Driving time from Melbourne: 90 minutes

With chef Alla Wolf-Tasker and her family as hosts, Dairy Flat Farm promises top-shelf hospitality. This 15-hectare property features a main lodge with four luxurious rooms, plus two extras in a separate building. There’s an onsite bakery, a vineyard and extensive kitchen gardens (supplying Wolf-Tasker’s famed Lake House restaurant and the lodge’s own kitchen). A live-in concierge takes care of everything, from Lake House bookings to honey extraction classes.

Driving time from Melbourne: just over 90 minutes

Perfection thy name is Alba Thermal Spa & Spring, a glorious wellness retreat tucked away on a quiet corner of the Mornington Peninsula. The choice is yours: laze in a mineral spring, be massaged into submission at the spa or be served a delicious, restorative meal crafted from local produce by Karen Martini.

Driving time from Melbourne: 90 minutes

With its charming seaside villages, fabulous beaches and coastline dotted with wineries, restaurants and farm gates, the Bellarine Peninsula is a popular weekend getaway for Melburnians. Base yourself at Campbell Point House, a grand waterfront lodge on the banks of Lake Connewarre, then book in for an indulgent high tea in the hotel’s grand dining hall overlooking the lake.

Driving time from Melbourne: two hours

Make it a wine weekend at Balgownie Estate Bendigo. Fifteen bell tents are arranged around the property, each with private decks, queen-sized beds and cosy furnishings – choose the Safari Tent for your own outdoor claw-foot tub. There’s an onsite restaurant and cellar door, too. It’s a world away from downtown Bendigo but also just 15 minutes’ drive if you want to explore the Bendigo Art Gallery, jump on the tram or descend down a goldmine.

Driving time from Melbourne: one hour

Head to the Mornington Peninsula’s Jackalope for a weekend of wine, long lunches and blissful escapism. Situated amid the vines of Jackalope’s own vineyard, the 45-room hotel dials up the indulgence – think private terraces, rain showers, deep-soaking bath tubs, fireplaces and complimentary minibar. There are plenty of eateries and wineries within striking distance of Jackalope but with two excellent restaurants, a cocktail bar and a cellar door on site, you can save them for another weekend.

Driving time from Melbourne: one hour

Strike out for the Mornington Peninsula, where visitors have their pick of nature activities, pampering hot springs, golf and, of course, wine. Book into the rambling country retreat, Graceburn House, an 80-year-old manse refurbished in 2018 with modern styling and a decked-out kitchen – not that you need to use it. The home is the on-site accommodation for beloved Mornington restaurant Tedesca Osteria.

Driving time from Melbourne: 90 minutes

Nature informs the relaxation at Daylesford’s Hepburn Bathhouse and Spa, which has been harnessing the area’s mineral rich waters for bathers since 1895. In the property’s on-site wellness villas, the generous balconies soothe with their access to the surrounding canopies (and the enormous soaking tubs are just as inviting).

Driving time from Melbourne: two hours

A dazzling contemporary contrast to the heritage architecture of Bendigo, Bendigo Ernest Hotel is a haven of Australian art and designer furniture hidden inside the town’s oldest bank dating back to 1864. The city offers similar contrasts from rideable vintage trams — sure to thrill younger visitors — to a sprinkle of contemporary art galleries and modern restaurants.

Driving time from Melbourne: 90 minutes

Step back in time with a stay at The Grande Hotel, a stately guest house in the atmospherically named Wombat Forest of the Daylesford region. It’s a glorious relic from another time, with gold, gilt-framed oil artworks, wallpapered wine bar and a beautiful wraparound verandah. Want something a little stronger than wine? Hepburn Distillery churns out its own vodka and gin, perfect for an early evening tipple.

Driving time from Melbourne: 1 hour and 45 minutes

Depending on which of the Mitchelton Hotel’s 54 rooms or four suites you occupy, the view from your terrace will be either the Goulburn River or a sprawling vineyard. A fantastic outlook is guaranteed but there’s also a day spa, as well as tours of the property’s winery and Gallery of Aboriginal Art, concluding with a wine-tasting. Make dinner plans at Mitchelton’s The Muse, where the wood-fired roasting pit is used to smoke, grill and roast to perfection.

Driving time from Melbourne: 90 minutes

Ballarat has retained the opulent architecture of its gold-rich past but these days you’re more likely to strike gold in the form of excellent chardonnay and a calendar full of events, such as July’s Ballarat Winter Festival and, come 2024, the Ballarat International Foto Biennale, housed at the National Centre for Photography in the grand former Union Bank building. The beautiful Provincial Hotel is perfectly positioned on central Lydiard Street, where the full effect of yesteryear’s wealth can be seen in the lavish buildings. Built in 1909, it offers luxury accommodation and a Euro-style bistro, Lola, downstairs.

Driving time from Melbourne: one hour

Bring your best white frock – this is Picnic at Hanging Rock territory. It goes without saying that you must explore the eerie Hanging Rock Reserve, with its dramatic Pinnacle Walk and mysterious past. When you return, celebrate with a weekend stay at Lancemore Macedon Ranges, a sprawling hotel set amongst the backdrop of the area’s picturesque rolling hills.   An evening drink by the open fireplace is a must.

Driving time from Melbourne: 1 hour and 45 minutes

Bright, welcoming and right in the heart of Aireys Inlet, Sunnymead Hotel is an oceanside escape that’s given a retro motel a sunny disposition. There’s an on-site spa, Pan-Asian restaurant, poolside bar and cute little brekkie bags to grab before you hit the road.

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