City Chic Finds A Country Home

The Age

Saturday August 16, 2008

Patrick Donovan

Patrick Donovan finds the team from Abbotsford's Terminus pub have turned their hand to a country hotel.

In the Yarra Valley, Yarra Glen is the less attractive but well-located sister of quaint Healesville. Standing out like a sentinel in the main street is the imposing heritage-listed Yarra Glen Grand Hotel.

Built in 1888, the Victorian mansion has been recently refurbished and eclectically decorated by actor couple Alison Whyte and Fred Whitlock, who used to own the shabby-chic Terminus Hotel in Abbotsford, and have bought the Grand with Nat Prescutto. They have applied their pub know-how and eye for design in a funky fit-out to their new hotel.

The entrance to the hotel is through the pub, which features a pool table, retro leather couches, a library with a colour scheme of rich reds and pinks and multiple drum pendant lightshades in different hand-printed Florence Broadhurst fabrics.

Staff sing along to the radio as we arrive in the foyer, which sets the friendly tone for the weekend. Rooms range from $140 for a premium suite to $245 for a balcony room, which overlooks a semi-urban vista and the Yarra Ranges in the distance.

The noisy main street has antique shops, groovy dress shops, cafes, gift shops, a day spa. But a new concrete shopping centre, which is mid-construction, is an eyesore.

Some good-value deals are on offer, which include accommodation, meals, winery tours and balloon rides.

For $240, we stayed in a standard room and received a two-course bistro pub meal and buffet breakfast. All rooms feature basic hotel facilities: air-conditioning, private bathrooms with baths, ironing equipment, a hair dryer, minibar with local wines, smallish colour TV and tea and coffee-making facilities. Many of these facilities are located in a handsome chiffonier but unfortunately there was no power point near the kettle, and the wardrobe door didn't stay open wide enough to watch the TV. In contrast to the funky retro fit-out on the ground floor, the decor in the upstairs bedrooms consists of Victorian bed ends good-quality reproduction Victorian furniture and fittings. The high wooden bed is flanked by comfortable upholstered armchairs. An uncharismatic print sits above the bed.

Chintzy floor-to-ceiling curtains hang on both windows with heavy pelmets, which are probably fine in larger rooms but almost overwhelming in a room this size.

Victorian-style multicoloured paintwork adorns the cornices.

The generously sized en suite is decorated in what is probably a tasteful 1980s repro Victorian renovation. Walls and tiles are in the palest cream apricot and the floor in checkerboard tiles, while good-quality white hotel towels and adequate toiletries are provided.

The meals are a step above the traditional pub fare and mostly made from local fresh produce, with home-made pasta and relishes. The bountiful antipasto and Malay-style chicken curry are recommended. We are offered two different rooms to dine in: an "adults only" wallpapered dining room or a bistro which contains a fenced-off children's play area. There is plenty of entertainment with weekly live bands and bingo and trivia nights.

Given the gourmet reputation of the area, the self-serve continental breakfast is disappointing. Average brewed coffee, Bushells tea bags and the choice of two cereals - Cornflakes and supermarket muesli - are the stuff of cheap motels, although the fresh multigrain bread and poached fruit somewhat compensate for it. (Guests can upgrade to a cooked breakfast.)

The new owners are still in a transitional phase since taking over last November, and while they have scrapped the hotel's fine-dining option, new menus are confusing and brochures and the website were not up-to-date when we visited.

Our room is on the side of the building overlooking the beer garden. We are also above the bar. Be warned that a significant amount of noise floats up the atrium until the bar closes at about 11.30pm, so it's clearly not the best place for a quiet country getaway. But if gorging on food and wine, attending a wedding or the local races is your thing, the Grand makes a prefect base.

VISITORS' BOOK

The Yarra Glen Grand Hotel

Address: 19 Bell Street, Yarra Glen.

Bookings: 9730 1230; enquiries@yarraglengrand.com.au.

Getting there: About 55 kilometres from the centre of Melbourne along the Maroondah and Melba highways.

How much: Rooms range from $140-$245 (including continental breakfast for two).

Summary: A taste of inner-city chic in a grand old hotel in the heart of the Yarra Valley.

The Verdict: 15

The score: 19-20 excellent; 17-18 great; 15-16 good; 13-14 comfortable, well-run.

All weekends away are conducted anonymously and paid for.

© 2008 The Age

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