The best Daylesford accommodation for a perfect weekend

Plan your next getaway around one of these peaceful stays.

With its incredible range of activities and serene landscapes, Daylesford is a destination that deserves the perfect accommodation to match. From luxury lodges with onsite pampering spa treatments to cosy cottages nestled in lush gardens, you’ll find the ideal spot to recharge and make the most of your time in Victoria’s spa country.

In short

If you only stay at one place in Daylesford, make it Lake House – the region’s most iconic retreat right on Lake Daylesford. With its world-class restaurant, beautifully appointed studios and suites, spa offerings and picture-perfect gardens, it captures the essence of spa-country indulgence.

1. Lake House

the pool at the Lake House Daylesford — Unwind in style. (Credit: Visit Victoria)

Best for: Iconic spa-country indulgence

Overlooking the still waters of Lake Daylesford, Lake House is a luxurious retreat on beautifully landscaped grounds. This iconic property blends elegant accommodations and natural surroundings, featuring stylish hotel studios, suites and villas. Each space is thoughtfully designed, showcasing custom furnishings crafted by local artisans and adorned with original artwork.

Relax by the solar-heated infinity pool, enjoy a game of tennis, or take a stroll through the picturesque gardens. To elevate your stay, savour the acclaimed a la carte breakfast and buffet, featuring freshly baked sourdough and viennoiserie, or opt for room service for a leisurely morning.

Price: $$$$$

Address: 4 King Street, Daylesford

2. Dairy Flat Lodge & Farm

a cedar hot tub at Dairy Flat Lodge & Farm — Relax in a cedar hot tub overlooking the idyllic countryside. (Credit: Visit Victoria)

Best for: Immersive countryside luxury

Surrounded by rolling hills, Dairy Flat Lodge & Farm presents as an exclusive countryside escape just 10 minutes from Daylesford. Each of its six private king suites affords the same level of refinement as its renowned sister property, Lake House, combining lavish designs with custom furnishings and locally sourced art for a truly sophisticated stay.

A dedicated Lodge Concierge is available to prepare a hearty country-style breakfast, light the fire pit, or craft a sunset cocktail. Lodgers can also explore the 40-acre regenerative farm, home to olive groves, vineyards, and lush herb and vegetable gardens. Adding to the sense of retreat, a mineral pool overlooks rows of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay vines – close enough to catch the scent of croissants baking each morning in the on-site bakehouse.

Price: $$$$$

Address: 238 Dairy Flat Road, Musk

3. Dollywood

Dollywod, Daylesford — Laze the day away on the deck. (Credit: Dollywood)

Best for: Stylish group stays with Americana flair

Exuding retro charm, Dollywood is a chic departure from Daylesford’s usual quaint cottage lodgings. With its bold Palm Springs-inspired aesthetic, this stylish four-bedroom home combines modern amenities with vintage flair. A neon sign welcomes travellers into a vibrant space with a bubblegum pink door, wood-panelled walls and a cosy fireplace.

The open-plan living flows seamlessly onto a wrap-around deck with gorgeous countryside outlooks. Guests can make the most of the well-equipped kitchen, where a servery window connects to the deck – a gathering spot for alfresco dining, while fully immersed in the home’s laid-back California-cool vibe.

Price: $$$$

Address: 82 Central Springs Road, Daylesford

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4. Jumoku

Best for: Design lovers and mid-century devotees

A mid-century lover’s dream, Jumoku is a revived 1970s home offering a moodier, more design-forward Daylesford stay. Wrapped in an all-black, Japanese-inspired palette – a refreshing departure from traditional country cottages – the home takes its name from the Japanese word for tree, nodding to the towering gums out front and sculptural maples in the garden. Sleeping up to eight, it’s ideal for shared weekends away.

Inside, light fills the living spaces throughout the day, while its slightly elevated position captures golden hour across the town. Generous communal areas invite slow mornings, fireside evenings and unhurried time spent together.

Price: $$$$

Address: 46 Vincent St, Daylesford

5. Clifftop at Hepburn

Clifftop at Hepburn luxury villa interior with a fireplace — Take in sweeping views across forested hills and bushland. (Credit: Visit Victoria)

Best for: Globe-trotting romantic getaways

Perched high above Hepburn Gorge, Clifftop at Hepburn delivers architecturally designed villas with sweeping views across forested hills and bushland. Flooded with natural light through expansive floor-to-ceiling windows, the villas are designed with couples in mind, pairing privacy with a strong sense of place.

Beyond its classic cliffside retreats, Clifftop offers a collection of globally inspired stays – from Solitude Villas crafted from reclaimed shipping containers to Samurai Villas infused with a refined Japanese sensibility. The experience extends further with Sahara Villas, drawing on African-inspired design with a contemporary, luxury lens. Just minutes away is the Hepburn Bathhouse & Spa, a highlight of Victoria’s legendary spa country and just one of the many incredible things to do in Daylesford.

Price: $$$$

Address: 209 Main Road, Hepburn Springs

6. Headland

the Headland cottage exterior, Daylesford — Sleep in elegance in this French provincial-inspired cottage.

Best for: Couples seeking a quiet, cottage escape

Tucked away in a serene garden, Headland is a storybook country cottage primed for a romantic getaway. With French provincial-inspired interiors – featuring classic white linens, plush scatter cushions, and a wrought-iron bed frame – this snug retreat exudes elegance and comfort. The inviting porch adds to the allure, just the right spot for enjoying tranquil mornings or peaceful evenings in the fresh air.

While its vintage appeal sets a romantic tone, Headland reveals modern comforts throughout. Guests will appreciate the blockout blinds for restful nights, a luxe rainfall shower head in the bathroom, and sleek Smeg appliances in the kitchen.

Price: $$$$

Address: Confirmed upon booking

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7. Shizuka Ryokan

Shizuka Ryokan, Daylesford — Shizuka Ryokan reflects the traditional ryokan style from Japan. (Credit: Visit Victoria)

Best for: Authentic Japanese-inspired wellness retreats

Transport yourself to Japan with a stay at Shizuka Ryokan, an adults-only retreat in Hepburn Springs designed to transpose the tranquillity of a traditional Japanese inn. Set amidst immaculately manicured gardens, this getaway crafts an authentic experience, complete with minimalist interiors, private tsuboniwa (small garden), and the calming ambience of tatami floors and futon bedding.

Relax with a soothing spa treatment or unwind in your room’s ensuite bath, donning a yukata (summer kimono) to fully embrace the peaceful ryokan lifestyle. To make your stay extra special, don’t miss the traditional Japanese breakfast, a highlight for many guests.

Price: $$$$

Address: 7 Lakeside Dr, Hepburn

8. Milk and Honey

Milk and Honey bedroom interior, Daylesford — The verandah opens up to breathtaking views.

Best for: Peaceful garden hideaways

Offering a peaceful escape on the northern side of Wombat Hill, Milk and Honey is an elevated retreat that greets visitors with a charming, leafy stairway leading to its welcoming front door. Surrounded by lush gardens, the home boasts two bedrooms, each with king-sized beds and direct access to the sweeping verandah, with breathtaking countryside and Mount Franklin views.

When patrons aren’t enjoying the verandah outlooks or relaxing by the fireplace in winter, the home’s prime location means local gems like the Convent Gallery, Daylesford Sunday Market, and the Wombat Hill Botanic Gardens are just a short stroll away.

Price: $$$$

Address: Confirmed upon booking

Located just an hour north-west of Melbourne, the largely undiscovered Macedon Ranges quietly pours some of Australia’s finest cool-climate wines and serves up some of Victoria’s best food.

Mention the Macedon Ranges and most people will think of day spas and mineral springs around Daylesford, cosy weekends away in the countryside or the famous Hanging Rock (of enigmatic picnic fame). Or they won’t have heard of the Macedon Ranges at all.

But this cool-climate destination has been inconspicuously building a profile as a high-quality food and wine region and is beginning to draw serious attention from oenophiles and epicureans alike.

The rise of Macedon Ranges wine

liquid gold barrels at Kyneton Ridge Estate Winery — Barrels of liquid gold at Kyneton Ridge Estate Winery. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

With elevations ranging from 300 to 800 metres, Macedon Ranges vineyards are among the highest in the country. This altitude, combined with significant day/night temperature swings, makes for a slow ripening season, in turn nurturing wines that embody elegance and structure. Think crisp chardonnays, subtle yet complex pinot noirs and delicate sparkling wines, along with niche varietals, such as gamay and nebbiolo.

Despite the region’s natural advantages – which vary from estate to estate, as each site embodies unique terroir depending on its position in relation to the Great Dividing Range, soil make-up and altitude – the Macedon Ranges has remained something of an insider’s secret. Unlike Victoria’s Yarra Valley or Mornington Peninsula, you won’t find large tour buses here and there’s no mass marketing drawing crowds.

Many of the 40-odd wineries are family-run operations with modest yields, meaning the wineries maintain a personal touch (if you visit a cellar door, you’ll likely chat to the owner or winemaker themselves) and a tight sales circle that often doesn’t go far beyond said cellar door. And that’s part of the charm.

Though wines from the Macedon Ranges are just starting to gain more widespread recognition in Australia, the first vines were planted in the 1860s, with a handful of operators then setting up business in the 1970s and ’80s. The industry surged again in the 1990s and early 2000s with the entry of wineries, such as Mount Towrong, which has an Italian slant in both its wine and food offering, and Curly Flat, now one of the largest estates.

Meet the new generation of local winemakers

the Clydesdale barn at Paramoor. — The Clydesdale barn at Paramoor. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

Then, within the last 15 years, a new crop of vignerons like Andrew Wood at Kyneton Ridge Estate, whose vineyard in 2024 was the first in the Macedon Ranges to be certified by Sustainable Winegrowing Australia; Geoff Plahn and Samantha Reid at Paramoor, who have an impressive cellar door with a roaring fire and studded leather couches in an old Clydesdale barn; and Ollie Rapson and Renata Morello at Lyons Will, who rapidly expanded a small vineyard to focus on top-shelf riesling, gamay, pinot noir and chardonnay, have taken ownership of local estates.

Going back to the early days, Llew Knight’s family was one of the pioneers of the 1970s, replacing sheep with vines at Granite Hills when the wool industry dwindled. Knight is proud of the fact that all their wines are made with grapes from their estate, including a light, peppery shiraz (some Macedon wineries purchase fruit from nearby warmer areas, such as Heathcote, particularly to make shiraz) and a European-style grüner veltliner. And, as many other wineries in the region do, he relies on natural acid for balance, rather than an additive, which is often required in warmer regions. “It’s all about understanding and respecting your climate to get the best out of your wines,” he says.

farm animals atKyneton Ridge Estate — Curious residents at Kyneton Ridge Estate. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

Throughout the Macedon Ranges, there’s a growing focus on sustainability and natural and low-intervention wines, with producers, such as Brian Martin at Hunter Gatherer making waves in regenerative viticulture. Martin previously worked in senior roles at Australia’s largest sparkling winemaking facility, and now applies that expertise and his own nous to natural, hands‑off, wild-fermented wines, including pét‑nat, riesling and pinot noir. “Wild fermentation brings more complexity,” he says. “Instead of introducing one species of yeast, you can have thousands and they add different characteristics to the wine.”

the vineyard at Kyneton Ridge Estate Winery — The estate’s vineyard, where cool-climate grapes are grown. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

Most producers also focus on nurturing their grapes in-field and prune and pick by hand, thus avoiding the introduction of impurities and the need to meddle too much in the winery. “The better the quality of the fruit, the less you have to interfere with the natural winemaking process,” says Wood.

Given the small yields, there’s also little room for error, meaning producers place immense focus on quality. “You’re never going to compete in the middle [in a small region] – you’ve got to aim for the top,” says Curly Flat owner Jeni Kolkka. “Big wineries try to do things as fast as possible, but we’re in no rush,” adds Troy Walsh, owner and winemaker at Attwoods. “We don’t use commercial yeasts; everything is hand-harvested and everything is bottled here, so we bottle only when we’re ready, not when a big truck arrives.” That’s why, when you do see a Macedon Ranges product on a restaurant wine list, it’s usually towards the pointy end.

Come for the wine, stay for the food

pouring sauce onto a dish at Lake HouseDaylesford — Dining at Lake House Daylesford is a treat. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

If wine is the quiet achiever of the Macedon Ranges, then food is its not-so-secret weapon. In fact, the area has more hatted restaurants than any other region in Victoria. A pioneer of the area’s gourmet food movement is region cheerleader Alla Wolf-Tasker, culinary icon and founder of Daylesford’s Lake House.

For more than three decades, Wolf-Tasker has championed local producers and helped define what regional fine dining can look like in Australia. Her influence is palpable, not just in the two-hatted Lake House kitchen, but in the broader ethos of the region’s dining scene, as a wave of high-quality restaurants have followed her lead to become true destination diners.

the Midnight Starling restaurant in Kyneton Ridge Estate Winery — The hatted Midnight Starling restaurant is located in Kyneton. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

It’s easy to eat well, whether at other hatted restaurants, such as Midnight Starling in the quaint town of Kyneton, or at the wineries themselves, like Le Bouchon at Attwoods, where Walsh is inspired by his time working in France in both his food offering and winemaking.

The beauty of dining and wine touring in the Macedon Ranges is that it feels intimate and unhurried. You’re likely to meet the winemaker, hear about the trials of the latest vintage firsthand, and taste wines that never make it to city shelves. And that’s worth getting out of the city for – even if it is just an hour down the road.

Delicate dishes on the menu at Midnight Starling. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

A traveller’s checklist

Staying there

the accommodation at Cleveland Estate, Macedon Ranges — Stay at the Cleveland Estate. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

Soak up vineyard views from Cleveland Estate near Lancefield, embrace retro charm at Kyneton Springs Motel or indulge in lakeside luxury at the Lake House.

Eating there

Enjoy a four-course menu at the one-hatted Surly Goat in Hepburn Springs, Japanese-inspired fare at Kuzu in Woodend or unpretentious fine dining at Mount Monument, which also has a sculpture park.

Drinking there

wine tasting at PassingClouds Winery, Macedon Ranges — A tasting at Passing Clouds Winery. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

Settle in for a tasting at Boomtown in Castlemaine, sample local drops at the cosy Woodend Cellar & Bar or wine-hop around the many cellar doors, such as Passing Clouds.

the Boomtown Winery and Cellar Bar signage — Boomtown Winery and Cellar Bar. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

Playing there

a scenic river in Castlemaine — Idyllic scenes at Castlemaine. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

Wander through the seasonal splendour of Forest Glade Gardens, hike to the summit of Hanging Rock, or stroll around the tranquil Sanatorium Lake.

purple flowers hanging from a tree — Purple flowers hanging from a tree. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

The best Daylesford accommodation for a perfect weekend getaway

Plan your next getaway around one of these peaceful stays.

In short

1. Lake House

2. Dairy Flat Lodge & Farm

3. Dollywood

4. Jumoku

5. Clifftop at Hepburn

6. Headland

7. Shizuka Ryokan

8. Milk and Honey

The Macedon Ranges is Victoria’s best-kept food and wine secret

Located just an hour north-west of Melbourne, the largely undiscovered Macedon Ranges quietly pours some of Australia’s finest cool-climate wines and serves up some of Victoria’s best food.

The rise of Macedon Ranges wine

Meet the new generation of local winemakers

Come for the wine, stay for the food