Sebel Deep Blue Warrnambool review: Shore leave

By the seaside ... Sebel Deep Blue's king-bed suite.

Nicole Bittar ventures along the shipwreck coast.

The long and winding road assumes renewed significance on our maiden voyage past the seaside idyll of Lorne. We are on our Twelve (make that eight) Apostles odyssey, en route to Warrnambool, passing by undulating turquoise water, white seaspray and craggy cliff faces.

We pull into the two-year-old Sebel Deep Blue, on the tree-lined Warrnambool foreshore, with anticipation. The decor in the lobby is nouveau French provincial, light-filled spaces, stone-hued tiled floors, pale sandy stripes and ivory wood-turned furniture. White linen-dressed tables, leather and fabric gilt-framed banquettes and recessed shelving in the contemporary restaurant, comfortable couches, a chrome Romanesque fireplace and artful floral arrangements are where the Sebel Deep Blue puts its best face forward. First impressions are promising.

The upstairs gym, with state-of-the-art equipment and flatscreen TV, and the boutique day spa, with mineral-rich, geothermal pool, are first-rate.

Sebel Deep Blue's jewel in the crown is its heated indoor pool. White deck chairs and bright blue and white striped towels in a white wooden, steepled enclosure with louvred windows and wood-look terracotta wall tiles evoke bathing box Brighton of a bygone era.

In our king-bed suite, a galley kitchen features soft-grey wood veneer and ivory CaesarStone kitchen with chrome dish drawer and multi-purpose convection/microwave oven, electric hotplate, small fridge and freestanding air-conditioning unit (frankly, an eyesore).

Three wall-mounted hydronic heaters, two in the living room, the other in the semi-exposed bedroom, are effective on chilly September nights.

The spa bathroom, with soft-grey matt flooring and high-gloss porcelain wall tiles, features an oversized porcelain basin. Organic wooden shelving softens the chrome tapware and CaesarStone vanity. A glass-screened shower leaks a little but not enough to dampen our enthusiasm.

A Japanese-style wood-panelled bedhead, bedside tables and writer's desk and comfortable bed in white linen and jade bedspread represent an oasis, of sorts. In the living room there's a rollaway bed next to an upholstered two-seater sofa. A wall-hung flatscreen TV receives a workout from our tech-savvy six-year-old. There's an Italianate dining table for two in faux marble, dark-wood furniture, chrome floor lamp, ceiling fan and a turned-wood chair with fabric-covered ottoman.

Views from the balconette across the bayside parkland take in the jagged cliffs and choppy sea. A furious grey sky blows a gale, evoking the spirit of the shipwreck coast. We retreat downstairs.

The Water Table Restaurant and licensed bar, which incongruously offers no such view, serves meals, drinks, tapas, coffee and cakes from 7am to 11pm and is the engine room for 24-hour room service offerings. A dozen briny-fresh oysters from neighbouring Portland are a house specialty.

Our son's grilled barramundi, crispy chips and balsamic vinaigrette-dressed rocket salad is Goliath-sized. Locally caught, beer-battered flake and spice-dusted wedges go down a treat with my husband, as does a sticky date pudding served with a scoop of beany Timboon vanilla ice-cream.

After a swim and continental breakfast the next morning we spot four pods of southern right whales breaching metres from surfers at nearby Logans Beach. Sightings are regular between May and October. Verdant nearby parkland with paddle boats, a crazy maze, mini golf and a giant jumping "pillow" entertain the young at heart.

I purchase a Jeff Buckley CD in town. The melancholic strains of Last Goodbye seem a fitting anthem as we drive through the hilly back streets of town, past the old woollen mill and artists' society building with its historic mural of Warrnambool's 150-year-old evolution.

VISITORS' BOOK

Sebel Deep Blue Warrnambool

Address 16 Pertobe Road, Warrnambool.

Bookings Phone [phone]; see MirvacHotels.com/sebel-deep-blue-warrnambool.

Getting there Off the Princes Highway, turn left into Banyan Street, which becomes Pertobe Road at Flagstaff Hill.

Cost $150 for seascape room, off peak, to $620 for three-bedroom penthouse, peak.

Summary The Sebel Deep Blue is comfortable, with first-class facilities and a poetic outlook, but a lack of simple pleasures such as in-room reading material tarnishes the sheen.

Verdict 15

The score: 19-20 excellent; 17-18 great; 15-16 good; 13-14 comfortable.

All weekends away are conducted anonymously and paid for by Traveller.