I do get some good gigs it's true – and this has been a favourite to date…here's my review of this fabulous Mornington beachside getaway.
What could possibly top a romantic night away in a secluded beach hideaway?
Perhaps it was having a three-course dinner, served to us in our room, at a time that suited us, prepared by the on-site chef? Or was it the following morning, when breakfast fit for a king arrived, with mint and fetta omlette, croissant, poached pears with passion fruit, plus the newspaper, delivered to our room, at the civilized time of ‘after 9am’?
We can see why private dining on-site is the way to go, because once we’d arrived at the Big Blue Backyard, leaving couldn’t have been further from our minds! Owners Paul & Lisa Dempsey have built three private romantic hideaways just back from the sand dunes from St Andrew’s Beach, on the Mornington Peninsula.
A personal welcome and then total privacy
Lisa appeared as if by magic to welcome us as we were parking the car and led us to our very own hideaway along a timber boardwalk through lush greenery and ti-tree.
And after a few simple exchanges as to when dinner would be served, she’d gone again, leaving us to revel in our new surroundings.
And revel we did, because the personal touches continued inside – we found a chalk welcome note for us on the back of a door, freshly baked biscuits set out with luxury teas and coffee, chilled soft drinks in the minibar – even Magnum ice-creams in the freezer! We browsed the books and watched the films they’d left out for us – all at no extra charge.
And this is the secret – the owners had provided everything we could want – so we just switched off and enjoyed our privacy. We knew should we need them, they’d be up at their house – it’s a winning combination.
Eco-friendly luxury – go hand in hand
It’s run with sustainability at its heart; with power from solar panels and grey water irrigating the gardens, and best of all – decks that have been built around existing trees. Everything (including the produce on our plate for dinner) was organic, locally sourced, sustainable or biodynamic.
Beach, Bush or Africa … decisions decisions
All three hideaways are spacious and light, with softly curved rooflines, king-sized beds, outdoor rain showers and have a beautifully private sunken spa bath on the deck!
‘After a walk on the beach, pour yourselves some bubbles and talk nonsense in the spa til dinner,’ was Lisa’s suggestion – and we did.
We followed the private path from our hideway through the bush, up over the dunes and were met with a staggering view of the ocean, with pounding surf crashing onto the beach.
After a sunny afternoon beachcombing, our private spa bath beckoned and we wiled away the evening sipping on a delicious Mornington Champagne, utterly relaxed in the knowledge that dinner was being prepared. By someone else. For us.
The Big Blue Backyard is a hideaway in the true sense of the word, and run by exceptional hosts – it was jolly hard to leave.