Mail has arrived with Wickens at the Royal Mail Hotel, Dunkeld

Taking over a multi-hatted restaurant from superstar chef Dan Hunter was "tough" by Robin Wickens' own admission. But four years later, not only is Victoria's Royal Mail at Dunkeld continuing to thrive, but the owners have built a whole new fine-dining venue to showcase Wickens' cooking. And they've named it after him.

That's even more appropriate, considering Wickens helped design not just the new kitchen but also staff uniforms and a new degustation menu incorporating more of the produce from the bountiful Grampians region for Wickens at the Royal Mail Hotel.

The new building is discrete from the existing Royal Mail and makes the most of the site's fabulous Grampians views, while the old dining room has doubled in size and been renamed the Parker Street Project, a more casual eatery.

Melbourne-based, locally-born architect Nick Byrne used materials from the region, incorporating sandstone and even local wool on shelves in the cellar.

The addition of Wickens at the Royal Mail follows an upgrade of the establishment's accommodation at this place three hours west of Melbourne that encapsulates what it is to be destination dining.

The Royal Mail Hotel is home to the largest working restaurant kitchen garden in the southern hemisphere, breeds its own beef and lamb on a neighbouring Mount Sturgeon property and has a wine cellar that holds nearly $3 million worth of wine, including the largest collection of bordeaux and burgundy in the southern hemisphere.

Other new spaces showcase that bounty. They include the Royal Mail Hotel Wine Bar with daily wine flights put together by sommelier Matthew Lance, and the Royal Mail Hotel Guest Lounge in the renovated reception area with a retail space selling Royal Mail Hotel-made products such as olives and oils.

An overnight "Wickens at Royal Mail Hotel Accommodation Package" includes a five-course dinner in Wickens, breakfast in Parker Street Project and tour and taste experiences in the kitchen garden and wine cellar. From $600 a couple.

See royalmail.com.au