Courtesy of Netflix

Who knew vacation rental hosting could be so juicy" In the spirit of summer fun, Curbed has been turning a spotlight on all things TV this past month, exploring everything from our obsession with TV teen bedrooms to the significance of the kitchen islands on Big Little Lies. Of course, we also set out to finally catch up on some of the year?s most buzzed-about design shows.
As a helpless reality TV lover, I called dibs on Instant Hotel, an Australian import with two seasons currently available to stream on Netflix. After a cursory look at online reviews, some of which said Season 2 was better, I started there. And after breezing through its six hour-long episodes, I came out feeling like I just had one big adventure Down Under with some friends and frenemies in tow?all without leaving my couch.
Billed as a search for Australia?s best ?instant hotel??that is, a vacation rental?the show brings together four pairs of contestants in season two. Each team has carefully prepared a vacation home they own for judging by two experts?British interior designer and TV personality Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen and Sydney-based interior designer Juliet Ashworth?and, dun dun dun, each other.
The properties are wide-ranging, from (mild spoiler alert!) a desert cave home to an elaborate eco-retreat, and they?re all supposed to be judged by the commo...