SOUTHERN BELLE
Southern Belle - Luxury Travel Magazine
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Southern Belle | |||||
| By: Lorraine Ironside, Issue 26 - Autumn 2006 | |||||
| (The Rocks, Albany, WA) | |||||
| STEP BACK IN TIME AT THE ROCKS ALBANY. | |||||
| For more than a century the grand dame of Albany has lorded it over the preposterously beautiful Princess Royal Harbour, its sweeping water views witness to the marine movements of mighty pods of migratory whales. Built in the 1880s, the grand two-storey building has always been part of the historic fabric of this attractive coastal town, serving in turn as a private home, a summer residence for the State Governor, a WW1 hospital for wounded soldiers and a private girls’ school run by the Misses Keeble. A million-dollar makeover has seen the well-bred dowager with the dress circle location embrace her illustrious past, while tipping her bonnet to the future. The historic hideaway offers just six suites to its 21st century guests. While it displays accoutrements faithful to its origins – claw foot baths, cast-iron fireplaces and four-poster beds – it is mercifully free of the excessive frills and furbelows frequently found in recreated century-old piles. Public rooms in the gracious guesthouse, from music room with grand piano to billiard room and library, feature wing-backed chairs, leather club lounges and to-die-for views. Dark, carved antique furniture in the breakfast room adds an appropriate note of gravitas – serious decisions need to be made between the venison sausages and the eggs benedict’s, concocted as they are, with spanking fresh produce from the local farmers’ market. The historic town – a five hour drive or around an hours flight from Perth – offers a welter of attractions, from a spectacular coastline to bone-white beaches, magnificent granite outcrops to pristine bushwalking tracks, trawling nearby wineries or making the acquaintance of the resident friendly fur seal. Or guests may simply kick back, sit in the glorious rose garden, or take afternoon tea on their private slice of historic verandah and wait for those whales to hove into view. Rates from $310-$440 per room include breakfast. Details, (08) 9842 5969, www.therocksalbany.com.au | |||||
| Details: | |||||
| - Tribal Dreaming Relaxation Centre: Uniquely Australian relaxation experiences and indulgent massage, (08) 9841 7788 - Wild Duck Restaurant: French style cuisine fused with with modern Australia, showcasing local produce, (08) 9842 2554 - King George Sound: One of Australia’s last whaling stations, now one of the spots to whale watch - Albany Aviation: Albany from above, offering private charter and scenic flights, (08) 9841 1500 - Albany Golf Club: Built around the sand dunes this is the oldest golf course in WA still on its original site, www.albanygolfclub.com.au | |||||
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