Hotel Review: Cupitt's Estate, Ulladulla, NSW
The priority for most people in retirement is rest or travel. Not so Griff and Libby Cupitt.
Over 18 years, the former farmers and one-time owners of the Bowral Hotel in the NSW Southern Highlands have turned a former South Coast dairy farm into a destination vineyard, winery, brewery and restaurant, adding accommodation three years ago and creating a legacy for the next generation of their family who have now taken the reins.
The location
Cupitt's Estate is set on 75ha on the outskirts of Ulladulla, five minutes from town, and three hours' drive south of Sydney on the NSW South Coast. It's ideally situated to give guests the best of country and coast in a weekend getaway – Mollymook's beaches, golf club and restaurants are minutes away, and we also spend a few hours wandering the historic village of Milton with its antique shops, galleries, boutiques and cafés. The property has views across sauvignon blanc vines and paddocks to the Budawang Ranges and the upper reaches of the Burrill Lake wetlands.
The free-standing one-bedroom villas are surrounded by gardens, settle the structures into the landscape and give guests greater privacy.
The arrival
After our customary lunch stop at Hayden's Pies in Ulladulla – pass at your peril – we find Washburton Road, and the entry to Cupitt's Estate. At reception, a cute cottage which was part of the original Washburton dairy farm, we are pointed further down the drive to parking in front of a sloping row of 10 free-standing one-bedroom villas (including one that's wheelchair-accessible), designed by Sherson Architecture and constructed off site by Wagga Wagga modular builders Prefabulous. They were installed in 2021-22 and in the seasons since, the surrounding gardens designed by Rosie – a trained horticulturalist and winemaker – have flourished to better settle the structures into the landscape and give guests greater privacy.
The villa is tastefully decorated in cream and graphite tones with Scandi touches, and is comfortably furnished.
What's inside
Entering our villa, one of four with a bath-tub on their private deck, I'm distracted by two stunning monochrome marine prints on the living area wall. I recognise the artist, South Coast printmaker Peta West, from my Instagram feed and I'm happy to be able to gaze at the real thing for a while. There is more coastal-inspired art in the separate bedroom and central bathroom, all sourced and purchasable from Gallery Alchemy in Milton. The deck, with its views across lush paddocks, becomes another source of contentment for our stay, as we sit and debate whether a hole in the hillside yonder is a wombat burrow, watch a fox steal through the dusk, and weigh up the therapeutic value in watching grazing cows – Griff's black angus herd numbers 70.
My villa is one of four with a bath-tub on their private deck.
The villa, with its high ceilings and timber flooring, is tastefully decorated in cream and graphite tones with Scandi touches, and is comfortably furnished. It has a kitchen – a breakfast hamper with way more provisions than needed is included in the room rate – and if you fancy buying from the mini-bar, it includes a kit for assembling cocktails premixed 'with love' by the bar team as well as wine and beer made on-site. Tea drinkers will note the English breakfast from Tea Journeys in Nowra, and the drip coffee is local too, from Guerilla Roasters in Moruya.
The bathroom has a rain shower and marble-topped vanity with quality Leif products by the basin.
Our package includes a two-course dinner at the dining room, which is a two-minute walk from the villas.
Food & drink
Our package includes a two-course dinner at the dining room, which is a two-minute walk from the villas, past the outdoor 'wine garden' casual dining space that hums at weekends but is still on a cool Thursday evening (dinner is served Thursday Saturday and lunch seven days). Menus change with the seasons, executive chef Jonathan Pryor looking to the estate's own kitchen garden, wider local produce and Mediterranean influences for inspiration to match head winemaker Wally Cupitt's drops made only metres away with cool-climate grapes grown mainly around Tumbarumba and the NSW Hilltops region. And there's more below the surface, literally – a wine cave under the restaurant is a stop on a behind-the-scenes tour that runs three days a week. Tastings are also conducted in an 1851 building that was once the original dairy's creamery, with Ruby's rosé – named for a Cupitt granddaughter – among more popular bottles.
Menus change with the seasons.
Extras
Live music sessions are on Fridays and Sundays and the restaurant runs a calendar of special events.
What's hot
Sustainability matters at Cupitt's Estate. They operate a closed-loop waste system throughout and EV drivers will find a charging station outside reception.
Cupitt's Estate is a complete, all-in-one country getaway.
What's not
I can't afford the artwork.
Verdict - 8.5/10
Cupitt's is a complete, all-in-one country getaway.
The writer was a guest of Cupitt's Estate. An overnight Winter Gourmet Getaway package including dinner, breakfast hamper and wine tasting, is from $499 a couple from Sunday to Thursday.
Originally published as We stayed at Cupitt's Estate in Ulladulla, the complete country getaway
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