My girlfriend and I spent two nights at Kiltynane Estate in a self-contained bed and breakfast cottage. The cottage was very clean, cosy and had all of the things you would expect of a 4-and-a-half-star rated cottage - TV, DVD, CD player, spa, open fire, queen-sized bed (with very nice sheets) etc. It was very chilly when we arrived, but the fireplace was laid and quickly warmed up the cottage. The kitchen was well-supplied with cutlery, glassware and crockery and the breakfast provisions provided were generous and very tasty.

The view from the cottage out over the Yarra Valley is lovely and being situated on a winery, you really feel a long way from the city, despite being less than half an hour from Lilydale. We had a wonderfully relaxing few days. Most of the Yarra Valley wineries are a short drive from Kiltynane, so it's a good base for exploring the valley.

One of the highlights of our stay was a "walk and talk" through the vines with Kate Kirkhope, our host and the winemaker at Kiltynane Estate. She spent over an hour with us, walking through the vineyards, explaining the pruning that they were doing at the time and all of the other aspects of them growing the vines there. We then went into the winery (a large shed) and she took us through a tasting of the Estate wines and then we sampled wine straight out of some of the barrels and even created our own little blend right there and then. It was an amazing experience and one that anyone with an interest in wine should seek out. The wines are great and the tiny scale of their operation is a very nice change from the many larger wineries that dominate the valley.

All in all, Kiltynane provided a fantastic, relaxing break - a major change of pace despite being so close to the city. If you can, take advantage of the mid-week rates as we did to save a bit of money for a slap-up lunch at one of the many wineries nearby.

Approximate cost: $200 per night