Candlelight Cottage

Candlelight Cottage Review

Curl up with a book in front of the open fire in this 1880s cottage and you might be tempted not to do anything else in the Dandenongs. One of four in the Candlelight collection, this two-bedroom timber house wraps everything you need for a cozy weekend in an historical package of time-worn wooden floors, electric "gas lantern" ceiling lights, and antique furniture. The bathroom has a corner spa, and every imaginable appliance, including an espresso coffeemaker, is in the kitchen, which is stocked with breakfast ingredients such as ham, eggs, fruit, muesli, and a wide selection of teas. The minibar contains local wines, beers and ice creams (extra charge) for a treat after a day of exploring. One of the two double bedrooms is decorated all in white, the other is black and white with decorative French cotton panels. Next door on the same property but separated by mountain ash and a fern gully is Twilight Cottage, which was built in 2003 but looks like a lovely old ginger-bread house. It has an open-plan design, with stained-glass windows and a brass bed. One-bedroom Cottage in the Forest, halfway between Olinda and Sassafras, and two-story, two-bedroom Clare Cottage, in Sassafras, make up the Candlelight collection. A two-night minimum stay applies on weekends—either Friday-Saturday or Saturday and Sunday.