Royal Mail Hotel, Dunkeld

Probably the most interesting and sensational fine dining experience that we’ve ever encountered. This is a hotel/ restaurant complex in Dunkeld, a small town in Western Victoria. It is owned and operated by a seriously wealthy and professional family and seeks to provide a unique and excellent accommodation and dining facility. ||The Royal Mail Hotel consists of approximately 30 individual ground floor and limited 1st floor units in a beautifully landscaped bush setting just adjacent to the Grampians National park and south of Mt Sturgeon, a spectacular mountain in a rugged range. |Unit accommodation is absolutely first class, rooms are tastefully and brilliantly constructed and designed. |Each unit overlooks bushland and parking is just outside the door of the unit. Furniture, decor and fittings are luxurious and tastefully assembled. Quiet, excellent climate control and soundproofing are top notch. But the masterpiece here is the dining experience which consists of changing and seasonal degustation set menus complimented by a 30,000 bottle wine cellar and vast array of spirits and some beers. The international cellar features every quality local and generally European wines, some costing thousands of dollars. |The set menu that we experienced was 8 plus courses of incredible complexity and precision. Wait staff are very knowledgeable and can answer any reasonable question about the food and its sources. |The sitting can take 3 hours, there is no rush or urgency. A truly unique experience

This is the 3rd time we have been to the Royal Mail hotel. Great sized rooms, with a view of the Southern Grampians. Loved the heated floor in the bathroom.||We ate at the Parker Street Project on the first night and had the Tasting Menu. It was so good, so good. We could not fault any of the dishes.||The following night we dined at Wickens. This is another level up. The degustation meal was SPECTACULAR. This is the 2nd time we have dined at Wickens, and it did not disappoint. The staff were brilliant.||During our stay, we did the Garden Tour that was hosted by Robin Wickens himself. We learnt so much. We also did the Cellar Tour. What a cellar.||We are already trying to work out when we can go back. Very Highly Recommended.

My wife and I have come here for many years now and just love the whole dining experience, how produce is sourced, the tours and the accommodation options. Magic for a couples getaway especially staying on the Mount Sturgeon property. Suggestion is to book Cottage 1 - 4. Lovely outlook and peaceful.

We stayed in one of the studio rooms that we booked through the Royal Mail website. The room was like a basic motel with views onto other rooms. There was a damp, unpleasant smell and no water pressure at all. When we gave this feedback at reception we were told these were the entry level rooms. It was over $250 for the night and not worth it at all. Nice food at the PSP but was left disappointed by the overall experience.

We stayed at the Royal Mail Hotel over the Easter holidays. The hotel is set in the beautiful Grampians, with amazing views of the mountains. We chose it because we were looking for something small, quiet, special, and exclusive. The highlight of our trip was definitely dining at Wickens, which I have reviewed separately — it was truly exceptional. The staff at both the restaurant and the hotel were super nice and welcoming, and we appreciated their friendliness throughout our stay. However, the first impression upon arrival at the hotel was a bit disappointing. The property felt somewhat tired — you can tell it might once have been a truly exquisite place, but now it looks worn and even neglected in parts. The room was bright and clean, but that’s where the positives ended. The artwork was a little odd — one wall had beautiful birds that made sense given the surroundings, but another featured rusty cars, which felt strangely out of place. Despite the hotel being surrounded by gorgeous natural vegetation, there wasn’t even a simple flower in the room to create a welcoming feel. The air conditioning unit was extremely loud, so much so that we chose not to use it. The balcony view was lovely (we had booked a mountain view room), but the balcony windows were dirty — it wasn’t clear when they had last been cleaned. Breakfast in the room was nice, good coffee and nice tea selection, point for that :) The amenities, too, were disappointing on closer look. The pool setting could have been beautiful, but there were hoses lying around everywhere. It’s understandable they are needed, but they could have easily been tucked away to maintain a more polished atmosphere. The pool towels provided were old, faded, and not pleasant to use. Overall, the Royal Mail Hotel is a good hotel, but when you position yourself as a boutique property, there’s a responsibility to offer something outstanding and to go the extra mile — which simply wasn’t the case here. In today’s competitive hospitality landscape, where guests have endless options through outstanding Airbnbs and genuine boutique hotels, it’s no longer enough to rely on old fame. Attention to detail and consistent upkeep are what truly make the difference.

The dining at wickens was a special experience. ||The area is lovely with lots of walking options. ||The staff are exceptional and friendly! ||We also really enjoyed parker st project and it’s great to have a more casual dining option on site. ||The room was comfortable with a lovely view.

Fabulous weekend. Food at both restaurants was off the chart good. Wine truly fantastic. Super friendly team with high service ethic. Very comfortable bed.

We stayed at the hotel for two nights and had a wonderful experience. Our room had a beautiful mountain view and was conveniently located close to the swimming pool. The room was immaculate, with lovely touches like complimentary bottles of water that made our stay extra comfortable. The reception staff were very helpful and welcoming, always ready to assist with anything we needed.||Overall, a relaxing and enjoyable stay — highly recommended!

I sort of expected this place to be slightly different to most of the pubs out in the country, namely because I remember driving past it years ago and taking note that it actually look somewhat fancier than most of the pubs one will encounter out in the country. Well, it certainly ended up being the case, no doubt because of its location at the Southern end of the Grampians. Well, as it turned out there were some nice beers available, and the pub itself, well, it was a little fancy, and sort of didn't have that charm that some country pubs have. Still, it was a nice pub, and there was some lovely views from the beer garden as well.

Chef Dan Hunter is a nice. soften spoken guy. He's also an amazing chef. Starting in his native Australia, he made his way over to Barcelona, then to the outskirts of San Sebastian. In the town of Errenteria, he made his way up the chain at Mugaritz, eventually becoming the head chef under Andoni Aduritz. After a year at that post he moved to Dunkled and became the Executive chef of Royal Mail. With his own kitchen garden, the influences of the Basque countryside, Chef Hunter created a meal with kindred spirit chef David Kinch. This provided a 12 course 6 hour meal that would be long remembered: -Coho salmon roe jelly, avocado and meyer lemon 2004 Vilmart & Cie Grand Celler Rubis Rilly-la-Montagne Champage, France -Grilled matsutake, sea urchin, and daikon 2002 Tyrell's Wines Semillon Vat 1 Hunter Valley, Australia -Tomato on toast, handmade sheep's ricotta 2010 Entre Nous Rose of Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley -Abalone, sunchokes, goat curd with walnut wine 2009 d'Arenberg "the Hermit Crab" Wiognier Marsanne McLaren Vale Adelaide, Australia -Egg yolk, legumes and yeast, Australian winter truffle 2007 Cullen "Kevin Joh" Chardonnay Margaret River, Australia -Sea bream and caramelized vegetable juices, runner beans 2009 Kilikanoon Mort's block Riesling Clare Vallley, Australia -Eel and bone marrow, eggplant, pickled vegetables 2008 Giant Steps Pinot Noir Sexton Vineyard Yarra Valley Australia -Veal and albacore tonnato, crispy rice and cabbage 2007 John Duval Plexux Shiraz, Grenache, Mouvedre Barossa Valley Australia -Lamb and carrots, soy cream, almond, garlic 2001 Yara Yering Underhill Shiraz Yarra Valley, Australia -Vanilla yogurt panna, raw and pickled plums, shiso sorbet NV Lord Nelson Victory "Port Style" Syrah, Cabernet Franc, Viognier, Napa Valley -Pistachio, hazelnut, honeycomb, chocolate NV Chambers Muscat Rosewood Vineyards Rutherglen, Australia -Kugelhoph

I have to admit after seeing all the beautiful shots, to drive into Dunkeld right into Royal Mail was a little bit disappointing. I expect a more grandeur location/building. But hey this is the beauty of it. It's unpretentious, down right honest and friendly. It is fine dining in the most relaxing environment. The food is beautifully executed without the flamboyant 'look at me' statement. The wait staff are most friendly and knowledgeable. You have to try it once in your life time. Or twice. Only trouble is to tweet/instagram live while you're eating is going to be hard without much reception in Dunkeld.

The food here is a solid 5 stars, but I feel the service was inattentive enough to drag it down to 3 stars overall. We drove to Dunkeld specially for this restaurant and I left feeling quite meh about the entire experience. They have a 105-page wine list, which is quite legendary, with a 100 year old port wine we tried, and some premium Penfolds' sold by the glass. Now here comes my rants about the service. An 8 course meal taking 3.5 hours to serve? Come on guys, you know half the patrons here have driven specially to eat your food, and with the kitchen being so slow, we had to drive back to Melbourne at 11pm despite having being seated at about 7pm. After 1.5 hours into the meal, we were only at the 3rd course. My friend's water glass was constantly refilled, yet mine was neglected for about 3 times that his glass was being refilled, despite mine having lesser water. In my annoyance, I changed the position of my glass and I think they got the hint. In one of the amuse bouche, there was a delicious decadent nori butter within. I asked a waiter if I could have the nori butter instead of the Vegemite butter provided, and his response was that the consistency wasn't right to spread on bread and the kitchen probably didn't have enough, without checking with the kitchen. So hmmm, your nori butter can be spread on paper-thin flaxseed crackers but it can't be spread on bread? Very curious indeed. I got a glass of grüner veltliner, and I wasn't given a portion to taste; just simply poured in, and that was it. My friend got the Penfolds and then a glass of their 100 year old Australia Seppetlsfield port, which was divine. We got the 8 course meal, and the meal in general was on the salty side, but I have a high tolerance of salt, but if you have a very light palate you may want to tell them to go easy on the salt or avoid this place. The food scores on flavor pairings and technique. I actually really liked the food. I didn't have a favorite course, because everything was consistently good. Before we left, because we were in a rush, we asked for the petit fours to be served quickly. To our surprise, the waiter gestured to the potted plant on the table. He explained that the petit fours were buried in chocolate soil and we had to dig them out ourselves. Yum. Great food, let down by lousy service and bad time management.

How's this for instant blogging? We are on our way home from celebrating WordMonkey's 30th (the less said about that the better) birthday at Royal Mail Hotel in Dunkeld. We have wanted to check out this award-laden three-hat place for ages but rarely find a reason to head to its home in a not-much-happening corner of the Grampians. About 140km out of Ballarat, the hotel's minty-green art deco exterior flashes past en route to really-nothing-happening Hamilton (although there is a bit of history here, with the first motel in country Victoria just around the corner). A bistro by day and high-end restaurant by night this place also has accommodation and a local-stlye country pub attached. A surprising contrast of downscale and upscale with just a door to separate them. The pub menu is all about staple favourites like chicken parma, fish and chips, and steaks - there's a pool table and no pokies, and they serve a decent drop by the glass and a good range of beers - so it's definitely a more refined experience than some of the pot and pie establishments you might find around this neck of the bush. The 'bistro' is wooden tables that get fancied-up with white linen tablecloths for the evening and a mid-range menu with mains around the $30 mark. There are a few things happening here worth noting - this lunch option provides people with the opportunity to try a great place without breaking the bank, but then with accessibility come other things and if I sound like a child-hatings snob then I can only apologise. But while I am taking advantage of the 'cheaper' menu I am still expecting a dining experience that is a cut above (because I have driven to the arse-end of the Grampians etc etc). So I don't want to look at your kids' toys all over the table and even less at their half-chewed food all over the floor. I appreciate that for locals the options around here are limited, but for us this has been a four-hour journey and we would like to be rewarded with a sense of occasion when we get there. However, this is my only gripe and really what I am trying to say is that the bistro / fine dining thing has equally good and bad points. I know we chose to only eat lunch so can't really complain. And admittedly if the whole experience had been uber-refined and polished the atmosphere of an easy-going but great Sunday lunch would be lost. So stop talking and tell us about the food.... Well, dense wholemeal soda bread and butter starts us off before entrees of deliciously smooth duck and pistachio terrine with onion jam and risotto of spring vegetables arrive. Really can't fault the terrine - great texture and balance of flavours with just-crunchy slices of brown toast to spread it on. Meaty without being too dense. The risotto was bursting with fresh peas, broad beans and herby / ferny leaves, and the stock it had been cooked in was also fresh and light. Would have liked the addition of cold-pressed lemon oil to have been upped in order to impart a more zesty kick, and a bit more pecorino for a salty kick, but these things didn't really detract from a good starter. Next up - slow-cooked suckling pig, nashi and turnip, shallot and black mustard pickle. PhotoMonkey says: the pork was succulent and fell apart; pickle was quite spicy - imparting a curry kick; the poached pears were a good apple sauce substitute; didn't need to the extra element of turnip - although we thought they looked more like radishes. No crackling but the skin was lean with a caramelised outer and semi-gelatinous layer of fat that added an extra dimension of flavour. Luckily the boneless rack of lamb also had a good reserve of flavour stored in the fatty (not chewy, more melty) parts as the meat itself, although cooked just the right side of rare (slightly pink but well-rested), wasn't really packing a punch the way a roasted spring lamp rack might - am putting this down to my hay fever and the fact that it appeared to have been cooked sous vide. It was served with colourful orange and purple heirloom carrots, almond cream and amazingly pungent but not overpowering pickled garlic. We had perfectly cooked new potatoes in horseradish cream and chives - could have eaten a wholebowl of these with a glass of the Henty Farm chardonnay. Overall portion size was spot on - satisfying but not leaving us full to bursting... ....which allowed us to go for desserts - hazelnut mousse, chocolate and honeycomb, and artisan cheese, house-made bread (raisins and nuts studding quite dark rye) and orange and carrot marmalade. The mousse: the highlight of the meal; if you like sweet treats this is the way to go. Smooth mousse with layers of shaved dark chocolate with a golden crown of honeycomb. A very on-trend offering having recently scoffed similar desserts at Chin Chin - coconut sorbet with palm sugar - and Loam - nectarine sorbet, honeycomb and mini pinecones. All served in Riedel-stlye stemless wine glasses.

Ever heard of Veg-a-mite Butter? Well, I had it for the first and probably last time at the Royal Mail Hotel in Dunkeld, Victoria. Read on to find out what it was like. P-R-E-T-E-N-T-I-O-U-S is the word that comes to mind after leaving this bland, modern, pub/bistro/restaurant situated in Western Victoria at the foot of the Grampians. Where is the beauty to match the grandeur of the location? Where is the down-to-earth warmth and charm of country Australia? I would have been happier with excellent quality ingredients prepared simply but expertly and served graciously, rather than what I got which was overly-priced food coated with bad sauces, tricked up with carefully poised parsley sprigs, displayed with artful drizzles, and served by an unctuous (though I am sure well-meaning) waiter. The first course of oysters ($4.50 each) and sparkling wine from the region started off well. The oysters were fresh, though served with nothing but a lemon wedge. Nothing special. But they did set the tone for the meal which was SALT. The waiter offered the bread on a tray as if he was unveiling the Holy Grail. Then came the Veg-a-mite butter. At first I was intrigued. Could this be authentic Australian irony raising its head amidst the Europhilic formality? It came on a plate: brown and shaped, unfortunately, like a little fat torpedo. It tasted like . . . Veg-a-mite and butter mixed together. Or, if you are an American like me, it tasted like salty bullion with butter. Now I have nothing against getting an infusion of B vitamins with my butter in theory, but one really visits a finer eating establishment like the Royal Mail Hotel for something one cannot get at home. If I wanted to I could eat Veg-a-mite and butter on bread every morning! I ordered the lamb, or, as the menu described it: "Flinders Island lamb, turnips, chard, mint -- $45" This far from appetizing description reflected the salty boredom on the plate, and indeed the entire meal. Lamb tenderloin pieces arrived, glued together with a muddy, purple paste, accented with four spinach leaves, and arranged amidst a louche array of quartered turnips. Then, the "pièce de resistance"! The back-waiter, with the flourish of a baptism, thoroughly doused my lamb with a brown, viscous glaze, that, when tasted, possessed the saline tang of packet gravy. I tried to rescue a few pieces of lamb from this doom, but finally gave them up for lost and asked for an undrowned version. Even the $9 "pommé purée confit garlic" - AKA good ol' fashioned garlic mashed potatoes - were so salty my partner and I could not eat them. After this grimness we were still ready to salve our wounds with a decadent dessert. But instead we saw this: "chocolate, beet root, ginger," as well as several other similarly cryptic lists of undelicious-sounding ingredients. We were ready to order dessert but could find nothing that sounded the least bit tempting. For this American sojourning "down under," what I have grown to love about Australia is its authenticity, cheekiness, uniqueness, beauty, and fabulously high-quality ingredients. I saw none of these qualities on display at the Royal Mail Hotel. We spent $180 on a meal we could have cooked better at home for under $50. Return to sender.

Stumbled into this place a few years ago and did not have a good experience and when I realized I was here again I was hoping for an improvement. I was disappointed. My partner was recommended to come here (sadly given no more info) and upon entering we were surprised that it is not a 'hotel' at all. Barely greeted as we walked through the front door we wanted to have a wander and see what else there was given the size of the building. By the staff reactions it was either unusual or Duh go look - either way the staff were largely not friendly (the young man was quietly friendly). We went through a door into another restaurant area - the upper class - where we were greeted by a suit wearing maitre'd who nicely explained what was on offer in this area. Upon deciding we weren't in the mood for a 2 or 3 course meal we thanked him and moved to return to the other 'casual' dining area and he laughed and said to another staff member we were 'boomerang diners'. We sat after having to ask if we needed to be seated or not and looked at the menu. Meals were incredibly expensive for 'casual' dining but we proceeded to order a beef burger and the flat head. Talk about uninspired food. The burger patty itself was cooked beautifully but far too thick. The wedges that came with it were bland, the salad soggy with oil. I had to get up and go to the bar to ask for salt and pepper. The flat head came with no lemon, salt or pepper and the same bland wedges and soggy salad. Did not finish anything and left still hungry with stares from staff. Now, we didn't do any research on this place and I believe this was our downfall. As somewhere called a hotel it was nothing like the typical expectation of a hotel. Overall not a good experience and would not recommend for drop in dining.