australian PLACES...great weekends away in Victoria
accommodation review
TI TREE VILLAGE
OCEAN GROVE
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During Victoria’s colder months, Ocean Grove becomes a sleepy village far removed from the summer holiday crowds.
In less than two hours drive from the city, guests can unpack the bags in one of Ti-Tree Village’s comfortable pine-log cottages, have a hearty meal with bottle of local wine, a spa and be curled up on the couch in front of the fire while the night is still young. In the morning you can relax and fix breakfast whenever then head for a stroll along the beach – the village has a back gate and two hundred metres walk to Ocean Grove’s lengthy beach.
The village has twenty-three cottages in total, spread around a large landscaped site in a quiet part of town. All are self-contained, and they range from Garden cottages with two bedrooms, lounge, kitchen and bathroom, set up ideally for families, to top-of-the-range Loft Spa cottages (photo, top left). Each cottage has an open fire with plenty of chopped wood, TV, stereo and video, and a good range of quality toiletries.
A cottage breakfast hamper can be arranged for your first morning here – a good idea if arriving straight from work.
Dinner on Thursday to Saturday can enjoyed in the village’s Bark Hut (photo at bottom left), built to resemble a High Country cattlemen’s hut. The rest of the week, dinner can be placed in your cottage ready to heat in the microwave. For lunch, there are some good cafés nearby and in Barwon Heads – site of the lovely old timber bridge featured in television’s “Sea Change” series.
What I like about Ti Tree is the informality of the cottage layout, the location close to a wild ocean beach, and provision of a restaurant where kids are welcome. It can be a romantic spa retreat for a couple or a family holiday. The grounds and cottages are well maintained and spotlessly clean.
WHERE: 34 Orton Street, Ocean Grove. About 100 minutes drive from Melbourne via Princes Freeway to Geelong, then along Bellarine Highway.
HOW MUCH: packages from around $485 for three midweek nights in a Garden Cottage including dinner on Monday night, bottle of wine and breakfast hamper. Book early for holiday periods!!!
CONTACT: (03) 5255 4433.
SUITABLE FOR: COUPLES, FAMILIES
copyright PETER ROBINSON 2007 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED