Telegraph Retreat Luxury Accommodation Port Macquarie NSW

The Sun Herald - "Travel Weekender" - 30th March 2003

In Full Retreat

"The good things in life don't have to cost a fortune, Winsor Dobbin discovered.

Anyone who loves being pampered - and there can't be many of us who don't - will find themselves very much at home at the Telegraph Retreat, a boutique hideaway 20 minutes outside Port Macquarie.

Aromatherapy massages and candlelit dinners are among the highlights of a weekend in one of three luxurious country cottages on the rural property.

Owners Ian and Robyn Whitehead are relative newcomers to the hospitality industry, but they certainly go the extra mile for their guests. You can't help but notice the little extras the Whitehead's provide in their cottages. There are homemade soaps and bath crystals in the bathrooms, homemade biscuits to snack on and fresh flowers.

There is a well-stocked freezer and a larder full of convenience meals and snacks - you just pay for those you use.

For those who don't want to dine in Port Macquarie, Robyn offers a home-cooked three-course silver-service dinner with a bottle of local wine for just $45 a head. We enjoyed a creamy pumpkin soup with crusty rolls, baked local flathead fillets with potato wedges and a delicious selection of vegetable, followed by a meringue strawberry torte.

Alternatively, Ian will shuttle guests to and from restaurants in Port Macquarie for a one-off fee of $40 (a great idea for a couple celebrating a special occasion - no rows over who will be designated driver).

In fact, you don't have to drive at all. The tariff, which starts from what we felt was a ridiculously low $180 a couple a night, includes complimentary pick-up and drop-off at airport, bus and train terminals.

The same thoughtfulness has gone into furnishing the delightful colonial cottages with antique furniture and modern appliances.

All cottages have fully equipped kitchens, private spa pools, living areas with TV and video player, air conditioning, CD players and a selection of CDs, log fires, ceiling fans and huge comfy beds.

There is tons of space in the modern bathrooms, which feature a power shower, claw-foot bath and top-notch toiletries, as well as huge, fluffy bath sheets and bathrobes.

Unlike at some places we have visited, the Whiteheads escort you to your cottage and make sure you understand how everything works, switch on the spa pool and answer any questions you may have. The Whiteheads can also put together picnic hampers and barbeque packs and arrange any trips you want to make - it's a little like having a pair of concierges all to yourself.

On the 8.5-acre property you'll find hammocks in which to lie (my wife found herself being watched by a curious wallaby), barbeque facilities, a 12-metre heated in-ground swimming pool and a small dam manned by half a dozen geese.

Just a few hundred metres away are some excellent bushwalks, including one that takes you to a swimming hole frequented by platypuses.

If that sounds a mite too energetic, an on-premise therapist, Annetta Jeffrey, offers a range of aromatherapy treatments. A one-hour massage costs $60, but two booked together cost just $100. For the truly sybaritic there is the aromatic clay body wrap and massage - just $80 for two hours.

If you want to head for the big smoke, there's plenty to do in the Port Macquarie region, but Ian and Robyn note that many visitors settle in for the weekend and never leave the property.

"Our main market is city people who simply want to switch off," Ian said. "We try to give people everything they need to do that, and to make them feel special for a couple of days."