Mt Sturgeon
Overview
Welcome, but if you've come for the food at the nearby Royal Mail Hotel book a local nanny for dinnertime, as the kids may get restless during the three- to four-hour tasting menu.
Best for
Teens will enjoy the hiking and be able to handle the gourmet restaurant; little kids will dig the farm.
Recommended rooms
The two-bedroom cottages work best for families with two kids.
Activities
Dunkeld Pastoral Company, who own the Estate and Hotel, run an excellent breeding program for endangered species such as quolls, squirrel gliders and long nosed potoroos; if your kids don't enjoy putting faces to strange names in the enclosures close to the cottages, there's something wrong with them. The idea is to re-introduce native species into the Grampians National Park. Neat, eh?
Swimming pool
There's a decent sized pool beside the nearby Royal Mail Hotel, but it doesn't have a shallow end for young kids.
Meals
The restaurant and bistro at the Royal Mail Hotel accept children, but the former only offers a three-hour, 10-course fine dining tasting menu (with a price tag to match), so wouldn't suit infants. Simpler, more informal food is available at the adjacent bistro, or you can prepare basic food at the cottages. Picnics, hiking packs and barbecue hampers can be supplied too, and would work well for feeding the smalls.
Babysitting
Available with a local nanny, but you'll need to book ahead when you reserve your room (price on application).
No need to pack
Baby cots are supplied for free.
Also
The hotel can't provide extra beds for older children; child's rates apply for kids under 15; over that age, they'll qualify for the full adult tariff.
