We had talked about, and had thought about, going to Port Douglas in far north Queensland for a couple of weeks in late June and early July to escape the Melbourne winter weather. But we talked too much, and thought too long, and as the last week of June approached, we realized we were not going to make it! Maybe it was our procrastinating natures, or maybe just the thought of making bookings for accommodation, arranging air flights, stuffing around getting to the airport and the hassles of checking in the baggage etc, that eventually led to us putting it all in the too hard basket, and settling for a week at Lorne, on the south western coast of Victoria. So instead of going as far north as we could, we ended up going just about as far south as we could without actually leaving the mainland. In part we felt justified, as the weather over the last two or three weeks had been really lovely.
So we set off on the morning of Saturday June 24 2017. It was a bright sunny morning, and we stopped at Anglesea for an excellent coffee at a place called, I think, The General Store and Café.
Blue sky, bright sunshine, no wind, the water in the inlet like a mirror. Who needs to go to far north Queensland?
Anyway, we had booked a room, with a balcony, at the historic Grand Pacific Hotel at Lorne. Built in 1875 this hotel has wonderful balconies, decorated with some splendid wrought iron lace work, and it overlooks the bay fairly close to the Lorne Pier.
Arrived at the hotel we were met by a very pleasant young lady who told us all about the accommodation and it facilities. Here we found that our room had only a double bed, and given our age, and the need for technology-assisted sleeping, we decided that twin beds would be infinitely preferable. However, there were no twin rooms available, but the young lady could offer us an apartment which had two bedrooms. So we parted with a few more dollars and ‘upgraded’. As it happened, the apartment had a balcony with ocean views, whereas the balcony on the original room looked inland—so we were doubly happy with the change. The young lady presented us with a key, and a map to show us the way to the carpark and the apartment—-which was just behind, and to one side of, the main hotel building, a distance of the order of 50 meters. It hardly needed a map, especially as I had Satnav anyway! The view from the apartment was just as we imagined it would be—very spectacular.
The apartment itself was very well appointed, but it could do with a second comfortable reclining chair; and I must say that the balloon whisk left a lot to be desired! I had planned on cooking omelettes for tea, but quickly realised that the whisk would have been no match for a couple of robust Otway free-range eggs! So we went to one of the many local bakery shops in town and bought a couple of pies.
It also took quite a long time to work out the machinations of the electric oven and its associated hobs—the controls for which were all the direct opposite of our stove at home.
We had a very pleasant 30 minute stroll into the town, stopping now and then to scan the bay for the presence of whales and to admire the skills of the many surfers out in the waves. To me, they (that is the surfers, not the whales, of which there were none) all seemed a bit too close to the rocks, but as far as we could tell, no one ended up with a cracked skull. On our return to the hotel, ‘Happy Hour’ was about to start! Having installed Ann in the chimney corner by an open log fire, I ordered a pot of tea to be taken to her whilst I took the shopping up to the apartment. Whilst I was there, Ann sent a text message with the bad news that the television in the chimney corner had been switched on! When I got back to the little lounge, I found only one other couple ensconced there, and thankfully they indicated that they would also prefer the television off! So at the bar, as well as ordering my cheap ‘happy hour beer’, I requested the television be turned off. The young man behind the bar seemed to have some difficulty understanding what I thought was a pretty simply request, so he had to refer it to a young lady, perhaps one having more authority than he. She too appeared to have some difficulty understanding why on earth anyone would want the television turned off. However, I persevered, and our request was eventually granted. I have never understood why bars and cafés have these monstrous television sets going all the time, when no-one watches them anyway. But asking to have them turned off always seems to be greeted with disbelief, if not outright hostility, on the part of the staff. Anyway, it was turned off and it was quite pleasant in the little nook—-but it really could have done with some more comfortable furniture. From the exterior, the hotel promises something quite grand—as its name implies—but inside, it is much like every other pub! When we were in France a few years ago, we always stopped at 2-star shabby-genteel hotels, which were clean, comfortable and full of character, and could only have been in France. Here we have a 4-star hotel that could so easily have been made so much more interesting and charming, but which disappointingly fell at the last hurdle. Whilst the dining room, labelled ‘The Bistro’, was rather pleasant and not out of character, the little lounge was furnished with some modern square seats which were not particularly comfortable, and some peculiar modern tables, which were easily mistaken for additional seating. And the log fire was more like a gas-fired imitation log fire, that actually being a real log fire!
In another, much larger room currently not being used, there was some charming stained glass paneling, a real old-fashioned open log fire, and a few shabby, but comfortable arm chairs—–much more to our taste, and well and truly in the ‘shabby genteel’ style!
It is a great pity that the small lounge had been ‘modernised’ and is now completely out of character compared to the rest of the building.
But the beds in the apartment were very comfortable, and we both enjoyed a good night’s sleep. Waking in the morning, it was overcast, but by 9.00 the clouds had gone, and the sun, like Mr Pickwick, had also risen and was once again there in all his glory. However, the Bureau of Meteorology site advised that the current temperature was 7.7, but felt like 3.8 —-maybe we should have gone north!
Well, that, I think, is more than enough about the accommodation. The next blog will be a bit more about Lorne and its attractions.
Slingsby's Miscellany 