LAKE HOUSE, DAYLESFORD
Still Victoria's quintessential luxury rural retreat, this stylish Central Victorian stalwart is forever evolving. Never ones to pause, visionary owner Alla Wolf-Tasker and family last year unveiled snazzy new lodge suites and studios with the respected and rather posh restaurant still clinging, after all these years, to its two The Age Good Food Guide hats. If you're in the mood for a sybaritic splurge book the Retreat, a richly decorated stand-alone house that channels New Zealand's luxury lodges. Doubles from $503 per night, minimum stay two nights, including dinner and breakfast. See lakehouse.com.au
THE SCHALLER STUDIO, BENDIGO
The Buckland.
It's plonked in an incongruous, not particularly well-located hospital campus, with rooms so small you could barely wield a scalpel in them. But the 120-room Schaller Studio is a funky, surprising antidote to predictable country Australian accommodation. Part of the groundbreaking, Melbourne Art Series Hotels group, the Schaller Studio (named after, and styled around, the Melbourne artist Mark Schaller) has provided a further fillip to Bendigo's ambitions as Australia's regional cultural hub with its excellent and enterprising art gallery as the centrepiece. Don't forget to hop on the special Schaller Studio-decorated tram for a jaunt into town and back. Doubles from $115. See artserieshotels.com.au
THE BUCKLAND, BRIGHT
When it was opened some years ago now by its far-sighted German-Australian owners, the Buckland established new standards in Australia for so-called self-contained accommodation. The five luxuriously equipped, light-bathed studio retreats deliver breathtaking views across farmland to the adjacent might of Mount Buffalo. Don't miss the Buckland's fruhstuck (German for breakfast, don't you know) in the communal and convivial breakfast lounge. Bright itself is shaping as one of Victoria's best emerging foodie towns with Simones and Tani Eat & Drink both one-hatted with Feathertop Alfresco Dining a good casual choice at Boynton's superbly situated winery. Lively Bright Brewery, with its "mountain-crafted beer", is good for a feed and a pint. Doubles from $305 per night, minimum stay two nights. See thebuckland.com.au
CHATEAU YERING, COLDSTREAM
Historic Chateau Yering is perfectly locatedslap bang in the middle of the Yarra Valley, a region rapidly gaining a global reputation for the quality of its premium wines. Unapologetically old-fashioned, Chateau Yering is a bed and breakfast on a grand scale. Dating to the 1850s, this 32-room grand dame is a mere 45-minutes from Melbourne with one of the iconic five-star property's few nods to the contemporary being its one-hatted Eleonore's restaurant. It's complemented by both the congenial Sweetwater Cafe and the neighbouring landmark Yering Station winery. Hot-air balloons often conveniently deposit their passengers at the conclusion of flights in a cow paddock directly across the road from Chateau Yering (mind the squishy pats). Doubles from $395. See chateauyering.com.au
POLPERRO VILLAS, RED HILL
The premium cool-climate fine wines of the Mornington Peninsula have come far and, judging by these swanky digs set amid the eponymous winery, so too has the region's accommodation offerings. Each of a quartet of swanky and capacious villas overlook the vineyard and include an open fireplace, a centrally-positioned spa bath and a private deck. Villa four even features a private sauna with guests at of the villas provided with choice of quality breakfast items including fresh bread, homemade muesli and preserves. For lunch and dinner there's the winery's own and equally mod The Age Good Food Guide-listed bistro. Doubles from $320. See polperrowines.com.au
HARVEST BIRREGURRA BED & BREAKFAST
Who said that the bed and breakfast is dead? It's certainly not the case in tiny Birregurra, a charming, one-street town west of Melbourne which literally and figuratively these days feeds off the success of Brae, Australia's premier regional restaurant. The graphic design sensibilities of one of the owners is evident in the branding of the proudly pot pourri-free Harvest Birregurra, a former GP's art deco-style practice and residence. Harvest, and its counterpart Birregurra B&Bs is set for competition from Brae itself when chef Dan Hunter and wife Julianne open their own, albeit more exclusive, accommodation this year. Doubles from $210, including breakfast. See harvestbirregurra.com
Anthony Dennis travelled as a guest of Tourism Victoria (visitvictoria.com) and the featured properties.
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