Queenscliff Hotel

Queenscliff Hotel Review

If you're after period charm rather than spacious modernity, this gloriously restored 19th-century beauty, with soaring, pressed-metal ceilings, stained-glass windows, and antique furnishings, is the place for you. The hotel's suites and opulent downstairs sitting rooms graced with open fires and enormous armchairs are lovely, and instantly transport you to a more genteel era. Fine dining ($$$) is offered in the beautiful formal restaurant, open on Friday to Sunday nights, where chef Keith Bainbridge creates dishes in keeping with the room's historic decor: you might find roast duck with pear and chestnut and duck sausage on the menu, along with heartwarming bread-and-butter pudding. Less grand fare is served seven days a week in a leafy conservatory, a cozy bar, or the outdoor courtyard with an ornate fountain. The hotel's location—across from a park and with views to the ocean—is enviable. There are excellent packages in winter months.