Six outstanding one-of-a-kind properties to discover on Booking.com, our sponsor for Australian Traveller’s People’s Choice Awards 2015.
1. Enjoy never-ending views on Kangaroo Island
Life-Time Private Retreat is a collection of luxurious beach houses with spectacular views over Snellings Beach. Set among a variety of hiking trails, guests have all the things they need for an easy beach getaway including a fully-equipped kitchen, patio with barbecue and free wi-fi.
Holmwood Guesthouse is a cosy little B&B just five minutes from Phillip Island’s town centre. It has three guesthouse rooms and two self-contained spa cottages, with kitchens, spa baths and gas log fireplaces. Breakfast is served in the dining room near the open fire or on the sunny verandah with the idyllic gardens surrounding you.
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3. Sleep in a yurt on the Murray River
Fitted with a hot tub, bathroom, parquet floor, electric fireplace, and canvas walls lined with Australian wool to keep you cosy, these circular tents at Talo Retreat are a far-cry from the simple yurts traditionally used by Mongolian nomads. Located on the edge of the Murray River, surrounded by red gums, this accommodation experience allows you to sleep among nature while only being eight minutes from the town centre of Echuca.
For a yurt on the Murray River, stay at Talo Retreat
4. Listen to the waves from your beach hut
Stay in one of these iconic, candy-striped beach huts, located in the township of Middleton between Goolwa and Port Elliot. Inside, they’re fancy huts indeed, with a kitchenette, spa bath and private deck, on which to enjoy your complimentary bottle of bubbly with front-row seats to the crashing waves.
5. Stay among the treetops of an ancient rainforest
Not the kind you might remember from your childhood, these eco-friendly treehouses come with kitchens, fireplaces, hammocks and hot tubs. Set among 40 hectares of rainforest, it’s the perfect spot to immerse yourself in nature, with cassowaries, tree kangaroos, and rare green possums calling this place home.
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6. Live like a Sydneysider in the Big Smoke
In the heart of Newtown and only a short train trip into the CBD, The Urban Newtown has contemporary industrial-style studios with all the mod-cons, rain showers, coffee machines, free wi-fi, and a discount to the nearby Fitness First… but the best part? A free mini bar with locally brewed craft beer and fine Australian wines.
Want to hang out where the bo-ho Sydneysiders do, stay at The Urban Newtown
Time your visit to Margaret River just right, and you can spend the ultimate weekend wining, dining and exploring the region with Pair’d Margaret River Region x Range Rover.
Wine, world-class produce, surf, sun and beaches: it’s an alluring combination. And the reason so many pin the Margaret River region high on their travel hit-lists. There’s drawcard after drawcard to the southwestern corner of Western Australia, and the Pair’d Margaret River Region x Range Rover food and wine festival showcases the best of it over the course of one weekend in November. It’s never been easier to sip, see and savour the Margaret River region.
In partnership with Pair’d Margaret River Region, Range Rover invites you on a seven-day itinerary of refined adventure, where luxury and exploration go hand in hand. It’s the perfect WA road trip, and there’s no better way to do it than in a Range Rover.
Day 1
Check into Pullman Bunker Bay.
There’s no more popular West Australian road trip route than that between Perth and the Margaret River Region. It’s an easily digestible, three-hour drive, with worthy pit stops along the way.
Make the first of them one hour and 15 minutes in, at Lake Clifton. Here, find a 2000-year-old living thrombolite reef. Drive for a further 40 minutes and chance meeting some of Bunbury’s dolphin population at Koombana Bay.
Pullman Bunker Bay is the final stop, just over three hours south of Perth. This beachfront, five-star resort is the ultimate base for exploring the Margaret River Wine region.
Day 2
After a leisurely morning breakfast with an ocean view, start your Range Rover and head towards the Dunsborough town centre. Browsing the decidedly coastal-themed goods of the town’s many independent boutiques is a great way to while away the hours, breaking up the sartorial with an artisan gelato snack stop, or some good old-fashioned Australian bakery fare.
Leave room; you’ll need it for the Good Natured Gathering dinner at Wayfinder. Indulge in a four-course feast by chef Felipe Montiel, which uses produce from the winery’s market garden to enhance a selection of sustainably sourced seafood and meat. But food is just the support act. It’s organic wine that’s the star of the show, generously poured and expertly paired to each dish.
Day 3
Settle in for cabernet at Cape Mentelle Winery.
With a grand total of 20 wines from vintage 2022 to try, it’s a good thing Cape Mentelle’s International Cabernet Tasting kicks off early. Make your way to the estate for a 10:00 AM start, where a global selection of wines will be poured blind, before a long lunch by Tiller Dining is served.
Given that the Margaret River is responsible for more than 20 per cent of Australia’s fine wine production, it’s only right to delve into it while in the area.
Continue exploring the region via taste and terroir aboard Alison Maree, a whale-watching catamaran, as you cruise Geographe Bay. Admire the rolling green hills and crisp white beaches of Quindalup in sunset’s golden light, all the while sipping through the Clairault Streicker catalogue and dining on canapes.
For a more substantial dinner, venture into Busselton for a seven-course British x Australian mash-up, courtesy of Brendan Pratt (Busselton Pavilion) and Oliver Kent (Updown Farmhouse, UK). They’ll be putting their rustic yet refined spin on the likes of local marron, wagyu and abalone – championing the simple beauty of the world-class ingredients.
Day 4
Elevate your dining experiences at Pair’d X Range Rover Beach Club.
Wrap your fingers around a wine glass and wiggle your toes into the sand at Pair’d Beach Club x Range Rover on Meelup Beach. Sit down to an intimate wine session with sommelier Cyndal Petty – or a four-course feast by Aaron Carr of Yarri – and revel in the open-air beach club, bar and restaurant’s laidback coastal vibe. It’s a whole new way to experience one of the region’s most renowned beaches.
Follow up a day in the sun with a casual Italian party at Mr Barvel Wines. Purchase wines –including the elusive, sold-out Nebbia – by the glass and enjoy canapes with the towering Karri forest as a backdrop.
If you’d prefer to keep it local, head to Skigh Wines for the New Wave Gathering, where the region’s independent wine makers and their boundary-pushing wines will be on show. Street-style eats, a DJ and complimentary wine masterclasses complete the experience.
Day 5
Taste your way through Howard Park Wines. (Image: C J Maddock)
Spend the morning at your leisure, driving the winding roads through the Boranup Karri forest in your Range Rover. Soak in the views at Contos Beach, and call into the small cheese, chocolate and preserve producers along the way.
Make your next stop Howard Park Wines for The Grand Tasting presented by Singapore Airlines. Numerous wine labels will be pouring their catalogues over four hours, accompanied by food from chefs Matt Moran and Silvia Colloca, with live opera providing the soundtrack.
Cap off a big weekend with one last hurrah at Busselton Pavilion. Six ‘local legends’ – chefs Brendan Pratt (Busselton Pavilion), Mal Chow (Chow’s Table), Aaron Carr (Yarri), Ben Jacob (Lagoon Yallingup), Corey Rozario (Dahl Daddies) and Laura Koentjoro (Banksia Tavern) – will be preparing a dish each. Dance the night away as vinyl spins and the sun sets on another day.
Day 6
Head underground. (Image: Tourism WA)
After a busy few days of wining and dining, it’s wise to observe a rest day. There’s no easier task than unwinding in the Margaret River Region, also famous for its high concentration of world-class beaches.
Relax on the grassy knoll as you watch the region’s most experienced surfers braving the World Surf League break at Surfer’s Point, or don your own wetsuit and try out one of Gracetown’s more beginner-friendly waves. Swimmers will find their Eden at Meelup Beach, Eagle Bay, or Point Piquet, where the sand is brilliantly white and the water as still as a backyard swimming pool.
Not into sun, sand, and surf? Head underground at Mammoth Cave, just one of the region’s many stalactite-filled caves.
Day 7
Farewell the Margaret River.
Pack up your Range Rover with new favourite wines and newfound memories, ready for the three-hour journey back to Perth.
