Renovation makes this gastronomic getaway even more compelling

Lancemore Milawa, Milawa, Victoria

Check-in

One of the communal guest lounges overlooking the vines at the newly renovated Lancemore Milawa.

It’s high-time the High Country had some high design smarts and, hey pesto, this long-time stager, right in the midst of the Italian-influenced North East Victoria’s gourmet epicentre, has done the deed. The 40-room Lancemore Milawa - under three hours’ drive north of Melbourne and less than an hour south of Albury - was the recipient in the latter half last year of a major makeover by the Melbourne-based Stella Collective studio. It’s revitalised this well-known, self-proclaimed lodge (or is it really a hotel?) with an infusion of Mediterranean and Moorish influences that hint at the region’s rich and fruitful immigrant heritage.

The look

The Lancemore Milawa’s pool.

Guests are received in a reimagined lobby with a mosaic-lined reception counter while steps away is Merlot, Lancemore Milawa’s in-house restaurant and bar named after the grapevines it overlooks. (The name can’t help but prompt memories of the movie Sideways and its famed diatribe about merlot but we digress). Next door is the Vineyard Room, an inviting self-contained lounge space with low-slung sofas and linen-lined armchairs. It’s dominated by a pewter chandelier depicting palm leaves, and a feature fireplace. In those months when cool, not heat, is required, transfer to the courtyard - or the swimming pool - with its centrepiece blue mosaic-tiled fountain around which wire-frame chairs and string hammocks are scattered.

The room

One of the recently refurbished, design-drive guestrooms at Lancemore Milawa.

Milawa exists at a not-so-high High Country altitude of 155 metres with the surrounding countryside as flat as a day-old uncapped prosecco. But our 32-square metre second storey Superior Balcony Sunrise room (there are also Superior Balcony Sunset rooms on the opposite side of the building) has gorgeous views across distant mountain ranges, including the 1723-metre Mount Buffalo. The room, which has the full interior design refurb treatment, features polished concrete floors, sisal rugs, a daybed and hand-painted artworks from Morocco.

Food + drink

Dinner at Merlot.

If you’re into food and drink (and if you’re not, best to turn the car around), you’ve arrived at a prandial paradise. The menu and wine list at Merlot is suitably inspired by the singular bounty of the surrounding Milawa and King Valley regions. Don’t overindulge, though, as you’ll need space for one of Victoria’s best regional dining experiences in the form of Brown Brothers winery straight across the road from the Lancemore. A local must is the languid slow degustation lunch (allocate a full three hours) experience at the venerable label’s one-hatted Good Food Guide restaurant, with many plated ingredients sourced straight from the winery’s own kitchen garden.

Out + about

King Valley, home of Italian-style prosecco sparkling wine in Australia, is a half-an-hour drive from Lancemore Milawa. Surrounding the tiny town of Whitfield are acclaimed wineries with tell-tale names like Dal Zotto, Pizzini, La Cantini and Politini. Several wineries include restaurants, cooking schools and low-key accommodation set amid or overlooking the valley’s lush vineyards and mountain vistas. After those more formal feeds back at Merlot and Brown Brothers, opt for the more laidback meals at the Mountain View Hotel, operated by the Pizzini wine-making family, and with a menu featuring a selection of handmade pasta dishes.

The verdict

Lancemore Milawa’s multi-million dollar makeover makes this captivating corner of Victoria an even more compelling candidate for a gastronomic getaway.

Essentials

Rates from $309 a night. 223 Milawa-Bobinawarrah Road, Milawa, Victoria. Ph: [phone]. See lancemore.com.au

Score

★★★★½

Highlight

The hotel’s location offers a fine base to explore the region’s wineries and townships including the historic, if not increasingly touristy, Beechworth.

Lowlight

The rather tired village of Milawa, only a short stroll around the corner from Lancemore, is a bit of a letdown for such a vaunted gourmet capital.

Anthony Dennis stayed as a guest of Lancemore Milawa.