The Sequoia Lodge experience begins even before arrival
We checked into the elegant retreat in the Adelaide Hills following its five-year, $18m revamp.
Weather and food are popular topics of conversation at Sequoia Lodge, seductively poised above the Piccadilly Valley’s poetic tapestry of forest and vines in the Adelaide Hills. What to eat next? The food and wine are fantastic, much of it locally grown and made. And what to wear? A crucial question as the weather is incredibly changeable on the eastern slopes of Mount Lofty. Eighteen hours ago, it was positively balmy as we tiptoed through nodding daffodils on the valley floor, with truffle dogs Gus and Ruby ferreting out the last of the season’s knobbly treasures. This morning, pink sky and tangerine sun are swiftly replaced by a mountain coddled in fog and a plunging thermometer.
But no matter, as guide Jess is equipped with a selection of RM Williams rain jackets and a vacuum flask of hot tea as we set out for Cleland Wildlife Park.
The mist lends a moody magic to the forest as we wander a well-marked trail through towering stringy bark trees and golden bracken past the eerie ruins of Arthur’s Seat, kangaroos observing our transit, kookaburras cackling, the thrum-thrum of the tawny frogmouth echoing up from hidden gullies. We’re on the lookout for koalas; the Adelaide Hills is home to the country’s largest koala population, and locals are accustomed to seeing these loveable marsupials in their garden. Sequoia Lodge has its own resident chap, Charlie. With eyes scanning the treetops we almost miss a passing glimpse of the city on the plain below. It’s a brief reminder of Sequoia’s unique and slightly counterintuitive locale, lost in a cloud-shrouded forest yet only 20 minutes from downtown Adelaide.
Sequoia Lodge officially opened in late 2021 but its 14 luxury suites have been receiving guests throughout the pandemic as management put the finishing touches to the $18m lodge: the lounge and day spa, small infinity pool and spring-fed hot pools perched below the lounge on the valley rim. Located in the grounds of the historic Mount Lofty House hotel but operating as a separate entity (access is by guest key card), the world-class Sequoia represents the apex of a five-year transformation of the property by its local owners.
The original house was built in the 1850s by Arthur Hardy, famous for his extravagant parties. “The Gatsby of the Hills,” says general manager Jesse Kornoff. Apres-party traffic jams down the mountain were common in that era and a late-night collision with a travelling circus has gone down in the annals of history.
Hardy also planted the three redwoods that lend the lodge its name. Renowned for living a life of almost feudal splendour, he would be mightily impressed with the level of luxury on offer in the guest suites, surely the most technologically advanced in the country.
When I head to the bathroom at night after an epic degustation dinner in the main house, the light illuminates automatically, helping me avoid a minor industrial accident. Little idiot-proof control pads by the bed, in the hall and bathroom operate blinds, lights, music, streaming and temperature. Hidden in a credenza, the television rises at the push of a keypad; the slick shower head looks like a NASA invention and offers massaging jets and spouts as well as gentle rainfall. All this technology is embedded discreetly into rooms showcasing local artists and makers, hand-blown glass light shades, JamFactory ceramics, full-size Jurlique amenities in the bathroom and large-format paintings of local flora and fauna by resident artist Stephen Trebilcock. And there are clever design features such as a “moon window” above the bed to watch the stars and a bathroom window overlooking a little garden with water bubbling out of an urn and tiny fish doing lazy laps in the pond.
The mood is cosy, a palette of stone, wood and leather anchoring the suites to the bush outside. A feature wall of raw, honey-coloured local stone is complemented by timber floors in spotted gum and leather sofas set around a great stone hearth in the sunken lounge. There are views across the valley from bath and bed; the deck is set with a comfy day bed and table and chairs, perfect for room service dinner with a view.
But the Sequoia Lodge experience begins even before arrival. A member of the friendly guest relations team makes contact to help craft a personalised itinerary. I’m greeted at the gate by Hannah and, like the entire crew, she’s decked top to toe in RM Williams (gilets give way to smart navy blazers in the evening). I’m ushered to a seat by the fire in the lounge to handle the Covid check-in palaver. This attentive service continues (I lift nothing heavier than a tissue throughout my stay), from an early morning pre-bushwalk coffee to a charming turndown tray of fresh lavender from the garden and little Jurlique samplers.
Attention to detail is first-class, including a complimentary minibar with a bottle of estate sparkling (pinot and chardonnay vineyards bookend the property), luxury loose-leaf teas, a welcome plate of choc-chip biscuits and personal handwritten notes on almost everything. I decide there must be a calligrapher hidden in a cupboard somewhere.
Before dinner on my first evening, guests gather on the ridge by the brazier for a welcome to country ceremony and storytelling. We learn about the fallen giant resting on the plains and the later European cultivation of these rich soils.
The Hills is a food (and wine) basket and owner David Horbelt began the transformation of his hotel by focusing on just that. With ace chef Jin Choi at the helm and a slick team of European wait staff, Hardy’s Verandah Restaurant in the old house has really hit its stride; the degustation menus are excellent (be sure to try the Hills marron). Mauritian-born sommelier Liinaa Berry is on hand to guide wine selection, beginning with bubbles in the old cellars. Her enthusiasm is contagious and descriptors beguiling; a young wine is “all knees and elbows”.
For Sequoia guests. Liinaa hosts regular wine and food events, dubbed the Maker & Somm. Tonight, we have the Basket Range boys dropping by the lounge with their chardonnays accompanied by rustic garden-to-plate fare from the small team at the Summertown Aristologist. Local cheesemaker Section 28 has sent an entire wheel of delicious, 36-month aged alpine-style Monforte, and we give it a jolly good nudge. Three meals a day are available in the lounge with a Magic Pudding-like plate of dainty pastries doing the rounds, or room service is always an option. And if you’re peckish, the breakfast duck waffle with porcini butter is highly recommended.
At the refreshed day spa in the property’s old gatekeeper’s cottage, which has been transformed into a fragrant and serene retreat, the lovely Skye, who lives in the valley below, massages away any signs of indigestion while we chat about her horses and dogs.
Bespoke touring in the Hills is central to the Sequoia experience, including perhaps a spot of truffle hunting at Quercus Truffles. Or joining the charming Simon Burley of Coast & Co on a Cool Climate Clamber, which is a tour name I can barely pronounce after sampling superior pinot noir at Ashton Hills, gin cocktails at Ambleside in Hahndorf and Australia’s best sparkling (as named in the latest Halliday list) at Deviation Road. Winemaker Kate Laurie trained in France, her husband Hamish Laurie claims a stellar pedigree (his great-great-grandmother was South Australia’s first female winemaker), and he is on hand to help me disgorge a bottle of bubbles using an ancient instrument that looks sinisterly medical before I add dosage creating an entirely personal bottle of bubbles to take home.
Later, we repair to the pretty tasting room sandwiched between forest and vines to taste a flight of bubbles and shoot the breeze. Simon recalls the fun that US actor Sam Rockwell had disgorging his own bottle; it’s a very special experience. Deviation Road and the elegant Sequoia may be moments from town, but they exist in a place that feels a world apart.
In the know
Additional bespoke experiences include exploring the Hills’ winding roads in a supercar (Ferraris, Lamborghinis, McLarens), playing winemaker for a day or tasting Grange at Penfolds. Upscale charters are available to the Barossa and McLaren Vale, and there’s a behind-the-scenes tour of the RM Williams workshop to have a pair of boots personally fitted.
Christine McCabe was a guest of Sequoia.
This story was originally published in August 2021 and has since been updated.
