Mr & Mrs Smith

Bells at Killcare

Central Coast, Australia

Bells at Killcare takes the best of country, coastal and city chic to make a boutique bouillabaisse which is part hotel, part chef's-hatted-restaurant, part private retreat. Stefano Manfredi brings New Italian heartiness to the kitchen, while classic Australia awaits on the surf beaches and walking trails of the surrounding Bouddi National Park, just 90 minutes north of Sydney.

Need to know

• Rooms 25, including 11 suites and nine cottages.
• Rates Double rooms from AU$227.27, excluding tax at 10 per cent.
  The price shown represents the lowest nightly rate for a double room available at this hotel over the next 21 days. Any price conversions from the hotel's local currency (AU$227) have been conducted using today's exchange rates from xe.com.
• More details Rates include Continental breakfast. Dinner packages are also available for Sunday nights.
• Facilities Day-spa, gardens, free WiFi in the main house, DVD and book library. In rooms: iPod dock, flatscreen TV, CD/DVD players.
• Poolside The shimmering turquoise swimming pool is flanked by sun-loungers and umbrellas. Change facilities and lockers are at hand for a quick switch into swimwear.
• Check-out 11am. Earliest check-in, 3pm.
• Children Bells’ accommodation is best for grown-ups, but kids are allowed in the restaurant.
• Also Food-lovers, get your gourmet on with a cooking class (bi-monthly) and garden tour (offered daily), or attend one of the hotel's monthly wine dinners.

Food and drink at Bells at Killcare

• Hotel restaurant The grand main dining room, overlooking the gardens, is the spiritual heart of Bells at Killcare. Vivid blues, strong stripes and shell motifs create a relaxed coastal feel, smartened by white linens and stylish banquettes. The veranda is great for larger parties while the Garden Room offers a secluded, private space inside. But you’d be happy eating chef Stefano Manfredi’s food anywhere – robust duck and pork ragus, pan-fried veal, home-made gelati and antipasto plates that would feed a family. Italian heritage is overlaid with rigorous local and organic product sourcing, such as Hawkesbury River oysters.
  
• Dress code TM Lewin shirts and RM Williams moleskins for lunch; a pair of stretch pants for afterwards.
• Top table Pick a table on the veranda, but any of the windowside tables for two will do if it’s too hot or cold to be outside (number 23 is lovely).
• Room service Antipasto platters can be enjoyed in your room – just order in advance.
• Hotel bar As well as a super-extensive Italian wine list, Bells serves many of the best regional Australian wines. The glass-walled, temperature-controlled wine cellar is a key feature of the restaurant area, but quaff the stuff in the Chesterfielded bar or more comfy, literature-lined library, where a replica First Fleet rigger takes pride of place. Suitably, Bellinis are the house cocktail.

Also worth knowing

• Weddings This property is suitable for weddings. More...

Bells at Killcare 107 The Scenic Road, Killcare Heights, Central Coast, NSW 2257