Kilcunda Oceanview Holiday Retreat, review: A promising outlook

Melanie Ball settles in to comfortable surroundings with views over Bass Strait.

Dress circle seating is often the best for watching grand-scale drama unfold however front row usually comes at premium cost. That's not the case at Kilcunda Oceanview Holiday Retreat where self-contained accommodation overlooking Bass Strait is a bargain.

It is overcast when my husband and I turn off the highway just beyond the Kilcunda shops, and the thump of waves on the unseen shore is loud when I hop out at the reception cabin. The conditions don't bode well for a weekend of cycling and walking but we will be perfectly situated should the anti-exercise gods put on a storm.

Set on the elevated foreshore between the highway and the sea, this property is essentially a camping and caravan park, albeit with a new adventure playground, games room and children's activity program. There's a row of permanent vans, grassy lawns for tents and an assortment of hard-top accommodations.

Our oceanfront villa is a revelation. Roomier than it appears from outside, the villa is more holiday house than any cabin of my experience, in part because there is no mock-wood panelling. We claim the rear queen bedroom, leaving the tight side room with four bunk beds for two friends on their way. There is a spacious bathroom and separate toilet, airconditioning and ceiling fans.

The tiled open-plan front lounge is furnished with two couches, an LCD television (a smaller version decorates the main bedroom wall), and dining setting. There's another table and chairs on the gated deck, but that's for warmer weather.

The galley kitchen has everything needed for eating and drinking including a plunger and sachet of ground coffee and it comfortably accommodates two tall cooks (male) who prepare a cyclist-fuelling pasta dinner while we woman riders conserve our energy with books.

The illumination is poor for reading because two recessed ceiling lights aren't working but there is a maintenance form on the table that might have resulted in this being fixed had we handed it in before leaving on Sunday. One gripe is that bed linen and towels are provided only in the main bedroom even if you book for four, so guests have to bring extras. The water tumblers and wine glasses are small, too, but we remedy that by refilling them often over the weekend.

And then we ate We cook two breakfasts and a Friday feast in the villa kitchen. In warmer weather sausages and chops on the communal barbecue would be the go (deluxe villas and the three-bedroom cottage have their own).