Margaret River

[Durian]

Hi all,
For the 3-day Vesak day week-end, we booked SQ to Perth.
We have 2.5 full days there. Plan is to skip Perth and head directly to Margaret River and the wine area. Any recommendations there or along the way from Perth ? Any specific winery that is worth the trip ?
Any tip is welcome, cheers !

[CarbonMan]

I visited Voyager about 3 years ago. It's one of the few presentable ones. They have a nice restaurant as well as a vineyard tour but don't expect Bordeux-class chateau with a beautiful cellar.

Leeuwin was the other one I went. Lush countryside with lots of trees. Garden restaurant, though I didn't make it there for a meal. The main house is beautiful. Very quiet when I was there, probably because it was in winter.

[yflyer]

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.

[Kyo]

Vasse Felix has come up in many discussions, but I only had time to go as far as Mandurah before I had to head back up to Perth

[Durian]

Thank you all !

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

[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.

[metcalve]

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

[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...

[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]

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

[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.

[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.

[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?

[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

[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?).