Margaret River

[feizhu]

We actually walked to Bunker beach café, from the bungalow through the beach, very romantic on a Sunday morning, sunny sky and deserted beach... only to reach the Bunker beach café... was an unpleasant experience. It seems the whole neighborhood congregate there, it took 20mins to get our take away coffee, what a chaos, so crowded and noisy while the beach was so empty and peaceful in comparison !

Ah we went sometime in Aug and were probably one of the very few guests at Pullman so all was good.

[Durian]

Actually the Pullman has been around for many years and the last time I stayed in 2013, some of the fittings were noticeably dated and our villa entrance had cobwebs and rusted signage. But I still love the peace and tranquility of the place and especially the Bunker Beach Cafe just down the road!

We actually walked to Bunker beach café, from the bungalow through the beach, very romantic on a Sunday morning, sunny sky and deserted beach... only to reach the Bunker beach café... was an unpleasant experience. It seems the whole neighborhood congregate there, it took 20mins to get our take away coffee, what a chaos, so crowded and noisy while the beach was so empty and peaceful in comparison !

[feizhu]

How was the Pullman Bunker Bay? When I visited, it was still very new, and it was great. How is it these days?

Actually the Pullman has been around for many years and the last time I stayed in 2013, some of the fittings were noticeably dated and our villa entrance had cobwebs and rusted signage. But I still love the peace and tranquility of the place and especially the Bunker Beach Cafe just down the road!

[Durian]

I have decided to skip the guided and private tours and opt for self-drive next week. Now I have to worry about selecting the vineyards to visit. Given that I can't drink as a driver, my wife doesn't drink and only my dad will get to taste the alcoholic goodness (and we have three young kids in tow), we will probably visit only one location. Which of these wineries would you recommend? This list was provided by the tour company.

* Leeuwin Estste
* Watershed Winery
* Brookwood
* Tassel Park
* Fermoy Estate

All locations provide wine tasting, with the exception of Fermoy Estate which also allows exclusive barrel tasting (what's that?).

Why can't your wife drive ? All the more if she does not drink
I don't know the duration of your trip and your schedule, but a wine tasting will be a 30mins thing at most, if you taste the whole range in a given winery... I'd rather pick a winery that has a restaurant, sunny lunch like my pic above is great. The pic was taken at Cullen.
Again, beyond the wine tasting, you can pick a winery that organizes tour, the vines, the barrels, storage, ...
One thing you might want to check prior to your trip is if there is no restriction on kids access, due to alcohol, in some wineries. Not sure how Australia is vis a vis these things.

[SQ22]

I have decided to skip the guided and private tours and opt for self-drive next week. Now I have to worry about selecting the vineyards to visit. Given that I can't drink as a driver, my wife doesn't drink and only my dad will get to taste the alcoholic goodness (and we have three young kids in tow), we will probably visit only one location. Which of these wineries would you recommend? This list was provided by the tour company.

* Leeuwin Estste
* Watershed Winery
* Brookwood
* Tassel Park
* Fermoy Estate

All locations provide wine tasting, with the exception of Fermoy Estate which also allows exclusive barrel tasting (what's that?).

[Durian]

How was the Pullman Bunker Bay? When I visited, it was still very new, and it was great. How is it these days?

Well, we had one of the bungalows by the lake, closer to the beach.
Actually, nothing to complain about, room was well appointed, XXL bed, mini-kitchen with fridge and microwave oven, massive bathroom.
We did not spend much time in the room though, overall that was OK, except for some obvious spider webs lol

[yflyer]

- night #2 in Pullman Bunker Bay, the bungalows close to the beach

How was the Pullman Bunker Bay? When I visited, it was still very new, and it was great. How is it these days?

[yflyer]

Hi Yflyer, we have actually been disappointed by Leewin... we went all the way there to taste the acclaimed Art Series Chardonnay... it was nice but certainly not worth AUD 100 !
We got just 1 bottle at Vasse Felix.
We ended up doing most shopping at Cape Mentelle, in particular the seldom-grown in WA Zifandel was ver nice.

Yes, the Art Series Chardonnay at Leeuwin is good but quite expensive. I tasted it but didn't buy any either.

The Vasse Felix Cab Sauv is very good. Also fairly expensive though. But AUD is going down so hopefully the prices will get better.

I like the Cape Mentelle Semillon/Sauvignon Blanc.

[Durian]

Hi Durian, The two wineries I was most impressed with were Leeuwin (As CarbonMan has also recommended) and Vasse Felix. Probably worth a meal at the restaurants there as well.

Hi Yflyer, we have actually been disappointed by Leewin... we went all the way there to taste the acclaimed Art Series Chardonnay... it was nice but certainly not worth AUD 100 !
We got just 1 bottle at Vasse Felix.
We ended up doing most shopping at Cape Mentelle, in particular the seldom-grown in WA Zifandel was ver nice.

[Durian]

Hi Durian, which accommodation did you go for eventually?

I was fortunate enough to find Vaila, a 5-bedroom villa by the lake in Yallingup. It is owned by Cape Executive, a company with more than 30 properties in its stable. This company is NOT listed in the major booking engines like Booking.com, Agoda and Airbnb.

Vaila Yallingup

Just thought I'd share the link to benefit those of you who might be heading down south in the near future.

Hi SQ22, we ended up at:
- night #1 in Ellards Guest House, 2 mins from PER airport after post-midnight arriving on SQ214
- night #2 in Pullman Bunker Bay, the bungalows close to the beach
- night #3 at Grand Mercure Basildene Manor in Margaret River

I know it was a 3-day week-end both in AU and SIN, so high demand, but I can't swallow the absence of sleepers and in-room wifi for AUD 400 at
the Mercure

Anyway, that was an awesome week-end, weather was gorgeous, lots of wine tasting and good food



and a very nice surprise gift from Mrs. Durian at PER duty free on the way back to SIN

[SQ22]

Hi Durian, which accommodation did you go for eventually?

I was fortunate enough to find Vaila, a 5-bedroom villa by the lake in Yallingup. It is owned by Cape Executive, a company with more than 30 properties in its stable. This company is NOT listed in the major booking engines like Booking.com, Agoda and Airbnb.

Vaila Yallingup

Just thought I'd share the link to benefit those of you who might be heading down south in the near future.

[Durian]

Thanks !
I checked it, fully booked

Really bad bad luck, Vesak day in Singapore is same day than Western Australia day, 1st June... so I'm having a hard time finding any nice accommodation... most of the nicest places are fully booked, only motels or basic BnB seems to have vacancy
Not to mention that a few of the best places have a 2- or 3- day minimum stay...

[metcalve]

Made that trip 2 years ago.. Cape Lodge is a pretty nice accommodation option with a nice restaurant.

[CarbonMan]

Thank you all !

Nobody called me an idiot for skipping Perth, so I guess that's not a bad idea

Personally, I like Albany, Karri Forest around Pemberton and Margaret River best.

[Durian]

Thank you all !

Nobody called me an idiot for skipping Perth, so I guess that's not a bad idea