The French couple behind a luxurious new NSW escape

They may not quite match the melodic majesty of the chimes of Notre Dame, but the massed mellifluous bellbirds in a forest of gums here in the southern reaches of the Hunter Valley give quite the ringing endorsement for what is a largely overlooked pocket rural NSW.

This extraordinary avian recital greets guests at the luxurious Cedars Mount View – owned and managed by 30-something French expatriate couple Gilbert Ponlot and Christelle Chardin.

Secluded luxury: Villa Stella, Cedars Mount View.

I’m spending two nights at Villa Stella, one of a quintet of cushy cottages on this 40-hectare property, and soon find that its hi-tech sound system isn’t really required as long as that bellbird chorus continues to pulsate through the surrounding valley.

This tranquil setting with its unsealed roads feels remote, even though it’s just minutes from the main Hunter Valley wineries (the sort of industrialised New World wine region, it must be said, that traditionally cause French oenophiles to turn up their snouts).

All in all, it’s an unlikely place for a French couple, originally from seaside Biarritz, to choose to launch a new life, let alone set up some of the most exclusive accommodation in the Hunter Valley.

The pair bought Cedars in early 2020, undeterred by the recent catastrophic bushfires and only months before the onset of the pandemic, and set about building cottages, including the no-expense-spared Villa Stella.

The skylight for star-gazing, Villa Stellar.

Its name is derived from the Latin for stars and one of its most indulgent features is a skylight above the bed. At two metres in diameter, it allows for night-sky viewing as you recline, and it can be closed automatically to keep out the morning sun or the odd snooping marsupial.

There are views of painterly eucalypts and glimpses of glorious yonder mountains, yet the open-plan, lavishly appointed villa is constructed within discreet three-sided earthen mounds providing privacy.

The bathroom offers a dual rain shower, a terrazzo stone bath for two with forest vistas, heated flooring, electric towel rails and a separate toilet. Outside there’s a timber deck with a spa bath - a perfect vantage points to view grazing wallabies.

Gilbert Ponlot and Christelle Chardin fell in love with Australia during a holiday.Credit: Magnetic Shots

The custom-made kitchen with Caesarstone concrete bench top offers breakfast supplies, that while adequate, could do with the French flair evident elsewhere.

Despite the challenging Australian physical environment, which can tend to terrify some Europeans, Gilbert Ponlot and Christelle Chardin did have a taste of life Down Under well before Cedars.

Both came to Australia in 2006 as holidaymakers, and it proved to be a case of “love at first sight”.

“We believed Australia would be a great place to start a life together as it was offering so much of the things we love: surfing, beautiful outdoors, nature and all the animals, great wine and relaxed city life,” says Ponlot.

A year off to further explore the continent followed, including working in the vineyards of Coonawarra, South Australia, and it wasn’t long before the couple decided to settle in Australia and began to dream of opening their own accommodation.

“Through our different holidays and overseas travel we had in the past we started to form a clear idea of what a great accommodation could be, like it being secluded in nature, away from main roads, luxurious but authentic and relaxed,” he says.

The seemingly secluded property is not far from the Hunter Valley wineries.

After buying the property, the couple have had to learn such things as fixing water pumps and tractor driving.

“We also had to learn how to manage the local wildlife,” says Ponlot, “like microbats finding the tiniest holes in the roof and saying ‘hi’ to guests in the middle of the night.”

Now, with careers in finance and the hotel industry behind them, the couple are ensconced in their new lives at Mount View with their four-year-old daughter, Charlotte, and cat Snowpaw.

As for the property’s name, “Cedars” refers to the eponymous creek running through it as well as the large quantity of those trees that were on site before it became a dairy farm a century ago.

“The story goes that most of the cedar trees were cut to furnish the Victorian parliament,” says Ponlot. “Since purchasing it we have planted about 30 additional cedar trees along the creek and gullies on the property.”

They have also planted more than 100 grevilleas to attract and retain birds, with many native honeyeaters calling Cedars home.

In terms of the accommodation, the hiatus provided by the pandemic provided an unlikely blessing with the curtailment of international and interstate tourism resulting in “incredible occupancy rates” allowing them to transform the property’s two oldest cottages into luxurious villas.

French neighbours ... a table at Bistro Molines.

“We were also able to complete a soft refurbishment for two other villas, to build a fifth villa and upgrade all the roads and bridges on site,” says Ponlot.

“Our guests are always very curious to know about our story and how a French couple ended up running a luxury accommodation in the Hunter Valley,” says Chardin. “Some even take the opportunity to practise their French.”

As it eventuates, the couple aren’t the only French presence in this corner of the Hunter Valley with the Good Food Guide-hatted Bistro Molines, run by French-born Robert Molines and his wife, Sally, just a short drive up the road from Cedars. It makes for a congenial, authentically Gallic lunch spot during a stay in Mount View.

Ponlot and Chardin make an effort to chauffeur their guests to and from the key local attractions, Bistro Molines included. They’ll even set up a campfire, complete with marshmallows for roasting and local wines for quaffing, at dusk outside the villas.

Sacre bleu, it’s all so damned perfect that some may suspect that those bellbirds were somehow pre-arranged to burst into song on this guest’s arrival.

Villas from $645 a night. Minimum stays apply. Cedars Mount View, 60 Mitchells Road, Mount View, NSW. Ph: 02 4990 9009. See cedars.com.au; bistromolines.com.au

Five more things to do and see

Quaff
A short drive from Cedars Mount View is the tasting room at Mount Pleasant Wines, which has recently undergone an extravagant makeover. It also includes one of Australia’s best contemporary photography collections.

Walk
The property at Cedars Mount View is blessed with walking trails, most of them of an easy grade. They include a stroll to the site of an historic orchard and packing shed.

Ride
Horse-riding can be organised in the Hunter Valley, including trail rides with a qualified guide.

Golf
There’s the Greg Norman-designed course at The Vintage at Rothbury and Cypress Lakes Golf & Country Club, ranked as one of Australia’s top 20.

Fly
If you have money to burn, take a scenic helicopter ride, complete with pick-up and drop-off at your villa. This includes a three-course lunch at one of the Hunter Valley’s leading restaurants.

The writer was a guest of Cedars Mount View.