Blair Athol Estate — Hotel in Inverell

Our group of 10 arrived at this stately estate with its attractive entrance to be fulsomely greeted by 'mine host' Kim (female) Kelleher, who apparently ran a Bed and Breakfast in Brisbane, Queensland prior to commencing her venture six kilometres outside Inverell in 2004.||||We were from memory booked in six rooms, but the Blair Athol website only shows five. At least one huge room (in which our organiser stayed) has a shower over bath so if you are one of the many who doesn't like climbing into the shower over a bath, avoid this room.||||Kim learnt each of our names which was impressive.||||She showed us the two rooms where our group would partake of breakfast. From memory each room seated six at a large table. There were also Chesterfields, and the usual offer from a B&B for 'free' tea and coffee.||||The grounds cover 54 hectares and include remnants of what was a former horse stud, plus an intriguing 'tiny house', the solidly built (but very expensive) day spa that I didn't inspect and a vegetable garden.||||It was very pleasing that the owner has retained a magnificent stand of Corymbia Citriodora (lemon-scented gum) trees near the front entrance. Stunning. ||||I was booked in the smallest room, the Rose Room (numbered 5) that like all but one was on the first floor up a beautifully appointed staircase.||||The room had a brass double bed with good quality linen, a chair, bedside tables and a main table plus good lighting that included a chandelier. There was free sherry (not a drink I've ever liked). Windows looked onto the roofline but allowed plenty of light to enter.||||While this may be due to design of the room, otherwise pleasant half doors opened into the bedroom rather than away from it. This left very little room for me to drag a small suitcase through into the underutilised hall between the bedroom and bathroom.||||This hallway had minimal furniture including a wardrobe with a largish mirror. ||||The bathroom had an excellent walk-in, generously proportioned shower with its rainshower fitting. I really liked the pebbled floor that ensured a non-slip surface.||||While this should not occur when there are separate groups of two persons not in a group, our need to be on the road coach by a particular time each morning meant that shower pressure could vary depending on whether others were concurrently abluting. As the tour organiser commented 'this is the reality of 1930s plumbing'.||||Bathrobes were provided while shampoo, conditioner and body wash were in large bottles and of acceptable quality. Interestingly all were manufactured in Melbourne, the manufacturing hub of Australia. ||||Breakfast was excellent with all needs met. Kim and her staff were a little late on the second of our three mornings with it but I suspect there was a slight misunderstanding. Servings of yoghurt and bacon were generous to say the least (as they would want to be for an expensive A$35 breakfast).||||I noticed a small crack in one of the dining room ceilings, and a couple of creaky boards in my room under the thick carpet, but apart from that the property seemed to be well maintained and clean - always challenging with a building that dates from 1904.||||98 per cent of the time I travel independently and vastly prefer hotel rooms rather than B&Bs as the former give one the opportunity for more anonymity, and largely avoid forced bonhomie.||||Blair Athol Estate has the disadvantage of being six kilometres from the attractive town of 13000 that is Inverell, so for public transport users like me that would normally rule it out. However for the majority using private cars, no problem.||||I'd recommend a stay of no more than two days here as the need in a B&B to obtain tea and coffee downstairs is a small annoyance, compared to a motel or even better, hotel room. ||||The owner has a cat that's apparently been through 'the wars'. While it was amusing to watch a fantail/Willie Wagtail tiny bird defend its territory and dive bomb the languid cat, cats don't belong in Australia. I can understand why people want dogs (of which Kim has a delightful two) but introduced cats are major killers of Australian wildlife including birds, possums and numerous other species. ||||A very pleasing aspect was how 'mine host' Kim has the sort of personality extremely well suited to running an accommodation facility. She's about as far removed from a stereotypical grumpy motel proprietor as one could be. Top marks for her unfailing...

I brought my Mum here for a bit of R&R after Dad passed, and we could not have asked for a nicer or more relaxing time - what a gem of a place!||We drove over 6 hours to come here, as many of the places listed as spas closer to us didn’t quite have the vibe I was after, and we weren’t disappointed. I was already excited to spend time in front of a fire in the gorgeous sitting room, but the same hour we arrived in to town, we were incredibly lucky that it also started to snow!! Nothing improves a cosy fire than escaping to it from a crisp outside, and the view of snow

We were warmly met on the steps by Kim our host, then ushered through to this lovely old home. Kim gave us a brief account of the history which is fascinating. We stayed in the supreme suite up a flight of beautiful old stairs. Only 2 of us but we had a large room with fourposter bed (very comfortable) and the use of the adjoining small room with a lovely bathroom. It is essentially a B&B as all coffee/tea and breakfast happen downstairs in the large dining room. We had a nice balcony off the room where we could view the beautiful grounds - although no doubt more colourful in Spring and warmer weather. Stunning 100 yr old conifers and gum trees everywhere you look. We checked out the separate Day Spa in it's separate (5 yrs old) building - absolutely beautifully designed by Kim with a large fireplace at one end - day beds dotted around - total luxury - wonderful light coming through the high windows - like a Roman bathhouse only cosy and immaculate. The view was stunning. Only drawback for me was the shower over the high sided bath (only in this suite I think) and having to go downstairs for my early morning coffee. Everything else was a happy memory especially Kim's warm...