Nestled in the LL Vineyard, just over an hour’s drive from Melbourne on the Mornington Peninsula, Jackalope Hotel is a love letter to opulence with its sleek, moody suites decked out with custom furniture by Melbourne’s Zuster. From the infinity pool, views stretch out over the vines and at hatted restaurant Doot Doot Doot, quirky dishes such as kohlrabi dumplings or venison rissoles are plated up with elegant precision. 

Grand, elegant and draped in heritage detail, Chateau Yering is housed within a Victorian mansion in the idyllic Yarra Valley an hour’s drive north-east of Melbourne. The 32 individually styled suites – complete with antique furnishings, marble bathrooms and many with private balconies – are set on a 101-hectare estate with panoramic views over the Yarra River. Onsite restaurant Eleonore’s is its own drawcard with a lavish European-inspired, locally sourced menu spanning goats cheese souffle to smoked quail roulade.

No two rooms are the same at The Farmhouse at Meletos, a sprawling, Tuscan-inspired property with views that stretch across the Yarra Valley to the Great Dividing Range (request a room on the second floor to take full advantage). Rustic décor with treasures sourced from adventures across the globe adds warmth and authenticity to the aesthetic. With a number of drinking and dining options onsite – don’t skip the Cape Grim short rib at Meletos Restaurant – and shady nooks in a storybook garden ideal for unwinding with a glass of locally produced chardonnay, the hours pass in gold-hued serenity.

Boutique growers sit alongside household-name wineries in Victoria’s wine regions. Plan your journey of discovery now at qantas.com.

Sprawled across a private bush reserve of more than 48 hectares just an hour’s drive from Melbourne, Yering Gorge features self-contained cottages with woodfired heaters and expansive private decks, ideal for spotting local kangaroos and the occasional wombat or echidna. With 12 kilometres of private bushwalking trails on the property and a cluster of the region’s best vineyards just 10 minutes away along the Maroondah Highway (be sure to give Rochford and Oakridge a try), this secluded haven is peak Yarra Valley Zen.

Shaded by towering stringybarks, Lake House in the bucolic hamlet of Daylesford 90 minutes north-west of Melbourne has been part of the fabric of the region for more than 40 years. Dotted across 2.4 hectares of country gardens, 33 country-styled studios, suites and villas complement a two-hatted restaurant, cooking school, solar-heated infinity pool and day spa on the banks of Lake Daylesford. Small, family-owned wineries dominate the Macedon wine region, where the high altitude and chilly conditions produce delicate sparkling wines, designated by wineries such as Cope-Williams and Hanging Rock as Macedon Brut. At Passing Clouds, just 10 minutes’ drive from Lake House, premium pinot noir and award-winning chardonnay can be sipped on a sunny terrace.

The two architecturally designed lodges that make up Healesvillas sit nestled on a hilltop looking over the gum-tree-lined peaks and troughs of the Yarra Valley. Accommodating six adults each, the villas have floor-to-ceiling windows that drench the contemporary interiors in buttery sunlight even in the dead of winter. With the viticultural gems of the Yarra Valley right on its doorstep and an outdoor firepit just begging to be lit under the stars, the only problem you might have is working up the motivation to leave.

A bold Yarra Valley shiraz tastes even better when you’re gazing at the very vineyards that produced it. Plan your stay now at qantas.com.

Right in the heart of the Dandenong Ranges, the treetop homestead of Billabong Falls was once home to award-winning landscape designer Phillip Johnson. It’s now a luxe bed and breakfast nestled in a fairytale rainforest setting. Immerse yourself in the Fern Gully-esque magic of one of the country’s most pristine bush settings – a mere 50 minutes from Melbourne. Awaken to filtered sunlight, the sound of a trickling stream right outside your room and the Yarra Valley’s many cool-climate vineyards at your feet. Start with Six Acres, a family-run winery within a 10-minute drive of your serene stay.

Housed inside Bendigo’s oldest bank, this boutique accommodation takes a bold approach to interior design with splashes of contemporary colour at every turn. Right next door to the Bendigo Art Gallery, Bendigo Ernest Hotel uses art as a focal point, with 10 oversized rooms spotlighting the individual artists they’re named after. Patrick Henigan – the grandest suite, named for the British-born painter – houses three striking originals, two perched directly above the linen-draped bed as though propped up in an artist’s studio. Considered details such as amenities from Salus and a Nespresso machine level up the experience to one of sophisticated, laid-back luxury. Add a velvety cabernet sauvignon collected on a jaunt through Bendigo’s wine region and you’ve turned relaxation into an art form.

Set amid almost 14 hectares of seaside bushland in the heartland of Mornington Peninsula wine country, Lancemore Lindenderry offers 40 cosy guest rooms in a grand manor house framed by roses and manicured hedges. The hotel’s dining room pairs Lindenderry’s cool-climate wines with local ingredients, while guests who fancy a wander can take advantage of the extensive grounds (or nearby Dromana Beach) and enjoy a picnic with a pre-ordered hamper from the kitchen during summer months.

Yes, you can drive from Bendigo to the Mornington Peninsula in less than three hours but why hurry? Victoria’s wine regions call for slow exploration. Plan your getaway now at qantas.com.

The grounds of a Big4 Holiday Park is probably not the first place you’d expect to find an upscale retreat but it’s precisely where the Glamtainer – a converted storage container with slick finishes and a floor-to-ceiling glass front that opens onto a private deck – is located. Just a five-minute walk from Boomtown Wine, where you can tuck into local fare such Mount Zero olives and Bundarra pork belly with a glass of Minim fiano, the Glamtainer is the ideal base for exploring Castlemaine’s thriving food and wine precinct, 130 kilometres north-west of Melbourne.

Nebbiolo, sangiovese and trebbiano produced by wineries with names like Dal Zotto, Pizzini and Ciccone hint at the King Valley’s Italian heritage. At Lancemore Milawa, the blurring of the Victorian High Country with Italy’s Veneto region continues via a sun-soaked patio and mosaic-tiled pool, Mediterranean-infused menu at onsite restaurant Merlot and vineyard views courtesy of Brown Brothers. There are 40 elegant rooms and suites with polished concrete floors, bouclé daybeds and views of the vines, rose gardens or the peaks of distant Mount Buffalo. Meander between wineries on a trip along the Prosecco Road before joining fellow guests in the palatial lounge room to share stories and sparkling.

With a 50-year winemaking history, the cellar door at Mitchelton is worth the 90-minute drive from Melbourne alone, but the estate’s hotel-style rooms and modern timber cabins sweeten the offering further and invite you to consider staying a night or two. Private balconies with vistas overlooking either the Goulburn River or sprawling vines, a 20-metre solar-heated infinity pool and The Muse Restaurant, helmed by executive chef Nigel Brown, combine to put Mitchelton Winery on any wine-trip itinerary.

Wine grapes have been grown in Victoria since the 1830s – explore the rich heritage of these regions on your next getaway. Find flights now at qantas.com.

Modern, bright and airy with views over the Moonah Links golf course, Peppers Moonah Links might be named for its putting proximity but even non-golfers will find plenty to appreciate in its laid-back luxury. Onsite Pebbles Restaurant is a revelation of local flavours, from Hazeldene’s chicken to Kilcoy beef and porchetta with native muntries ketchup, while further afield, opportunities to sample local cool-climate pinot noir abound with established favourites such as Paringa and T’Gallant both less than 30 minutes away by car.

Perched along a ridge of gum trees overlooking neat rows of grape vines, Yarra Valley’s Helen and Joey Estate houses a restaurant, cellar door and 16-room boutique hotel Re’em. Four suites with floor-to-ceiling windows deliver bathtub views of the grounds, while the remaining 12 rooms have either balconies or garden access. All provide a serene haven from which guests can explore the region. 

Ideal for a group getaway, each of the six sumptuous apartments at Carmel at Sorrento contains three spacious bedrooms, a butler’s pantry and fully appointed kitchen, while the penthouse, stretching across the entire top floor, has three bathrooms as well. With a range of luxury add-ons (including full-day Kombi hire with driver to help ferry you around the local wineries), Carmel at Sorrento blends self-contained accommodation with the elegant touches of a boutique hotel.

Food fans should head straight for the Mornington Peninsula, where 13 of the restaurants are hatted. Plan your trip now at qantas.com.

Seven guest rooms, both opulent and relaxed, in an original sandstone farmhouse make up the award-winning accommodation at Lon Retreat. Here, it’s the little details – Cultiver linens, heated flooring and a complimentary mini bar – that make it feel like a weekend escape to your most refined friend’s country house. Venture outside the earthy tones and timber accents of your room and explore the dappled rockpools of Point Lonsdale Beach or visit Jack Rabbit Vineyard, where the coastal cliff setting and crisp Blanc de Blanc could be the Geelong wine region’s most perfect pairing. After a long day, check out the farm’s day spa, with the option to add a grazing platter to your treatment while you soak. 

A seaside getaway with wineries, creative restaurants, luxury accommodation and blissful quietude? That’s the Bellarine Peninsula, less than a two-hour drive from Melbourne. Book tickets now at qantas.com.

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