classical white agate busts with blank faces by
Melbourne sculptor Andrew Hazewinkel haunt
the hallways.
The guestrooms are a calm counterpoint. “There’s
a lot happening in the public areas so the rooms are
designed with tranquillity in mind,” says Atherton.
Themed bronze, copper, silver or gold, the rooms stick
to a script of minimalist luxury. With either a terrace
or vineyard view, their design has a local flavour; Carr
designed the exteriors and interiors, and Melbourne
studio Zuster is responsible for making much of the
one-off furniture.
The attention to detail throughout is impressive.
There are bespoke Cone 11 ceramics (fun fact: the
texture on the side plates is achieved by pressing
a beach towel on the wet clay), black hooded rabbit-
soft fabric robes, and US Hunter Lab toiletries made
exclusively for the hotel.
It’s a quiet kind of opulence best considered from
a deep Japanese stone bathtub overlooking the vines,
but Li was determined to make Jackalope appealing
for locals as well as guests. The casual all-day Rare
Hare bistro, designed by Projects of Imagination as
a posh-casual brick dining hall with long wooden
benches and an open fire, ought to have plenty of
pulling power.
Executive chef Guy Stanaway, recruited from Bistro
C in Noosa but, like Atherton, also an old hand in the
Aman family, has a knack for incorporating global
touches into Euro-centric dishes. Roasted bone marrow
goes head-to-head with the funky notes of a mild
sambal; burrata gets a sweetly acidic lift from lightly
pickled green tomatoes with an earthy sprinkling of
dukkah; and the wood-fired grill brings out the best in
a whole snapper slathered with smoked mussel butter.
Doot Doot Doot has four- and eight-course tasting
menus and a 1,500-strong wine list featuring a global
array of small producers working with 11 hectares
or less – like Willow Creek. “It’s a wine list with a
narrative,” says Geraldine McFaul, Willow Creek’s
winemaker since 2008. “We wanted it to represent
people like us with a real passion for a place.”
Jackalope is a myth made real, but it’s also likely to
be the start of a whole new genus. Li plans to go global
within five years, with hotels in Los Angeles and
Shanghai in mind, although his next Jackalope will
be much closer to home – he owns the Maria George
building in Flinders Lane, opposite Supernormal,
where conceptual work with March Studio has already
begun ahead of a projected 2020 opening.
“Jackalope is a very personal project,” says Li.
“To walk into the Jackalope is walking into my mind
and the things I love. I want it to provide an escape
from reality... just like a movie does.”#
Rooms from $650 a night. Jackalope, 166 Balnarring Rd,
Merricks North, Vic, (03) 5931 2500, jackalopehotels.comLORE AND ORDER
Bar manager Tioni Naslund pours
a Fermentation, named after one
of the seven steps of alchemy, at
Flaggerdoot, the bar replete with
Tembo stools by La Chance. Above:
general manager Tracy Atherton.
FEATURE