Mount Schank’s Bellum Hotel launches hippie-themed hotel room
A country SA pub has unveiled its hippie-themed hotel room, which transport guests back to 60s and 70s with vintage decor and musical homages.
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A regional pub just south of Mount Gambier has launched a new hippie-themed hotel room, giving guests the opportunity to journey back through time for a night and slumber in a suite that pays homage to groovy decor and music of the 60s and 70s.
Nestled among the hidden gems of the Limestone Coast, the Little Blue Lake and Mount Schank volcanic crater, the Bellum Hotel is less than 20km from Mount Gambier.
Owners Meg Black and Bob Willis have now collaborated with SA-based accommodation and event venue Mountain Path Meadows to transform a standard pub room into a nostalgic nook that compliments the vibes of the rustic pub.
The pair realised their dream of running a pub when they took over the hotel in 2023 and relocated to Mt Schank with the dreams of reinvigorating it and being closer to Ms Black’s son, daughter-in law and grandchild.
Ms Black’s son Daniel Billingsley and his partner Rachel Gerds run an accommodation business of their own just minutes down the road, having co-founded Mountain Path Meadows – a unique, off-grid accommodation and event venue – in 2020.
Mountain Path Meadows is situated on a picturesque 12-acre property located at the base of Mt Schank and offers private geodesic dome glamping accommodations, group retreats and workshops, and a sustainable wedding ceremony venue, specialising in elopements and micro-weddings.
Ms Gerds said she and Mr Billingsley “have been helping Meg and Bobby out with some of the accommodation stuff since they took over the pub last year” including helping design and launch the new hotel room, which has been dubbed the ‘Rock N Roam’.
“We’ve learnt a lot about the business running the domes,” Ms Gerds said. “With The Bellum just a minute or two up the road, it’s a perfect opportunity for us to expand and do something different with the pub as well.”
Ms Gerds said the idea behind the Rock N Roam room came to be “pretty organically” when the quartet was discussing ideas about how they could reinvigorate one of the pub’s several hotel rooms.
“The hippie-theme goes quite well with the overall vibe of the pub,” Ms Gerds said.
“The place in general has a real ‘That 70s Show’ vibe.”
The 60s and 70s theme also allows the family to pay homage to their love of music from that era, with the room featuring vintage concert posters from the likes of Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, Fleetwood Mac, David Bowie and more.
An accompanying Spotify playlist has also been specifically curated the compliment the “groovy vibe”.
“It’s just a nice bit of nostalgia,” Ms Gerds said. “It’s a win win for people visiting the pub as well, for younger people who weren’t alive during the era, it gives them a chance to experience a taste of it, and for people who were around then, it gives them a chance to relive it.”
From the outside, the room is easily identifiable thanks to its vibrant, bright yellow door. It’s designed to sleep up to four-five guests with its three single beds and one double and will immediately transport visitors back to the late 60s and early 70s thanks to its flower power decor, lava lamp, and vintage concert posters.
Ms Gerds said they hoped the room would add something unique and memorable to the experience of people passing through the pub.
“Now we’ve done it, we’re toying with the idea of theming a few of the other rooms, but for now we’ll just wait and see how it goes. We’re really excited about it though.”
The room is now available for bookings.
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