Sea-n-Stars Second Valley review | SA’s Great Travel Planner

The Sea-n-Stars family holiday home’s rooms with coastal views are a delicious bonus.

IT’S a wild and woolly night in Second Valley, which is just fine for our destination-food-experience getaway.

While we love a blustery beachy outlook, our little group is all about chasing flavours, finding remarkable places to dine out, and stocking up on local foods for interesting platters when we choose to stay in.

The Sea-n-Stars family holiday home’s rooms with coastal views are a delicious bonus. The sharply painted navy and white house would, admittedly, be even better on a balmy night.

We, the wine and the cheese, would move out on to the wide front deck where the outlook to azure sea-meets-skyline over the rooftops is enough, and very affordable at about $200 a night for four of us.

This time, we are cosy indoors on a getaway bookending a scenic southern meander that includes a Saturday morning stop at the Willunga Farmer’s market for weekend supplies, and the gathering of a little decadence at the new Four Winds chocolate shop a little further up High St.

Then, on the last leg, about 15 minutes before our Second Valley weekender, we stop at the busy little eat street that threads through Normanville.

Sea-n-Stars at Second Valley

Here, the Caffe on Bungala, in the space so long-occupied by the Jetty Food Store (now at Port Elliot), is not as abundant as in JFS days, but the coffee is good, the food is fresh and the crew promise they support local growers, including backyard green thumbs who have good produce to spare.

Late afternoon, at the Sea-n-Stars digs, we unload the well-worn-and-travelled Bridget the car Fridget, and settle in.

The house has a decent coffee machine, so good beans and hot chocolate are also unpacked, plus a few slugs to give them a warming Irish tilt.

There’s more time on day two for a lazy drive to local reaches and the best view of the nearby steep craggy coastal cliffs, and roiling seas which will turn to gentle ripples in summer.

The main mission of this trip is dinner at the Leonard’s Mill restaurant, just 3km inland from our weekend house.

Sea-N-Stars at Second Valley.

The historic mill, surrounded by lovely shaded gardens perfect for lunch, afternoon teas and cocktails, has been as much chequered by the changing guards in the kitchen over the past two decades as by its early mill origins.

These days, the menu is high end and champions the Fleurieu food bowl. In winter, it is chic with a touch of rustic. In summer, there is brighter brilliance on artistic plates. Recommended is the degustation or tasting menu, but the team will also cleverly accommodate a mix of fixed and roaming “Millers Menu” choices at your table.

Back in our compact home, there’s a homely smart family holiday house feel. Plenty of couches allow you to spread out comfortably. The beds are fine, although we find the linen package sparse and low quality so will be a bit more organised and take our own next time. The kitchen is well equipped, including wine glasses, and you can even negotiate a pet friend to stay in the well-fenced back yard.

Staying at Second Valley overnight is also ideal for getting yourself close to the early morning hop over to Kangaroo Island aboard the SeaLink ferry at Cape Jervis, just 20 minutes further south.

Reviews are unannounced and paid for by SAWeekend.

This review was first printed in November 2015 and had details updated in March 2021.

• 20 Oceanview Drive, Second Valley
• 0403 175 439
• seanstars.com.au

• LOCATION About 94km, or a good hour’s drive south of Adelaide. It’s a two-minute drive to the beach, or walk about 650m.
• ACCOMMODATION Four-bedroom house, with sister house 100m away, both ideal for multiple family holidays.
• FACILITIES Three queen bedrooms, one with bunks which doubles as a games room. Take your own linen, or pay $15 a person for basic linen. A three-way bathroom, cupboard laundry, well-equipped kitchen with dishwasher and coffee machine, extensive lounge seating with LED TV (Foxtel), DVD player, DVDs and a music system. Free Wi-Fi. Eight-person dining area plus sunny front deck with sea views. Fenced rear yard and pets allowed.
• Reverse-cycle airconditioning to the lounge.
• PRICE $140-$350 a night.