Bed and breakfast accommodation doesn’t necessarily have to be about Laura Ashley bedspreads and a nagging sense that at least four people have recently died in your room. Across Australia, B&Bs are breaking from the mould and doing something very different. We’ve picked out six of the most interesting…
The Hunter Valley Cooperage
Where: 41 Kelman Vineyards, Oakey Creek Road, Pokolbin, New South Wales.
Sat in the middle of a working vineyard, the five star Cooperage is a definite class above the average B&B. It was built from scratch by Gay and Warren, and they’ve clearly got a fierce pride in it.
The main building is architecturally stylish, and looks thoroughly modern. Well, if you’ve got vines all around you, you may as well take advantage of it and have plenty of glass to see it through…
The personal touch is part of what makes the place great. Gay cooks breakfast herself (the pancakes are the stuff of legend locally), and both go out of their way to help out.
The hot secret, however, is The Retreat. This is a separate building that’s entirely self-contained, and nothing like the rest of the Cooperage. It’s packed with character – think wooden walls, random trays full of shells and ceramic owls dotted across the shelves.
It has its own lounge area and kitchen, and once in, it’s highly tempting not to leave – just open a few bottles of wine and cuddle up.
More information: www.huntervalleycooperage.com
Mira Mira
Where: 1395 Bloomfield Road, Crossover, Gippsland, Victoria.
If there’s a prize for maddest B&B, then Mira Mira wins hands down. The owners invite guests to “live in art”, and like to call their rooms “sculptures”. Well, they certainly don’t look anything like the average Hilton, that’s for sure.
There are three options on the site, of which the most sane is the Japanese Zen Retreat. It’s modelled on a Japanese palace and it is surrounded by a Japanese garden gone bush.
More fun is the cave, which is entered through a door that has been made to look like a mouth opened wide. Inside it’s all stone walls, multi-coloured up-lighting and rock pillars.
And then there’s Tanglewood, which frankly defies description. There’s a ban on straight lines, and the decor looks like something imagine by Tim Burton having a particularly psychedelic dream.
Edinburgh Gallery
Where: 211 Macquarie Street, Hobart, Tasmania.
As the name would suggest, this joint fancies itself as a bit of an art gallery. As you walk in, a series of red dot rugs lead to the reception area, while there are bronze busts of eastern deities and pictures from the Scream school of freakiness on the walls.
Inside, the decor is slightly different in each room, but there’s a definite retro vibe that ties them all together. One of the beds even has a 60s dashboard-style set of controls on the headboard.
Feathers Sanctuary
Where: 49A Freshwater Road Jingili, Darwin, Northern Territory.
This one isn’t for anyone with a phobia of birds – the Sanctuary of the name isn’t just for humans. The owners of this rather unique B&B keep hundreds of rare birds for breeding purposes, and the feathered friends can be found all over the site.
The landscaping is designed to specifically attract the birds, and all of the individual huts that guests stay in have their own glass-fronted aviary.
Any guests wanting to help out and get an informal wildlife tour at feeding time are more than welcome to do so.
The Hargate
Where: 191 George Street, Launceston, Tasmania.
Tasmania isn’t exactly lacking in heritage bed and breakfasts – they’re ten a penny and usually have the all the style of a lavender-sniffing grandmother.
But the Hargate is a little different. It is defiantly old style, but it’s done with class. Think five course champagne breakfasts, butler-style service and fine china and silverwear rather than bulk-bought tat.
It also offers a pillow menu, Armagnac, Cognac and brandy to drink and a nightly turn-down service. A bit above a beyond the usual B&B, huh?
The Hargate isn’t so firmly in the past that it doesn’t offer a few mod cons, however. There’s free wireless internet, and printing by USB for business types.
Cruzin’
Where: 7 Handford Court, Invermay, Ballarat, Victoria
The major worry about staying at a place like Cruzin’ is the nagging fear that any minute, The Fonz is going to pop round the corner, pointing finger pistols and saying: “Ayyyyyyyyyyy”.
This B&B is done out in a 50s and 60s style, and is crammed with kitsch memorabilia. It’s essentially a cottage in its own little complex, which has been done up to look like small town America from a throwback movie.
Elvis may have left the building, but his spirit hasn’t, and the real strength is the owner’s attention to detail. It’s not just a few half-hearted nick-nacks – they’ve gone the whole hog.
This article was originally written for Ninemsn.
Copyright David Whitley
