Thinking of your next strategy session and conference experience? Relax, reset and immerse in regional Victoria’s changing seasons, fresh air to invigorate the mind, and tailor-made food and wine to nourish body and soul.
On the hunt for venues and vistas?
Read on for extraordinary meeting and conference experiences that will take you out of the ordinary to surroundings that will spark inspiration and innovations in your team.
Yarra Valley & the Dandenong Ranges
Puffing Billy Railway Lakeside Visitor Centre
Nestled amidst the scenic beauty of the Dandenong Ranges, the Lakeside Visitor Centre at Puffing Billy Railway is a modern beacon from a bygone era – offering a venue that exudes charm, versatility and modern functionality.
Hosting business events for up to 200 attendees with 4 meeting rooms, the Centre promises a distinctive and immersive experience – from business discussions or celebration of organisations’ achievements.
Puffing Billy Railway also hosts corporate events on board its historic steam trains while traversing picturesque treescapes. Autumn season transforms the landscape into a mesmerizing tapestry of warm hues and misty landscapes in winter with a sense of mysterious magic. Meetings in winter find cozy ambiance of its indoor settings complete with seasonal themes and comfort-focused dining experiences.
Choose from a range of experiences and activities to complement your meeting or executive retreat – with private group dining onboard its Puffing Billy Railway’s first-class heritage carriages to Wellness with Yoga and indulgent chocolate making sessions among a myriad of options.
Personalized service is tailored for every business event, whether it is hosted at the Lakeside Visitor Centre or on a private train charter.
Great Ocean Road
Great Ocean Road Resort
Great Ocean Road Resort, in the heart of Anglesea, is a coastal destination for conferences, executive retreats and team building experiences, located just 90 minutes from Melbourne CBD and 30 minutes from Geelong.
Surrounded by Surf Coast beaches and bushland, the resort’s retreat coordinator curates and customizes each conference program, which also provides access to specialist wellness speakers and facilitators.
The resort’s newly refurbished spaces infuses calm and tranquility to inspire attendees’ mindfulness. In fact, well-being is a key consideration for all its in-house team experiences – sound healing and meditation, indigenous art and story-telling workshop, local gin and whiskey tasting in the purpose-built outdoor deck and sunken fire pit, and local guided nature walk.
Residential conferences and retreats are its specialties with a full suite of resort facilities that include a conference centre with capacity for 150 attendees, 5 meeting rooms, 35 accommodation guest suites, fine dining restaurant, private dining room, luxurious day spa, indoor heated pool, gymnasium and yoga space.
Lady Bay Resort
Nestled along the beachfront of Warrnambool, Lady Bay Resort stands as a true oasis in Victoria’s South-West, sitting proudly as a highly reputable venue with extensive services for business events.
With a conference room boasting floor-to-ceiling windows with stunning surrounds, Lady Bay Resort has a meeting capacity for up to 120 attendees and 70 spacious accommodation rooms. Conference attendees will enjoy seamless connectivity with fiber optic Wi-Fi and nothing short of warm local hospitality.
Both hotel studio rooms and spacious full self-contained apartments offer retreat-style amenities for guests and the resort also features a seasonally heated outdoor pool, gym, and games room.
Lady Bay Resort also facilitates off-site catering, allowing attendees to take advantage of their stunning conference location overlooking the Southern Ocean.
Goulburn Valley
Mitchelton Wines
Located on the banks of the picturesque Goulburn River, Mitchelton provides an idyllic choice for a corporate retreat, conference or team-building day out. Just 90 minutes from Melbourne CBD, Mitchelton is a spectacular setting that will re-set business events attendees, nestled in a pocket of tranquillity and luxury amongst towering gum trees.
The cooler seasons are an especially magical time to be at Mitchelton with winery vintage amidst red and orange vines. Whilst winter conferencing signals high-comfort fire places and fireside sessions, red wines and long relaxed dinners on shortened days.
Attendees will be spoilt for choice at Mitchelton, an all-in-one conference and retreat destination, multiple meeting spaces with capacity for 200, 3 separate meeting spaces and 58 luxuriously appointed hotel rooms.
Mitchelton’s iconic Ashton Tower recently completed renovations and now has a range of new features to take meetings in the Sundown Room to the next level. Ideal for groups of 16 to 40, the space offers sweeping 360 degree panoramic views over the Miltchelton Estate and the pristine Goulburn River, wireless internet, remote controlled blinds, Espresso coffee cart and a comfortable lounge area for networking, amongst others.
The Mitchelton team takes a bespoke approach to work with business events groups, providing a range of on-site facilitated activities during the program duration, including delicious wine tastings, art gallery tours, pickleball, e-biking and activities in the surrounds.
Mornington Peninsula
Jackalope Hotel
Set on one of the Mornington Peninsula’s most pristine vineyard, Jackalope Hotel is an award-studded hotel and exudes a new standard in luxury accommodation and event space within one hour’s drive from Melbourne.
Conferences and executive retreats win bragging rights at Jackalope Hotel, with meeting capacity for 70 and 44 private terraced rooms that indulge with complimentary mini-bar and Japanese stone bath. Residential conference attendees partake in a 30-metre infinity pool, with a tranquil sightline from water to wine.
Wine and food stands at the core of the Jackalope experience and attendees can book-end their conference and culinary experience with breakfast at Rare Hare and exquisite dinner at Doot Doot Doot – both of which are hatted restaurants.
Re-set and revive with unconventional break-out sessions – bond with the team over the best kept secret Rare Hare cookie-making class. Take their kitchen garden tour and soak up insights into Jackalope’s sustainability program. End the night with a fireside conversation over toasty marshmallows or s’mores.
Daylesford & the Macedon Ranges
Lake House Daylesford
Lake House is one of Australia’s most beautiful hotels best known for its stunning lakeside location in the village of Daylesford. A hospitality icon and a second generation family business today, its fame has seen many of Australia’s most respected and successful companies do business at Lake House over the years.
The property features purpose built conference spaces, capacity for up to 100 attendees and 33 accommodation studio and suite. These amenities wrap around its largest drawcard – the Two Chefs Hat Lake House Restaurant, award-winning cellar and its tree-top mineral soaks and spa.
Lake House invites high performing teams meeting on-site to learn and immerse in the surrounds – take an educative private tour of Dairy Flat Farm, a 38-acre regenerative farm, laminate with a hands-on sourdough class in the semi-underground Bake House, learn the art of bee-keeping class including hive care and management, truffle hunt in the nearby bushland, or get creative with a local ceramicist or a private watercolour class.
Each of these masterclasses have been curated to complement strategy sessions and for corporate companies and organisations meeting at Lake House to place value and invest in high-performing teams.
