Seahorse Inn, Boydtown review: Novel stay on Twofold Bay

A $4 million renovation has transformed a convict-built inn, writes Bruce Elder.

Seahorse Inn has changed. When we first stayed here in the 1990s, I thought it would make an ideal setting for an Enid Blyton style of novel; say, Five Go to Seahorse Inn. Hallways were narrow, there were endless small twisting and turning staircases, and corridors disappeared up two or three steps, opening into strange bedrooms. The place had an air of wonder and I thought of hidden rooms and strange adventures to be had.

There was some justification for my imaginations - Seahorse Inn was built, under the auspices of the entrepreneur Ben Boyd, in 1843 using convict labour.

Boyd had arrived in Sydney in 1842, set up a bank, bought a paddle steamer named "Seahorse", acquired almost 1 million hectares in the Riverina and Monaro regions of NSW and decided that Twofold Bay was an ideal harbour for his operations. Shore whaling and oil extraction had already been established on the bay and Boyd added them to his enterprises. However, the cost of what became known as Boydtown began to affect him financially and, in 1849, the liquidators were called in.

Seahorse Inn was abandoned that year and the incomplete hotel lay vacant for nearly a century. It wasn't until 1936 that the Whiter family renovated the ruin, added a storey and created the essence of the modern building. In 2002, the inn was further upgraded, at a cost of about $4 million. It's an elegant transformation. The reception area has been opened up and, instead of those crumbling old stairs, there's now a wide staircase leading to the inn's first-floor bedrooms. The hotel has 10 rooms, manicured lawns dotted with palms and pines stretching to the water's edge, and gardens rich with lilies.

The best room is No. 5, which, although tastefully modernised, still contains the building's historic charm and essence, enhanced by timber furniture and seven varying ceiling levels. A central rafter separates the living and bed areas: at one end of the huge room is a comfortable two-seater sofa, two chairs and an elegant occasional table. Nearby is a small table with a large arrangement of flowers and french doors (but no balcony), with views across the front lawn to a narrow beach, Twofold Bay and, on the horizon, the lights of Eden.

A cupboard hosts a flat-screen television, there's a mini-fridge hidden in a rosewood cabinet, a large wooden desk and king-size bed at the room's other end. The bathroom, with floor-to-ceiling tiles, has a spacious spa bath.

Seahorse Inn is far enough from Eden to make dining at the hotel almost mandatory. On our visit more than a decade ago, the inn's kitchens were presided over by Melbourne chef Donna Shannon, whose seafood menus set a benchmark that made Eden an oasis for far South Coast foodies. Come 2012, however, Shannon and her chef proteges have moved on and the inn's menu is more akin to pub fare: think lemon-crusted ling with chips and salad, apple strudel with ice-cream.

The Eden region, steeped in seafaring history, has a wealth of land-based attractions, too: from the Ben Boyd National Park to the Davidson Whaling Station; and from exploring the area's red siltstone cliffs (about 360 million years old, with layers of red siltstone and sandstone compressed, fractured and folded into fantastical shapes) to the Green Cape Lightstation with its lonely, wild and windy view across the Tasman.