In the know

Our favourite rooms: We love The Lake Suite – all white cotton sheets and tartan throws – with its double doors opening to a marble bathroom under the eaves with cute-as-pie views out of the gabled windows.
Packing tips: Boots and cashmere jumpers for winter; classic cotton layers for summer. Leave the heels at home.
Also: Don't be rude about the rather starchy Victorian lady whose painting presides over one of the Lodge's several gorgeously appointed lounges; you don't want to get on her bad side. She is said to haunt the property, albeit in a friendly way. A slamming door in the dead of night was indeed heard during our stay...

The Priory Country Lodge hotel, Central Highlands, Australia

Current offers

Smith card offer: A bottle of wine with dinner.
Current special offer: Three nights for the price of two for exclusive use of the Priory Country Lodge (sleeps eight)

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The Priory Country Lodge

Central Highlands, Australia[view map]

Style: Glamorous gothic
Setting: Heather-flecked Highlands

Elegant, smart, diminutively grand – sand-stoned, stained-glass-windowed The Priory Country Lodge was built in 1848 for a Presbyterian Minister later run out of this Central Highlands town for short-changing his congregation. Chock-a-block with story-telling antiques, lavish contemporary fabrics and nerd-pleasing fishing and hunting paraphernalia, it is a one-of-a-kind Gothic retreat that can serve up both snuggled-down romance or get-out-there adventure.

Need to know

Rooms: Four bedrooms with two suites. Three more rooms are currently being converted from stunning outbuildings, including a pavilion suite with wood fire and balcony, and a room with its own ensuite dry sauna.
Rates: AU$400–AU$500, includes cooked breakfast, taxes and a two-course dinner.
Check-out: 11am, but flexible. Earliest check-in, 3pm.
Facilities: Hunting room, flatscreen TV, DVD and CD library, free WiFi. In rooms: Küdos spa toiletries, Jim Thompson silks.
Eco-friendly: Heating at The Priory Country Lodge is solar-powered.
Also: Play country gentry a spot of huntin', fishin' and shootin'; licensed gun owners should bring their own, but fishing equipment is at hand. The Central Highlands fly-fishing season runs from September to May.

Food & drink

Hotel restaurant: Dinner is served on a grand antique table in the formal dining room; breakfast is in the kitchen on a huge writing desk salvaged from the Queensland Club in Brisbane. Food is meticulously prepared using organic, local produce (although the resident chickens met a grizzly end). After dinner, your host will retire and leave you in lamp-shaded luxury with a platter of local cheeses and port.
Dress code: Lord and lady of the manor; plenty of tweed.
Top table: If you're worried about communal dining, ask for a more intimate table à deux downstairs.
Last orders: Dinner is an early affair in the Highlands; while every effort will be made to accommodate guests' needs, don't expect to eat much later than 9pm.
Room service: Not available overnight. Otherwise, light snacks are always on call to your room.
Hotel bar: There's an honesty bar with a range of spirits and an impressive wine list leaning towards the cold-climate, delicate but fruity tipples that Tasmania is famous for.

Also worth knowing

Children: This hotel is better suited to couples - leave the children at home!

Smith Members offer

A bottle of wine with dinner.

If you're a member of Mr & Mrs Smith, you can get special privileges at every Smith hotel you book through us. Just show your Smith card at check-in to claim the offer featured on every hotel page (like the one above).

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Book this hotel

To book this hotel please click here, or contact our travel team on 1 866 610 3867.