Overview of Jackalope on the Mornington Peninsula

a moody, designer luxury hotel set on a vineyard with excellent food and a few fun surprises

Jump to ⬇️

1. the grounds & facilities
2. the rooms
3. the restaurants
   1. doot doot doot
   2. rare hare
4. what else is in the mornington peninsula?

the grounds & facilities

Jackalope pitches itself as a “conceptual layer in storytelling”, collaborating with the creatives to create an art and design hotel. Set on the grounds of the Willow Creek Vineyard, you’ll find 45 designer rooms each with private bathrooms and terraces and interesting art installed across the property grounds. There’s also a 30m infinity pool overlooking the vineyard, sunbeds and a heated plunge pool for those sunny days! While the grounds aren’t massive, there’s room to roam if you’re wanting to stretch the legs with a sizable patio adjoining the hotel bar for sunset cocktails and parts of the vineyard are open for walks and picnics.

There’s also an onsite spa offering body treatments, facials and massages – note that this is just located on the same floor as all the rooms so it can feel a bit weird getting turfed out back into the public corridor after nearly falling asleep during a 1 hour massage…

the rooms

Jackalope has two main types of rooms. The first is their standard room – and the choice of a bath or no bath and overlooking the vineyard or the carpark. When I say “standard” it’s a bit of a misnomer, nothing about this hotel is standard! Standard rooms are each a generous 38 sqm with king sized beds, balconies, rain showers and separate lounge areas. Be careful when booking – their Terrace rooms are described as “no vineyard view, sunrise aspect” which is really a euphemism for “overlooks the carpark”.

If you’re looking to splash out – for double the price you can secure yourself one of two Lair Suites. These are 85 sqm beauties each with private 30 sqm terraces – bigger than many apartments! Lairs each come with a fully equipped kitchen, separate dining table, huge lounge area, a double sided indoor outdoor fireplace, double rain showers and a deep Japanese soaking bath with underfloor bathroom heating a nice touch. I don’t think we left our Lair much during our stay in between the baths, naps and lounging around!

We also enjoyed in-room dining delivered to our balcony and unlike a lot of hotel room service, the food was excellent. The mini bar is also complimentary and replenished daily, featuring a range of snacks like chocolate, chips and nuts and local beer, cider and wine straight from the onsite winery. There’s also complimentary movies and popcorn for the evenings if you’re choosing a night in (accompanied by room service espresso martinis, don’t mind if I do).

the restaurants

There are two onsite restaurants at Jackalope, both standouts in their own right.

doot doot doot

Doot Doot Doot is their upmarket restaurant with a Chef’s Hat to its name and features a $130 four course tasting menu with additional snacks you can add on like oysters, caviar and cheese. In keeping with Jackalope’s penchant for delightful surprises, one of appetizer snacks had Jackalope imprinted into it! All the food was great, and while some plating could be improved I’d rate Doot Doot Doot up there with Melbourne’s best. The wine pairing was particularly excellent, featuring hard to find local varietals and vineyards like the 2017 By Farr Pinot Noir.

By day, the Doot Doot Doot restaurant transforms into their breakfast setting, offering classic ala carte menu items like smoked salmon and poached eggs, traditional eggs with bacon and granola and yoghurt options.

Whether you’re enjoying breakfast or dinner – don’t forget to look up! The dining room features the famous Jan Flook light installation of 10,000 globes which change vibe throughout the day.

rare hare

Rare Hare is Jackalope’s more casual dining offering overlooking the vineyards in a bright, airy setting with floor to ceiling windows and a giant wood fired oven the room’s centrepiece. I actually preferred Rare Hare, enjoying the more relaxed ambiance on a warm sunny afternoon over a beer. The food here whilst more casual is no slouch – Japanese and Italian influences on a modern Australian menu earning itself a Chef’s Hat. As is the fashion these days, you’ll find smaller plates designed to share such as scallops, stracciatella and charcoal eggplant with a few more substantial offerings like Otways pork and braised beef cheek. There’s also a salumi section and you can top and tail with a range of snacks and desserts. The chive waffles with horseradish crème fraiche and salmon roe were a standout!

what else is in the mornington peninsula?

If you’re travelling to Victoria, get yourself down to the Mornington Peninsula or “The Ninch” as the locals call it. Located on the south east side of Melbourne, it’s a haven of beaches, incredible food and wine and plenty of nature. Special mentions to excellent French restaurant Le Bouchon, Sri Lankan degustation experience Many Little, sculpture park and winery Point Leo Estate and the Bathing Boxes at Mount Martha’s South Beach for a customary wetting of the ankles.