Luxury Is At The Fore

The Age

Saturday May 24, 2008

Nicole Bittar

You don't have to be a golfer to appreciate Moonah Links, writes Nicole Bittar.

Let me make myself perfectly clear: I don't do golf. But that doesn't deter me from a weekend at Peppers Moonah Links Resort.

One of several billboards flanking the undulating driveway to the lodge urges visitors to "Stay. Play. Wine. Dine. Rest. Relax." As if persuasion is required.

The predominantly wood-slatted structures are Sean Godsell-esque in their stark, box-like contemporary nature, at once blending and imposing on the manicured grounds. But never before has homogeneity been injected with such personality. Unmistakably Peppers in its air of efficiently executed opulence, the decor of clean contemporary lines, quality furnishings, abundant natural light and warm feature walls are imbued with a welcome familiarity to the luxury traveller.

Number 47, the one-bedroom apartment on Muirfield Lane, overlooks the putting green and open-air heated swimming pool. First impressions are of a fresh and inviting space with chocolate wool carpet, a sand-coloured sofa that doubles as a bed, plush rug, leather tray tables and soft lighting. There's a four-seater dining table with high-back chocolate leather chairs, a writer's bureau, TV and CD player. A gloss-tiled, chrome kitchen features all mod cons including two-burner hotplate, dish-drawer and microwave oven.

The luxurious king-sized bed in white linen with chocolate and black velvet throw and cushions is a perfect perch for watching the second TV. The light-filled room has mirrored built-in robes, corner windows and a suede armchair.

The shower-over-bath ensuite, with matt ceramic floor tiles and dark-framed prints, houses a European laundry in the form of a front-load washer/dryer.

Suites, as they are referred to, have names such as St Andrew's, Carnoustie and Troon. Little white carts are the vehicle of choice at this golf-society microcosm. Tanned and evergreen over-40s rule the roost.

The resort is as action-oriented as you deem fit. There's mountain bikes, a gym, volleyball, bocce, badminton, croquet and a neighbouring tennis court for the golf-averse. Or for more sedentary types, there's the Endota Spa.

Silly moi, I leave my run too late to secure a booking, but a fresh-faced mother of three strapping lads, luxuriating in a testosterone-free weekend, feels as if she is inhabiting another world during her treatment. She is positively glowing at breakfast the next morning, which is served at Pebbles Restaurant, overlooking one of two 18-hole golf courses.

There's an impressive spread of fresh and poached fruit, yoghurt, Bircher muesli and pleasingly for a five-year-old, Coco Pops, as well as pastries, crumpets, dense sourdough and grain breads. Gleaming bain maries reveal scrambled eggs, hash browns, plump champignons, grilled tomato, mini sausages and fat, fleshy bacon strips. T2 teabags are almost as satisfying as the potted variety but instant coffee mars the overall effect. Similarly, the room service menu is too formal. There are no burgers, club sandwiches, fries or pasta dishes - the kind of solid comfort food that room-service fare should offer. But these are mere suggestions rather than outright criticisms. The service, however, is beyond reproach.

Back at the clubhouse, well-heeled baby boomers tuck into heaped plates of fish and chips, al fresco, at the Spike Bar, which seems the place to be for a shandy and weekend football telecasts on the giant plasma screens.

Our son delights in whacking 60-odd balls from the driving range or exercising ground control on the putting green. It was too cool even for the heated pool.

We exert ourselves one morning with a drive to Sorrento for coffee and a spot of window shopping. Simply exhausting. It drives us to return to our rarefied environs for a good lie-down - well, for two of us, anyway.

Staff are understandably sold on the location. You can hear a pin drop, or a little white ball, at most, on the greens. And a lone magpie's cry on a dead-calm afternoon is amplified against the peaks and troughs of the designed landscape.

VISITORS' BOOK

Peppers Moonah Links Resort

Address: Peter Thomson Drive, Fingal.

Bookings: Phone 5988 2000, see moonahlinks.com.au.

Getting there: About 70 kilometres from Melbourne on the Mornington Peninsula.

How much: Ranges from $165 a person for a play-and-stay package, including golf cart use, to $384 for open suite only.

Summary: Heaven on earth for the aggrieved golfer; approaching cloud nine for the non-converted.

The verdict: 17

The score: 19-20 excellent; 17-18 great; 15-16 good; 13-14 comfortable, well-run.

All weekends away are conducted anonymously and paid for.