Tuesday, August 1

Spicer's Peak .... Part 2


Crisp morning
Originally uploaded by b boy.
So Where were we up to? ...... Drinks at the bar I believe. OK, so after a quick wander around the property to see what was on offer we subsequently slipped into relaxation mode. What made this such an enjoyable getaway? Well everything really. The way this place works is that you pay a fee for the weekend and then everything is included (except optional massages and the premium wines). That means you can go to the bar and pretty much take whatever you feel like. Champagne, beer, wine, spirits, coffee, and for the pregnant wife san pelligrino. Everything in the minibar in our room was up for grabs. I like this concept as you can just enjoy having a drink or 2 (or 10) and not have to worry about the bill at the end of the stay. Champagne for breakfast? Why not! B and T at 5? Sure! The bar was self serve if you fancied playing bar keep (and I did) or you could get the hosts to serve you (but where is the fun in that). I also enjoyed playing barista with their commercial espresso machine.

Now the other thing that made this place a standout destination was the food. It was simply divine. I was waiting for them to slip up and serve us a dodgy dish but it just didn't happen. Through two A la carte breakfasts, two 3 course lunches and two 7 course degustation dinners, they never stumbled once. Everything is made fresh on site by the 3 chefs (one of them is also one of the managers/hosts) including unbelievable sorbets, gelati and icecreams. The menus were set (at lunch though you had 2 choices for mains) but they could have brought us anything and I am sure it would have been good. I even tried some black pudding for the first time at breakfast and it was actually very nice (if you didn't think about what it actually was!)

They were very accommodating with our diet requirements (I don't think we have mentioned on the blog yet that Mel has a touch of gestational diabetes which was diagnosed about a week before we were going away). They made sure Mel's meat was cooked a little longer than mine, gave her hard cheese instead of the blue or brie that I had and would have given her a different dessert but Mel drew the line at that. Damn the sugars for the weekend she thought! And the desserts were to die for so who could blame her. Considering this approach her sugars were better over the weekend than they had been at home. Damn those chefs are good.

So, I think it is clear that the food and wine were definitely a big part of what made this weekend so very enjoyable and absolutely a reason to want to go back some time for a repeat performance. Maybe in summer next time as it is meant to be a sensible 10 degrees cooler than in Brisbane most days.

Part 3 tomorrow.

4 comments:

cheryl said...

Going back sounds good.....but can Noodles go?

Dr Ben Cook said...

Technically yes but I think it would be best without the little one I guess. So probably would not be able to bare parting ways with him for at least the next 12 months even if it is just for 2 nights.

Paul In London said...

Does that mean you would have to rely on grandparents to look after noodles if you wanted to go back?!?!

:-D

melinda said...

what about a nice jolly english uncle instead - send Noodles abroad for a few weeks to bond and all that

:P