The Louise

The Louise is exquisite! We last stayed there about 15 years ago and the charm remains (obviously it has new owners/operators), but the attention to detail is now completely on point. The cleanliness and comfort of our Marananga suite was second to none. Turn down service was excellent. At many high end places, turn down is now so rare. This turn down service was thorough and thoughtful and it only elevated in our minds what we already thought was an immaculate and peacefully decorated suite! We loved the water bottles placed by the bed - and not your boring everyday plastic bottles!! Having the fireplace in the bedroom is a bit of ‘luxe’ - if only it could be operated on remote control so you would not have to jump out of that gorgeously comfortable bed to turn it on!!! The two courtyards were spotless - we’ve been to other similar accommodations with private outdoor areas where tidying up the leaves/debris didn’t seem to be part of the standard maintenance - but at The Louise you’d hardly know there were any trees around as there wasn’t a leaf in sight! The room rating for us was 99% …. the 1% lost only due to there being no champagne glasses in the kitchenette. Granted, the Barossa is not big on ‘bubbles’ but we think it’s fair to assume there’d be just a few guests celebrating with champagne when staying at such special accommodation. The ‘den’ for the pre-dinner drinks was a special little ‘moody’ haven, although we’d point out that it’s advertised in the rate inclusions that you receive ‘drinks AND snacks’ in the evening. But there were no canapés in sight??? We also didn’t properly understand that you could order other wines by the glass from a list, if you weren’t taken by the ones sitting on the help-yourself-counter - we thought the list was for ordering full bottles only, not individual glasses. But once we got in the swing with that, it was great ‘mix and matching’ glasses of wine during both pre-dinner drinks and dinner, in place of the selected paired wines, to enjoy something more tailored to our tastes - great! Finally, a special ‘cheers’ to the departing English chap who was delightful and looked after us so effortlessly at dinner and breakfast. Apologies for missing his name! At brekkie, the wagyu burger/muffin is rather a treat too - something a bit different to Australia’s staple offering of smashed avocado done a myriad of ways!! Finally, treat yourself to a visit to the gorgeous ‘Wonderground’ (gallery/wine tasting) during your stay, to understand more from Kirsty about her art featured in the rooms in The Louise. She is also a treat!

This is a lovely property. All the public areas are spacious and beautifully decorated. There is a great outside terrace with views over valley and is good for roo spotting! We saw several. The rooms (we were in a Stonewell Suite) are very spacious and spotlessly clean. The bed itself is big and comfy and we slept well, although woke early as the sun comes into the room through the window right next to the bed. I suspect the rooms on the other side of the hotel are better as they get sunset rather than sunrise views. The breakfasts were great and the drinks and food arrived promptly. We struggled a bit more with the evening meal. There is a 4-5 course degustation menu with wine pairings, for which you are asked to allow 2 hours. If you dont want this, there is a very limited/basic alternative menu. However, when we asked to have a mixture of things off both menus (as there were things we didnt like on the degustation menu) this proved to be difficult and one night we didn’t get a proper meal. We opted out on our 3rd night and went into Tanunda for a meal instead. I want to be clear this is no fault of the hotel and they tried hard to accommodate our needs, I just think that unless you are a big foodie then you might find several consecutive nights of fine dining a bit much. The staff in general were friendly and helpful, and very knowledgable about the local area and wines. One hint - it helps to have an idea about what you want to do before you arrive. There was some mix-up with our travel agent so the hotel didn’t have contact details for us in advance, this meant we didn’t get the email they usually send out offering you experience options. When we arrived in the late afternoon it was already too late for the concierge to book experiences for the next day, so she had to wait until after 10am the next day when the vineyards open. Thankfully she was able to secure us a wine tasting that same afternoon at Hentley Farm. We didn’t mind where we went for the tasting but if you want somewhere particular then you definitely need to get organised and pre-book. The hotel has complimentary e-bikes to use. These need to be pre-booked and we found these a great way of getting around the local area whilst also being able to sample the wines! Otherwise you will have the expense of a private driver as the local taxi service can be a bit variable. Overall a lovely stay and I have no hesitation in recommending this hotel.

The property is modern looking and makes the most of some incredible views over the nearby vineyards. The rooms are more like suites with little courtyards and outdoor sitting areas. The accommodation was spacious and very comfortable. It is an all inclusive package with breakfast and dinner included with drinks etc. For dinner we chose to take the 5 course menu with wine pairings each night, and the meals were delightful. For breakfast, everything is cooked to order and their bread is terrific. This was a first class experience in every sense.

We had an outstanding experience. Nothing was too much trouble. The staff were helpful, knowledgeable and made us feel like honoured and most special guests. No request was too much trouble. The room was huge, comfortable and really well equipped with everything we needed. The food was outstanding, and the wine pairing delicious and interesting. It was made even better by the interest the staff took in the wine paring. The evening turn-down service was lovely with soothing tea and the kettle already boiled. The swimming pool had a wonderful view and frankly all we can say is that our experience was faultless. We are already working out how we can return (we live in Europe!). I cannot recommend this experience highly enough.

Don’t do it! Unless you’re 100% sure on your booking dates, I recommend a NO to The Louise, or Bailey Lodges in general. Their reservations staff lack any concept of life’s curve balls or extenuating circumstances. A request for a simple date change fell on deaf ears & as a result left me cutting my stay short & attending one sad & lonely evening all by myself! I’ll spend my next $3,200.00 + more weekend elsewhere. Thanks for your understanding Bailey Lodges .. NOT .. shame on you!