Contemplate the world from a 64th-floor infinity pool, within a five-star converted prison, surrounded by wildlife: if you’re looking for a new way of seeing things, Victoria’s serving up some fresh perspective.
Drift House
96-98 Gipps Street, Port Fairy; (03) 5568 3309.
Adults-only luxury at Drift House, Port Fairy.
THE LOCATION Port Fairy is on Victoria’s wild western coast, three-and-a-half hours’ drive on the village-lined inland route from Melbourne; two hours more on the Great Ocean Road.
THE PLACE Six contemporary rooms make up this petite enclave of adults-only luxury – four in the 1870s bluestone terrace and its modern extension, all redesigned this year, and two more suites in the adjacent Edwardian cottage. Owners John Watkinson and Colleen Guiney collaborated
with local architects Multiplicity to pour sunlight into the four terrace suites and soften the rooms with tactile timbers.
Tactile timbers feature in the recent redesign of some of Drift House’s six rooms.
THE EXPERIENCE Guiney and Watkinson’s three aims of good food, good design and genuinely warm service instil the best of western Victoria into the materials, the food and even the wine list, which is a metaphorical drive through the region’s lesser-known cellars. It’s hard to leave the waves of ecru bed linen, but a morning walk along the nearby beach and Moyne River will set you up for breakfast in The Salon. At night, if the cosy confines continue to make leaving difficult, order pizza from Coffin Sally and accessorise with wine and Chappy’s dill pickle chips from the maxi-bar.
DON’T MISS Watkinson hosts new Spanish-inspired dinners three nights a week; a progression from para picar to tapas and then raciones such as beef cheek in cauliflower, eggplant fritters with honey or the signature dish, hongos, a raw egg yolk stirred into hot, mixed mushrooms and silky sweet potato.
FROM $495 a night; two-night minimum stay on weekends. Belinda Jackson
Sagres Queenscliff
Queenscliff; address provided upon booking.
Views of Port Phillip Bay from the main bedroom.
THE LOCATION The historic coastal haven of Queenscliff is on the Bellarine Peninsula, an hour and 40 minutes south-west of Melbourne.
THE PLACE Sleeping up to 10 people, this stunning three-storey beachfront property was designed by late architect-to-the-wealthy, Wayne Gillespie. In 2022, owner Jo Youl, also behind a string of popular Flinders Island properties, and interior designer Emily Fitzgerald (co-owner with Youl of textile label Quoin) gave the property a luxurious makeover, and recently added a pool. Ground level has three bedrooms and a TV area; the middle level is an expansive, light-filled living space with a long dining table and balcony bay views. Two more rooms are on the top level, including a spectacular main bedroom with an unimpeded vista of the Port Phillip Bay heads.
THE EXPERIENCE This place is hard to leave. Indeed, it’s hard to leave the top-floor bed, from which you can watch a delightful ballet of birds and butterflies, dolphins arcing in waves, clouds ambling past and tiny pilot boats shepherding hulking ships through the treacherous Rip. There’s everything you need here, including a fully equipped kitchen plus a freezer of food to purchase: pre-made meals are from the superb Ocean Grove-based XO Project Kitchen (owned by MasterChef Australia’s Sam Goodwin).
DON’T MISS Pick up some oysters from MiShells Seafood – as well as some locally caught scallops, blue-fin tuna and Portarlington mussels – from their boat-shop in Queenscliff Harbour.
FROM $1400 a night; two-night minimum stay. Melissa Fyfe
Sunnymead Hotel
64 Great Ocean Road, Aireys Inlet; (03) 5289 6666.
A former 1980s motel, the refurbished Sunnymead Hotel opened earlier this year.
THE LOCATION Aireys Inlet is a beach hamlet two hours’ drive south-west of Melbourne at the meeting place of the Great Ocean Road and Great Otway National Park.
THE PLACE A 1980s motel has been turned into a colourful, retro hangout with simple but appealing rooms featuring locally made ceramics and skincare. Larger suites have baths. The pool is edged with jaunty yellow umbrellas and also has a fire pit (hey, this is Victoria: they can put “sunny” in the name but the weather can do anything). An on-site spa in the old manager’s residence offers treatments for solos and couples. Santara restaurant is here too, with an Indian fusion menu.
The hotel’s transformed rooms offer distinctly retro appeal.
THE EXPERIENCE Sunnymead is an excellent base from which to explore Great Ocean Road beaches, towns, bushwalking and dining. The hotel is straightforward and comfortable; it opened early this year, so everything feels fresh and new. Rooms have well-stocked minibars with local spirits, and comfortable seating perches to enjoy a cocktail. You can rent Daisy, a gorgeous yellow Kombi van, for self-drive exploring or – probably better – with an escort for regional touring.
DON’T MISS The hotel’s namesake, Sunnymead Beach, is a hidden local gem a short drive away. It’s accessible via a steep set of stairs, but it’s worth it in any season for its quiet stretch of sand and stunning cliff formations.
FROM $150; minimum two-night stay at peak periods. Dani Valent
The Interlude
1 Pentridge Boulevard, Coburg; (03) 9100 9191.
The Interlude: a former Pentridge block repurposed into a five-star hotel.
THE LOCATION Go to jail. Go directly to jail. Do not pass go. Do not collect $200 (though best top up your plastic for the term of your natural stay). Pentridge, once Melbourne’s most notorious correctional facility, nine kilometres north of the CBD in suburban Coburg, has been turned over to the law-abiding public. Doing time here is now about unapologetic rude indulgence.
THE PLACE Billed as an “experiential urban retreat”, the prison’s formerly forbidding, cruciform bluestone B-Division has been brilliantly repurposed into The Interlude, Australia’s most unlikely, yet impressive, five-star hotel. A key element of a bold and newish $1 billion lifestyle and residential complex, once-grim cells have been converted, at enormous expense and with considerable skill and sensitivity, into luxurious guest rooms and suites. But, in case you somehow forget where you are, the fully barred, near-ceiling-height windows from the prison’s past have been retained.
THE EXPERIENCE Inmates, nay, house guests, can occupy their self-imposed servitude with artisan tea appreciation classes, expert charcoal-drawing tuition and premium wine tastings with The Interlude’s erudite sommelier. Escape, as it were, astride a Dutch-brand Lekker bike available for guest usage or, back on the inside, dine at North&Common or take a dip in The Interlude’s totally arresting subterranean plunge pool.
DON’T MISS The Interlude’s showstopper is Olivine, a chic wine bar offering 500-plus international drops.
FROM $699 a night. Anthony Dennis
The Ritz Carlton, Melbourne
650 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne; (03) 9122 2888.
The Ritz Carlton Hotel, in the new West Side Place development in Melbourne’s CBD.Credit: Christopher Cypert
THE LOCATION The hotel opened this year in the tallest of four towers in the new West Side Place development at the once down-at-heel western end of the CBD. It is close to Southern Cross Station and Docklands, and a few blocks from bustling Bourke Street Mall.
THE PLACE From a glitzy lobby at street level, a high-speed elevator delivers guests to a check-in desk on the 80th floor. The hotel’s 257 rooms and suites are spread over 17 floors below. In contrast to the glamorous public spaces, the rooms are quietly comfortable, decorated with understated style in neutral tones. Motorised blinds open to reveal panoramic views. The Calacatta Oro marble bathrooms are unashamedly deluxe.
The view from more than 60 floors up. Credit: Elise Hassey
THE EXPERIENCE You could use the hotel as a base for exploring the city. Or, just as legitimately, stay up here in the sky all weekend, emerging from your room only to sip cocktails at the bar or eat at the elegant restaurant, Atria, while gazing through double-height glass walls across the metropolis to Port Phillip Bay and the distant mountains. If a desire for exercise overtook you, you could venture down a few floors to the gym or yoga studio. There’s also a sauna and steam-room.
DON’T MISS Have a dip in the indoor infinity pool on level 64; floating at altitude feels pretty fab. The pool is open 24 hours a day.
FROM $480 a night. Jane Cadzow
Royce Hotel
379 St Kilda Road, Melbourne; (03) 8614 1414.
The Royce, housed in a former 1920s Rolls-Royce dealership.
THE LOCATION The Royce is on St Kilda Road at the edge of South Yarra, with trams trundling by for easy passage to the CBD.
THE PLACE A 1920s Rolls-Royce dealership with art deco bones opened as an independent boutique hotel in 2000, then frayed around the edges and fell out of fashion. Melbourne hospitality operator Mazen Tabet bought and closed the Royce in 2018, and engaged top-level firm SJB Interiors to elevate it to something worthy of London’s Mayfair. The result is an exquisite and elegant charmer full of shiny surfaces, picture wallpapers, plush carpets, fresh flowers, meticulously preserved heritage elements and design flourishes that nod to the site’s Rolls-Royce legacy.
There are 94 rooms in The Royce, some sited in the building’s former garages.
THE EXPERIENCE There’s a transportive quality to a stay at Royce. The upbeat, art deco style inspires good manners and conviviality as you lounge in deep upholstery in the vaulted Showroom Bar (it doubles as a restaurant) or find a conversation spot on one of the banquettes in the lobby. Breakfast is a lovely affair under the black-and-white awnings of The Terrace, a conservatory-style eatery with a cloistered courtyard attached. The 94 guest rooms include some stunning suites, several of which are double-storey and inhabit the old mechanical garages – though there’s not a speck of grease to be seen.
DON’T MISS Scott Pickett’s sublime smoke-fest, Matilda 159 Domain, is a 10-minute walk away.
FROM $350 a night. Julietta Jameson
Hotel Vera, Ballarat
710 Sturt Street, Ballarat; 0473 668 821.
Hotel Vera’s owners have incorporated seven luxury suites in a grand 1800s home.
THE LOCATION A 90-minute drive from Melbourne, Ballarat was best known for its 1850s gold rush and the Sovereign Hill museum that honours that heady time. But these days, its culinary cred is a drawcard, as well as its beautiful cityscapes and art gallery.
THE PLACE Owners Martin Shew and David Cook-Doulton spent four years converting a grand old doctor’s home and surgery into a seven-suite boutique hotel, a sister property to their Hotel Ernest in that other goldfields city, Bendigo. Named after Cook-Doulton’s maternal grandmother, Vera mixes the elegant high ceilings, ornately tiled fireplaces and generous proportions of an historic 19th-century home with high-end contemporary furnishings and original artworks. Everything is carefully considered, including a ground-floor suite for guests with accessibility issues, and a pet-friendly one.
Each of Hotel Vera’s colour-themed rooms features works by Australian female artists.Credit: Hotel Vera
THE EXPERIENCE Vera’s vibe is warm and welcoming. Colour-themed and named after local towns in the region, suites are large enough to relax in for an afternoon, with king beds and occasional chairs to curl up in with a book, generous oval Claybrook baths in some, and a minibar full of Victorian produce. Breakfast includes pastries from the nearby 1816 Bakehouse. A new in-house restaurant, Babae, is opening any minute now, and there’s a Porsche EV charging station that non-Porsche drivers can use, too.
DON’T MISS Savour a cocktail at the glamorous new Grainery Lane wine bar, a five-minute walk away.
FROM $289 a night. Katrina Strickland
The Motley
205 Bridge Road, Richmond; (03) 9046 2300.
Once home to a celebrated costumier, The Motley reflects the eclectic nature of its neighbourhood.
THE LOCATION Richmond’s Bridge Road is close to the CBD, just a train stop east from Flinders Street, but it has a neighbourhood vibe – and Melbourne’s sports precinct is very close by.
THE PLACE The Motley’s design ethos was conceived around the history of the site – as the story goes, it was once home to celebrated costumier, Mary Parker – while also reflecting the eclectic nature of its home suburb. The result is a blend of wooden furnishings and muted slate-grey palettes offset by the explosive colours of the ubiquitous artwork, a defining characteristic of the hotel’s overall feel. With 80 rooms spread over eight levels, it blends offbeat with boutique.
Ubiquitous artwork: a defining characteristic of The Motley.
THE EXPERIENCE The hotel is only a 15-minute walk from the MCG, Rod Laver Arena and Olympic Park, but there’s also a tram stop out front, making getting around straightforward. Even if you stay put, Richmond has much to offer. Bridge Road and Church Street have a surfeit of shops, bars and restaurants, while nearby Swan Street is home to The Corner Hotel, among the best live music venues in the city; the adjacent Hochi Mama dishes up sublime Asian fusion food.
DON’T MISS If you don’t wish to venture too far, the downstairs restaurant and bar, Ms Parker, serves breakfast and lunch daily as well as dinner on Friday and Saturday evenings. It’s a cosy, relaxed hangout.
FROM $249 a night. Guy Wilkinson
Nook On The Hill
32 Pioneer Lane, Halls Gap; 0402 240 939.
Nook on the Hill was built using reclaimed ironbark and 130-year-old bricks.
THE LOCATION This tiny house sits on a plot of rejuvenated, ferny scrub on a former dairy farm, three hours’ drive west of Melbourne and just 10 minutes shy of Halls Gap, the gateway to the Grampians.
THE PLACE This small-footprint, hand-crafted home was a labour
of love for owner Benjamin Bailey-Webb. Guests can even flip through a picture book telling its story – how he grew up on the site, found inspiration (and funding) in his parents, and slowly built his bite-sized bolthole. The resulting structure is a sleek mix of modern conveniences and recycled materials. Reclaimed ironbark and 130-year-old bricks from a demolished rural bakery meld with a modern kitchen, floor-to-ceiling windows, and a mezzanine “nest” bedroom for getting cosy with soft linens, velvet cushions and alpaca throws.
THE EXPERIENCE Outdoors there’s a picnic table under a vine-covered pergola, and a fire pit. A generous arrival hamper is stocked with local Pomonal Estate wines, cheeses, pickles, olives, jams and bread, plus muesli,
eggs and cultured butter. Have a nibble and drink in the view of Boronia Peak, while wallabies and emus bound and charge through the foreground.
DON’T MISS A long soak in the outdoor clawfoot bathtub under the stars, surrounded by the rock garden filled with flowering grevilleas and banksias, billy buttons and kangaroo paws.
FROM $650 a night; two-night minimum stay. Konrad Marshall
Hara House
2 Ashwood Avenue, Bright; (03) 7018 2333.
Hara House in Bright, at the foothills of the Victorian Alps.
THE LOCATION The foodie town of Bright, in the foothills of the Victorian Alps, is known for its fresh produce and innovative chefs, rich autumn hues and nearby ski fields. It’s a three-and-a-half-hour drive north-east of Melbourne.
THE PLACE Legendary Bright chef Patrizia Simone, who helped put the town on the culinary map, opened her hatted Simone’s at the hotel she and husband George built in the 1980s. Now it’s got a new look, a new restaurant where local chefs star, and a new name. Simeon and Shannon Crawley, who have owned the Ovens Valley Motor Inn for 19 years, have created a slick, food-focused, adults-only boutique experience with 20 refreshed rooms and two luxe courtyard suites. The name is inspired by Indigenous words meaning “inner tranquillity and nurturing”.
THE EXPERIENCE You’re likely coming here to eat at the spruced-up onsite Pepperberry Restaurant, which sees Yasuaki Tokuda, from Michael Ryan’s hatted Beechworth restaurant Provenance, and Emma Holbery from Tawonga’s Templar Lodge offering an innovative menu with a nod to the ’80s and Australian classics. Pan-fried halloumi, local trout papillote, braised beef cheek and a grand finale of bombe Alaska, plus local Rutherglen and King Valley drops, feature. The ’80s are present elsewhere in the original chocolate-brown brick feature wall and shiny copper fireplace canopy. Swaying palm trees and a heated mineral pool with crazy paving give Hara House a breezy Palm Springs vibe.
DON’T MISS Hire one of the hotel’s pink bikes to cycle the Murray to Mountains Rail Trail that passes the front door.
FROM $349 a night; two-night minimum stay at peak periods. Sue Wallace
John & Jane’s
19 Kars Street, Beechworth; 0493 229 719.
The design of John and Jane’s was partly inspired by the Alpine region’s farm sheds.Credit: Tamara Wynne
THE LOCATION The historic goldfields town of Beechworth, in Ned Kelly country, is about three hours’ drive north of Melbourne.
THE PLACE Taking design inspiration from the farm sheds and tobacco kilns of the Alpine region, John and Jane’s comprises a pair of sturdy, purpose-built two-storey steel-clad homes on a large block close to the heart of town.
THE EXPERIENCE Oak panelling lines one wall of the open-plan kitchen-dining-living area, and subfloor heating makes the terrazzo barefoot-friendly, even if you don’t get around to lighting the wood-burning fireplace. A large nook window is made for curling up with a book, though the garden, with its border of pear trees, a picnic table and – somewhat incongruously – a massive palm, is enticing too. The downstairs bedroom has an onsen-style bath. The peaked ceiling soars to about eight metres, and an open walkway connects the bedrooms at either end of the upper level. With a king-sized bed, play area, wall-mounted TV and mezzanine with two singles, the larger room could house a family, while the other is big enough for two to spread out in style. Sleeping eight, this place is so appealing, it might make you wish your actual home was this good.
DON’T MISS It’s a 10-minute walk to the centre of town, where two-hatted restaurant Provenance and hidden cocktail bar Billson’s ought to be enough to coax you out.
FROM $700 a night, two-night minimum stay; three-night minimum in peak periods. Karl Quinn
Kyneton Springs Motel
101 Piper Street, Kyneton; (03) 5422 1098.
The updated Kyneton Springs Motel embraces 1960s Americana design elements.Credit: David White
THE LOCATION The historic town of Kyneton, an hour’s drive north-west of Melbourne, is a handy place to explore local wineries, the famous Hanging Rock and the gardens of the Macedon area. The hotel is on the Campaspe River end of Piper Street, known for its dining and drinking establishments and a cluster of antique shops.
THE PLACE The Californian-style, pink and blue neon street sign is the first hint this is not a normal motel. The Mirage Wing has nine updated original rooms and, across the carpark, the Riviera Wing has eight new rooms (king or twin) and two king-bed suites. All are decorated by owner Catherine Foote and Kyneton-based agency Good/Hands in a retro style that blends 1960s-era Americana and The Great Australian Road Trip. Each room has a television, bar fridge, toaster, kettle, microwave and private bathroom.
THE EXPERIENCE Foote says guests often request particular rooms – which makes sense, as they are so wildly different. One has pictures of Marilyn Monroe, for example; another a more blokes-and-cars approach. It’s perfect for a group weekend away, but also for a family: it’s beautifully nostalgic for adults, while kids will delight in the breakfast hatches (there are interconnecting rooms for families).
DON’T MISS On a sunny day, it’s hard to go past lunch at Mount Towrong Vineyard, a 25-minute drive south. Book an upstairs table for a view of the vines.
FROM $150 a night. Melissa Fyfe
Lancemore Milawa
223 Milawa-Bobinawarrah Road, Milawa; (03) 5720 5777.
Lancemore Milawa has undergone a multimillion-dollar refurbishment.
THE LOCATION Long a local landmark in this tiny, otherwise underwhelming crossroads village overlooking the north-east wine country and the oft snow-topped Victorian Alps, the 40-room Lancemore Milawa is less than three hours’ drive north of Melbourne, and an hour south of Albury-Wodonga.
THE PLACE Last year, the hotel-cum-lodge (or is it a lodge-cum-hotel?) underwent a rather impressive multi-million-dollar refurbishment by the Melbourne-based Stella Collective design studio. Lancemore Milawa has been revitalised with an infusion of Mediterranean and Moorish influences that hint, vaguely, at the region’s rich and fruitful immigrant heritage.
THE EXPERIENCE There’s much to keep a guest within and around the confines of this let’s-call-it-a-hotel, what with its Vineyard Room, a snazzy self-contained lounge space perfect for relaxing, as well as an enticing, sun-filled courtyard with a centrepiece blue mosaic-tiled fountain around which fetching wire-frame chairs and even string hammocks are scattered. But if you do manage an outing during your preferably two or more nights’ stay, make it one to the sparkling King Valley, home of Italian-style prosecco in Australia and an easy, scenic half-hour tootle down the road from sleepy Milawa.
DON’T MISS Snare a vines-side table at Merlot, Lancemore Milawa’s attractive in-house diner and bar named after the variety of grape it overlooks.
FROM $349 a night. Anthony Dennis
Serenity Abode
209 Berglund Road, Beaconsfield Upper.
Serenity Abode: think wildlife, not Wi-Fi.Credit: SJL Photography
THE LOCATION Just 55 kilometres south-east of Melbourne’s CBD yet bang in the middle of the bush, Serenity Abode feels a long way from the big smoke, yet is an easy hour’s drive from the office.
THE PLACE Tiny Away is a holiday rental company focused on tiny houses in dreamy rural settings, and Serenity Abode is one of its most popular properties. The clue’s in the name: serene it truly is, with dense bush in all directions surrounding a spacious, fairy-lit deck and well-manicured fire pit and barbecue area providing space to sprawl and breathe in that fresh, crisp, country air. Inside it is literally tiny, simply furnished but with everything you need for a circuit-breaking few nights away: comfy queen bed, fully functional kitchen, heating and air-conditioning, and lots of big windows for wildlife-watching. It’s a pet-friendly property, so your pooch can join in the wallaby-spotting, too.
The tiny lodge incorporates a full kitchen.
THE EXPERIENCE No television, no Wi-Fi, no worries. It’s all about kicking back and relaxing on the deck or from bed – your choice – and soaking up the peaceful swish of the surrounding trees. A friendly neighbour, Diesel the gentle golden labrador, likes to pop by for a visit and a pat. Otherwise, it’s just you.
DON’T MISS The picturesque village of Emerald is just a 15-minute drive away and great for a mooch. Check out Bam Bam Italian for good pizza and pasta in pet-friendly surrounds.
FROM $220 a night. Andrea McGinniss
Riverfield Homestead
585 Chapel Hill Road, Delatite; 0400 624 257.
A country getaway for up to 10 people: Riverfield Homestead, in the foothills of the Victorian Alps.Credit: Marnie Hawson
THE LOCATION Riverfield is a few clicks beyond Mansfield, three hours’ drive north-east of Melbourne in the foothills of the Victorian Alps – look for the poplar-lined gravel drive stretching off yonder.
THE PLACE If #luxegrazier were a hashtag, Riverfield Homestead would be the definition. The low-slung, L-shaped property, once a sprawling family home, has had a lavish glow-up. At its heart is a huge kitchen, living area and separate formal lounge, with accommodation wings darting off in either direction. Five bedrooms, with heavy linen drapes and sheets, plus bathrooms and en suites galore, mean you can fill the place with nine of your besties
and make like you’re having an English country house weekend. The lush garden, all nodding roses, hydrangeas and light filtered through mature oaks, provides a quintessential backdrop.
THE EXPERIENCE Bring supplies, an appetite, and food-loving friends. Riverfield’s commercial-grade kitchen is equipped with pantry essentials, granite benches, an induction cooktop, double fridge and moss-green cupboards stuffed with flatware – everything you need to serve dinner for 10. There’s even a Weber barbecue on standby outside if you need more firepower.
DON’T MISS Browse for rare and interesting collectibles, vinyl records and mid-century furniture at Vintage Traders Emporium, on the road between Mansfield and the homestead. It’s open Wednesday to Sunday and public holidays.
FROM $1000 a night; two-night minimum stay. Roslyn Grundy
Carl’s Hut
435 Beenak Road, Yellingbo.
Carl’s Hut: a revamped 1940s hideaway incorporating lush trappings.
THE LOCATION The log cabin is in a secluded spot on Solitude Estate Winery, a private property in the Yarra Valley, about an hour and a half east of Melbourne.
THE PLACE The history of Carl’s Hut is resonant – a 1946 soldier-settler’s stringybark shack that became a wound-licking hideaway for a knockabout footy star – but the contemporary experience tumbles from one swoon to the next. Whether you play it as a romantic hideaway or an inspiring solo retreat, the rustic, rough-hewn appearance is balanced by lush trappings such as heated floors, exquisite linen and thoughtful design that brings the outside in while maintaining privacy.
THE EXPERIENCE Do you really want to leave? Though civilisation in the form of cellar doors, restaurants and grocery stores is within acceptable reach, bunkering down feels better when the setting is so pleasant. Eat welcome scones left by your host, sip estate wine, and bring food to cook inside or at the barbecue by the fire pit. The leather armchair by the fireplace feels built for immersive reading, and the bed in the open-plan hut offers views through three windows, including a sliver that overlooks the vines from the swanky bathroom.
The secluded cabin is set within the Solitude Estate Winery. Credit: Nick Skinner
DON’T MISS There are roos in the bottom paddock and opportunities to spot lyrebirds in forests nearby, but it’s hard to beat stargazing from the hut itself: there’s even a skylight above the bed. If it’s overcast, you’ll just have to contemplate the crackling fire.
FROM $390 a night; two-night minimum stay. Dani Valent
Sault Phillip Island
1 Endeavour Court, Cowes.
A mid-century holiday-home vibe: Sault Phillip Island.Credit: Melissa Butters Photography
THE LOCATION In Cowes, the main township on Phillip Island, find Sault on a quiet, almost suburban-feeling street. Phillip Island is 120 kilometres south-east of Melbourne, in Westernport Bay.
THE PLACE Renovated with stylish guests in mind, Sault has a mid-century holiday-home vibe, with texture adding a luxurious layer via caramel leather seating, linen bedding in warm, earthy tones, and native floral arrangements. The open-plan living-dining area opens via bifolds onto a lovely verandah with a full dining table and lounge; beyond that, a manicured lawn abutted by a grilling area and outdoor shower. With three queen bedrooms, it sleeps six.
THE EXPERIENCE Sault is engineered for laidback socialising. A teak sideboard is topped with a record player – you’ve got a selection of classic soul and rock vinyl to play – and filled with classic board games. Firewood is on hand for the wood stove inside and the fire pit outside, and a cocktail bar has all the extras needed for your stirring and shaking pleasure (BYO booze).
DON’T MISS It’s a 10-minute walk to the beach and a 20-minute walk into town, where you can sip wine at the Hotel Phillip Island overlooking the water, or browse boutiques and antique shops. Five minutes in the car gets you to the Penguin Parade and Visitor Centre.
FROM $298 a night, two-night minimum stay. Besha Rodell
River Drive Motel
19 River Drive, Tarwin Lower; 0483 906 736.
River Drive Motel was renovated two years ago with a retro-inspired fit-out.
THE LOCATION A little more than two hours’ drive south-east of Melbourne, River Drive Motel is in South Gippsland, about 10 minutes from Venus Bay.
THE PLACE Traditionalists may miss your old-school motel’s sagging, coin-operated vibrating beds, peeling furniture and faded curtains, but they will be won over by the River Drive Motel’s gorgeous, retro-inspired fit-out. Renovated by new owners two years ago, the five cork-floored rooms feature plump queen beds, slick, well-appointed kitchenettes, bespoke timber furniture, bathrooms with a shower over a generous tub, and minibars stocked with local ARC wine and Loch Brewery and Distillery beer and spirits. Linen robes, good Wi-Fi, quality sheets, blankets and bathroom products are the cherry on the cake.
THE EXPERIENCE Tarwin Lower’s pub and cafes are a stroll away and there’s a riverfront boardwalk across the road, but the RDM’s suite-like rooms invite lolling. That inclination is enhanced if you order in food from Acacia Edibles. A grazing box bursting with artisan cheese, sourdough, dips, olives, pickles and fruit suffices for dinner. A “dawn box” with eggs, avocado, feta, sourdough, butter and seasonal greens makes for a filling breakfast.
DON’T MISS The wild beaches of Venus Bay are nearby. So too is Point Smythe, which offers an easy six-kilometre bushwalk through sheltered banksia forests sporting wombats and echidnas.
FROM $320 a night; two-night minimum stay; three-night minimum on long weekends. Paul Connolly
52 Weekends Away is published in partnership with Traveller. For more places to stay nationwide, see the full list here.
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