Review: Bendigo Ernest Hotel

Clare AchesonBy Clare Acheson
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Bendigo’s former commercial bank is transformed into an intimate design hotel, thanks to the careful eye and exquisite touch of two established career creatives.

Regional cities hold the nation’s most precious gems. But, like all valuable stones, they could do with a good polish every so often to revive their glimmer. Nestled in Bendigo’s central Rosalind Park, the Bendigo Ernest Hotel is the latest establishment to buff the colonial edges of Victoria’s gold-mining city, while tastefully celebrating its colloquial charm.

Bendigo Ernest Hotel entry
The city’s oldest bank building has been reimagined as the exquisite Bendigo Ernest Hotel.

The backstory

Opened in early 2022, the 10-suite property combines majestic architecture, impossibly high ceilings and features from its colourful past (including a bullet hole in an original window pane; a memento from a heist) with the fresh viewpoint of directorial duo David Cook-Doulton and Martin Shew.

Bendigo Ernest Hotel artworks
Artworks by Melbourne Studio School director Richard Birmingham and Archibald finalist David Bromley adorn the walls of the hotel.

The boutique hotel is the pair’s first collaborative venture, however, you wouldn’t know it when walking into the impeccably styled welcome lounge. Skills garnered through decades working in marketing, hospitality and creative services are expertly applied to a new medium to replace regional guesthouse clichés with elevated touches.

Named after Cook-Doulton’s grandfather, who was a vocal supporter of his creative endeavours during his formative years, the Ernest Hotel is part-residence, part-stage for lesser-heard voices and experts of craft. It’s this intentional dismantling of power within the city’s oldest banking building that so cleverly softens the space and connects historical and contemporary narratives in unexpected ways.

The rooms

Each of the hotel’s bespoke suites is a design-lover’s dream and themed around an artist’s work selected from Cook-Doulton’s private art collection, which is the product of 20 years’ patronage. The boutique hotel features works by Melbourne Studio School director Richard Birmingham and Archibald finalist David Bromley.

The interiors at the Bendigo Ernest Hotel in Victoria, Australia
Expect to be welcomed by plush velvet and felt couches.

Expect to be welcomed by plush velvet and felt couches, plaid wool blankets, softly lit wishbone seating and plumes of a woody fragrance custom-designed for the space by Melbourne-based aromatherapy consultancy Aromacare.

Stroll into the walk-in bank vaults and find two micro lounges that feature works by female artists that highlight the inequality of labour value between genders.

Dedication to balanced aesthetics is something that the whole team takes seriously. Staff are educated in the composition of each room so spaces can be reset daily, to create an experience that is reassuringly consistent, no matter if it’s your first or 101st stay.

The guest bed at Bendigo Ernest Hotel in Victoria, Australia
The exquisite styling inside the guest rooms at Bendigo Ernest Hotel.

While the bathrooms might feel a bit retro (we predict a renovation is on the horizon), every lamp, bathrobe, cushion and appliance complements the artwork to cocoon visitors in visual harmony during their stay. Weekend guests may also meet Fletcher, the owners’ affable Airedale terrier, whose coiffed curls are as much a part of the decor as the ochre espresso cups.

Above all else, the Bendigo Ernest Hotel is a modern take on traditional hospitality with a sincere passion for old tales and new memories at its core. A heartfelt reminder that Victoria holds treasure troves of hidden wonders within its colonial shrouds, if you only know where to look.

Details

A wide shot of the guest bed at the Bendigo Ernest Hotel in Victoria, Australia
The hotel offers a modern take on traditional hospitality with a sincere passion for old tales and new memories at its core.

Address: Bendigo Ernest Hotel , 10–12 View Street, Bendigo, Vic

Verdict: A welcoming art-lovers retreat that unearths local history and celebrates fresh perspectives, where each luxurious detail tells a story.

Score: 4.5/5

We rated: The pet-friendly, accessible ground-floor suite, perfect for dog owners and visitors who need accessible shower facilities.

We’d change: Being an older building, single glazing is retained in some rooms leading to early-morning street noise.

Green credentials: Local artists, furniture designers and producers are on display, cutting down on the carbon footprint.

Notes: Weekday stays are charged at a reduced rate and are ideal if you are planning a visit to Bendigo Art Gallery outside of busy weekend hours. Look out for the team’s second destination, Hotel Vera in Ballarat, which is due to open later this year.

All AT reviews are conducted anonymously and our writers pay their own way – so we experience exactly what you would.
Clare Acheson
Clare Acheson is a creative strategist based in Melbourne. When she isn't helping brands connect with audiences and communities, she can be found documenting her travels in search of art, music and culinary experiences, to bring fresh perspectives to readers who savour the little things.
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Mornington Peninsula’s storied past: war, shipwrecks and a runaway convict 

    Kellie FloydBy Kellie Floyd
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    The Mornington Peninsula is a coastline of contrasts, where convict and military history meets shipwrecks, wild seas and adventures above and below the surface.

    The Mornington Peninsula can be the kind of place where salt-tangled hair feels like a badge of honour – proof you’ve been somewhere wild, raw and real. Peel back the layers and you’ll discover stories that anchor this region to something other than its famed food and wine.

    This land is the traditional Sea Country of the Bunurong/Boon Wurrung people. Long before grapevines were planted and artisanal goods were crafted, the Bunurong Traditional Owners lived in deep connection with the land and sea. Today, places such as Mushroom Reef Marine Sanctuary echo that tradition, with families exploring its rockpools in search of colourful sea stars and crabs at low tide and learning how these fragile ecosystems have been cared for across countless generations.

    a group of people visiting the Port Nepean National Park
    Take in the rugged coastal landscape at Port Nepean National Park. (Image: Tourism Australia)

    A visit to Point Nepean National Park feels like stepping back through time. The fort, built in 1882, protected the narrow entrance to Port Phillip Bay until the end of the Second World War. It was here that the first Allied shot of the First World War was fired – at a German cargo ship trying to escape just hours after war was declared. Nearby, the old Quarantine Station, one of Australia’s first permanent quarantine facilities, established in 1852, still stands. Walking through the hospital and disinfecting complex evokes stories of those who arrived from faraway shores.

    Not far from here is a story of survival that inspired the Aussie phrase ‘you’ve got Buckley’s chance’. In 1803, escaped convict William Buckley vanished into the bush near what’s now Sorrento. Everyone thought he had no hope of surviving, but he reappeared 32 years later, having lived with local Aboriginal people.

    Even the waters here hold history. The infamous stretch known as The Rip, just three kilometres wide at the entrance of Port Phillip Bay, is among the most treacherous waterways. Countless ships were lost here in the 19th and early 20th centuries, and in 1967, Australia’s own Prime Minister Harold Holt disappeared while swimming off the coast, never to be found.

    a seal swimming in Port Phillip Bay
    A seal swimming in Port Phillip Bay. (Image: Tourism Australia/Two Palms/Harry Pope)

    But for all its danger, the sea here also holds extraordinary beauty. Dolphins are often seen near Sorrento’s cliffs, while below the surface, seagrass meadows and rocky reefs teem with life. Marine tours offer a viewing to this underwater wonderland, while back on terra firma, walking trails lead along beaches, through coastal scrub, and over rock pools.

    And if you think you’ll forget about the Mornington Peninsula once you’ve left? You’ve got Buckley’s chance.

    A traveller’s checklist

    Staying there

    the suite interior at InterContinental Sorrento
    Luxury interiors at the historic InterContinental Sorrento. (Image: Greg Elms)

    Point Nepean Discovery Tents is immersive glamping beside the historic Quarantine Station. Or upgrade to luxury at the 1875-built InterContinental Sorrento .

    Playing there

    an aerial view of Cape Schanck Lighthouse
    Make your way to the Cape Schanck Lighthouse. (Image: Tourism Australia/Two Palms/Harry Pope)

    Bayplay Adventure Tours offer eco-adventures from snorkelling with sea dragons to kayaking with dolphins and cycling Point Nepean. Cape Schanck Lighthouse is fascinating to explore on a guided tour, which takes you into the lighthouse and keeper’s cottage.

    Eating there

    Portsea Hotel is a beautifully restored 1876 Tudor-style pub right on the beach, serving seasonal local fare.