Bells at Killcare Boutique Hotel is an Idyllic Central Coast Gem
Beloved coastal stay, Bells at Killcare Boutique hotel, Restaurant & Spa offers much to delight – and digest.
Gustav the Garden Guy has seen better days. “Look at him, he’s just about ready for an update.” Head gardener Megan Jackson eyes the tattered scarecrow affectionately. “Every year we refresh him and give him a new name.” His job is to watch over the vegetable garden at Bells at Killcare Boutique Hotel, Restaurant & Spa, a 90-minute drive north of Sydney on the Central Coast.
From this patch, seeds are harvested for a much larger plot out the back, where free-range roosters Percy, Roscoe and Arthur happily scratch around and keep the resident hens in check, while pumpkins, eggplants, carrots, yellow beans, watermelons, rhubarb and potatoes mature in mulch generated from the property’s food waste. Almost 20 per cent of the produce used in the hotel’s kitchen is plucked from here or the small orchard. The remainder is sourced from the surrounding area “but there’s nothing more local than 20 metres away”.
At The Wild Flower Bar & Dining, helmed by culinary director Cameron Cansdell, a meal is a celebratory affair. Taking inspiration from “food of the sun”, Mediterranean-leaning dishes include grilled Murray cod fillet with chickpea purée, globe artichoke and salsa dragoncello, and spinach and ricotta gnocchi with burnt butter and parmesan.
If you’re staying at one of The Lodges – four newly built tri-level, two-bedroom “homes” tucked under a canopy of angophora trees, a short stroll from the main cottage – dinner can be served to you in the open-plan dining and living area or on the sundeck with panoramic views across to Palm Beach. A daily fresh-baked loaf of sourdough from the hotel’s bakery and lunch supplies in each lodge’s larder mean venturing beyond the front door is optional. But should the mood strike to explore the adjacent Bouddi National Park, you’ll go equipped with a backpack of gourmet snacks. And for lounging by the solar-heated magnesium pool to a soundtrack of birdsong and rustling leaves? There’s a barbecue pack for that.
