About the Lake House Daylesford, Victoria

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COVID-19 Protocols

All team members have undergone extensive training in health & safety protocols specific to managing COVID -19 restrictions and best practise operations.
Hand sanitizer stations are available throughout the property (alcohol-based 60% or more) as well as individual units in each hotel room.
All areas of the property are by reservation only, ensuring that we minimise additional guests on-site and enable us to know exactly who is on-site on any given day and time.
The Restaurant is operating with reduced capacity to ensure appropriate social distancing. All menus are printed on recycled paper for single use.
The Hotel is operating with staggered arrival and departure times where possible. Appropriate areas for guests to wait has been arranged and express check in and check out put in place. Team members are observing strict protocols regarding continuous sanitising and cleaning of Reception and Reservation areas. Contactless transactions have been enforced – all payments are to be made by Credit Card or EFT.

The Spa is open, however with a reduced number of therapists and guests allowed at any one time. The use of facilities that increase body temperature such as the hot tub, sauna, Thermal M Cocoons, and Hydrostorm are unavailable. Single-use hot mineral water spas are available as these are cleaned and filled for each new guest. Treatment rooms are reserved for the use of single guests, no dual treatments are available. Reservations for groups are capped at 2 (two) until further notice.
Conferences and Events. Please note there are restrictions on the number of guests able to gather in one space at one time in both a dining and meeting capacity. All group enquiries will be coordinated by our Event Team who are trained in COVID 19 protocols and best practise health & safety. They are able to assist in the management of these restrictions, the safety as well as the enjoyment of your guests.
We have committed to increased frequency of cleaning of public areas, public bathrooms, studios, and suites (including door handles, switches, and high-touch points).

Restaurant, Hotel, Spa, Weddings, Events, Cellar, Retreats....

Six acres of country gardens extend down to the waters of Lake Daylesford and provide guests with immediate access to the lakeshore and the Wombat State Forest beyond.

Exploring the property is in itself an adventure. Guests may like to have a hit of tennis followed by tea and refreshments in the tennis pavilion, a glass of wine by the fire in the Argyle Library Bar. Given the opportunity to explore the gardens you will come upon significant trees, a myriad of sculptures and artwork from many of the region’s top artists, extensive outdoor terraces overlooking the lakeshore and established country gardens with everything from koala-loved stringy barks to lilac, Daphne, quince, plum and apple trees.

The renowned restaurant draws appreciative foodies from Australia and around the world. In the kitchens, a talented team under the guidance of co-owner and Culinary Director Alla Wolf-Tasker AM work from the ground up producing cutting edge, modern Australian cuisine with an emphasis on seasonal and regional ingredients.

The Award Winning Cellar and its list with over 1000 references keeps wine buffs happy with its edgy and interesting selection of wines from around the world and of course closer to home.

Co-owner and resident artist Allan Wolf-Tasker whose work hangs in private and public collections around the world has a studio on site which is open by invitation and appointment to Lake House guests. Wolf-Tasker’s canvases are on display throughout the property as are works by other artists from the family’s private collection.

In amongst the cool fern gully and surrounded by waterfall fed streams and springs – The Spa is an oasis of tranquility.

Accents of blond wood and splashes of “Tiffany” blue in the furnishings combine with large nudes by renowned local painter David Bromley to create airy relaxation spaces around nine treatment areas. Hydrotherapy in private treetop mineral water spas, advanced performance facials and seasonal signature body treatments provide for easy on site indulgence.

History of Lake House

The early days

“When I was first introduced to the site upon which Lake House now sits, I was speechless. A horse met my wife and I at the fence and followed us as we negotiated our way through the gorse, blackberries and sparse native grass, the seven Redback-infested car wrecks and the lone, dying eucalyptus tree at the edge of the steep slope, that fell to the waters of the swamp below. My wife asked, “Is it do-able Al?”, I responded, “Of course”. An hour later the ex-mine site was ours; a piece of earth that had been turned completely inside-out in the search of gold.

Co-owner, Allan Wolf-Tasker

Over the years Lake House has prospered and reinvented itself. Scarcely a year goes by without some enhancement or change. And according to Alla "It remains always, a work in progress".

Driving into Lake House it’s hard to imagine the resilience, energy and stubborn determination that was needed three decades ago, to undertake the building of a destination restaurant in rural Australia – especially on a gorse infested paddock in a down at heel and largely forgotten little town.

“Two youngsters with barely a bob between us and not being able to take no for an answer” is how Alla portrays her and husband co-owner Allan Wolf-Tasker, as they launched into their dream project that everyone told them was doomed to fail.

The successful development of Lake House and the resurrection of Daylesford, the village that the Wolf-Taskers put on the global culinary map, has been the subject of many magazine articles, documentaries and also Alla’s book “Lake House – A Culinary Journey in Country Australia”.

Nowadays Allan frequently entertains long term guests with a tale or two over a glass of something in his studio, surrounded by whatever canvasses he has on the go. An artist in great demand, his works hang in public and private collections all over the world. Allan also overseas development of the many new Lake House projects.

Alla remains in the thick of things, the driving force behind the house on the lake, shaping successive generations of Lake House teams with her own uncompromising ideal of hospitality and excellence in service. She still oversees the food, unwavering in her philosophy.

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Our Press

“Lake House has set the benchmark for Australian regional hospitality.”

The Gourmet Traveller Hotel Guide
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“This European-inspired country-house retreat has, for over 30 years, been at the heart of culinary brilliance and luxury accommodation…. Located in the pretty town of Daylesford, the rambling, wantonly seductive Lake House is indeed beside a lake and has six acres of silver-birch woodlands and wandering gardens.”

London Telegraph
“Lake House is recognised around the world as one of this country’s great restaurants.”

Selector Magazine
“This impressive collection is utterly mesmerising. Select one of the many excellent local wines, to give you a regional flavour. Or choose from the enlightened selection of Australia and New Zealand’s Best. On a global front, the range is nothing short of outstanding, including a heady collection of Burgundy, grower Champagne and Italian reds.”

The Gourmet Traveller Wine Awards