By Dongyun Kwon
Along with the great achievement of Healesville Sanctuary, two Yarra Valley accommodations spurred getting recognition for the value of the Yarra Valley in the tourism industry by bringing two silver trophies.
Eden Yarra Valley (EYV) was presented a silver award in the Self Contained Accommodation category while Kangaroo Ridge Retreatment (KRR) received a silver award in the Hosted Accommodation category at the 2024 Victorian Tourism Awards.
EYV co-owner Lisa Chapman said her team hadn’t expected to win any award as it had been their first time entering the awards.
“The team at EYV were beyond thrilled to win silver with our very first time entering an award,” she said.
“I’ve been told that it’s very unusual to get an award for your first time entering.
“We couldn’t be prouder of what we’ve achieved at Eden and of our passionate team.”
EYV is a luxury boutique accommodation in Yarra Glen.
It is a private estate with 10 bedrooms and nine bathrooms set on two acres of botanical gardens, complemented by amenities such as heated pool, games room with pool table, fully equipped bar, trampoline and swings, a separate large dining or conference space, ‘Potter’s Gallery’, and parking for 17 cars.
Ms Chapman said EYV was opened up in 2021.
“It was a random opportunity, I hadn’t planned to buy any property and I hadn’t planned to go into the accommodation business,” she said.
“It was during Covid when my best friend and I came across the property for sale, we knew that there was a significant gap in the market for large group accommodation in the Yarra Valley, and people wanted to have private accommodation where, in particular, wedding groups could stay together.
“We can accommodate the bride and the groom, both their families and some friends altogether.”
The commitment of the team to excellence and the uniqueness of the property have led to almost 300 five-star reviews from past guests, which fits EYV’s vision of offering lifelong wonderful memories to its guests.
“Right from the day we opened our doors, we were very focused on providing a premium product, which was perfect in every way,” the co-owner said.
The EYV is now targeting a gold award next year.
KRR won a gold award in the same category last year and a bronze award in the national stage earlier this year.
Despite the one-ranked-down result, KRR owner Rebecca Ritter wasn’t disappointed, rather, she was excited to collect all three different colours of the trophies.
“It was sensational to see that the category itself has grown in terms of the participants who entered in,” she said.
“So it was very competitive and winning silver is just fantastic.
“It’s good to see my team really working hard to get at the levels that they are.”
Located on top of the hill, KRR is the ultimate Yarra Valley adults only hideaway, offering two mudbrick retreats with panoramic mountain and vineyard views.
Even after the huge success of winning a top award at the state level and taking third place at the national stage, KRR has never given up innovations to offer better services for its customers.
This year, KRR has made three innovations to offer a service for solo travellers, to keep the property’s natural beauty intact and to attract more international travellers.
Ms Ritte said KRR started the new solo stay package from June, targeting solo female travellers aged 35 and over.
“We pick them up from the airport or their place in Melbourne, then drive them out here, and they just basically hide away for a couple of nights,” she said.
“Another innovation we did was we introduced five miniature goats to help with landscape management. These little legends munch away invasive species and help reduce bushfire risks in our high-risk zones.
“The third thing was expanding our horizons internationally. We participated in the Visit Victoria’s Becoming International Ready program. In October and November, we were busy as we had 80 per cent of our bookings from international.”
