Emirates One&Only Wolgan Valley

Three hours west of Sydney, beyond the ridges of the Blue Mountains, the Wolgan Valley opens out between sandstone cliffs that turn orange late in the day. Emirates One&Only Wolgan Valley occupies a conservation reserve of some 7,000 acres on the valley floor, with 40 villas grouped around a central homestead and, nearby, a settler's homestead dating from 1832.

History

The 1832 homestead is one of the oldest surviving buildings in the district, a reminder that for well over a century the valley was grazing country, its flats cleared for sheep and cattle. Emirates, the Dubai airline, bought the land and drew up a plan that joined a resort to the restoration of the landscape: removing stock, replanting native grasses and trees, and controlling feral animals so that native wildlife could return.

The resort opened in 2009 as Emirates Wolgan Valley Resort & Spa and became the first hotel in the world to be certified carbon neutral under an internationally accredited scheme. It later took the One&Only name when the brand took over its management. The original homestead was restored and kept on the property.

Architecture and design

The buildings draw on the rural Australian homestead: deep verandas, corrugated iron roofs, timber and local stone, painted in muted greens and creams to sit quietly against the escarpment. The main homestead holds the restaurant, the bar, the lounges and the reception. Interiors use leather, wool and timber, with open fires for the cold mountain winters.

Rooms and suites

Each of the 40 villas stands on its own, with a bedroom, a sitting room, a double-sided fireplace, a veranda and a private pool that runs from inside to out. On a frosty morning guests can slip into the water under cover and swim on into the open air. The views run across the paddocks to the cliffs, and kangaroos and wombats graze between the villas at dusk. The larger villas have additional bedrooms for families.

Dining

The Wolgan Dining Room, in the main homestead, serves breakfast, lunch and dinner, with menus built around produce from New South Wales and wines from Australian regions. For guests who spend the day out on the reserve, the kitchen prepares picnics.

Wellness

The spa occupies its own building, with treatment rooms, a heated indoor pool and a gym. Its treatments make use of Australian botanical products.

Weddings and events

The resort hosts weddings, with ceremonies on the lawns facing the escarpment, and it can be booked in full for private celebrations. Its size suits small, close gatherings rather than large conferences.

Location

The reserve borders Wollemi National Park, part of the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area inscribed in 2000, and the Gardens of Stone National Park. Wildlife is the main daily activity: guided drives at dawn and dusk to see eastern grey kangaroos, wallabies, wombats and a great variety of birds. Horse riding, mountain biking and guided walks are arranged by the resort.

Further down the valley lie the ruins of the oil shale works at Newnes, which processed shale in the early twentieth century, and the Glow Worm Tunnel, a disused railway tunnel from the same industry that is now home to colonies of glow worms. Both make half-day outings.

The drive from Sydney takes about three hours, by way of the Blue Mountains and Lithgow, the nearest town with a railway station. Helicopter transfers from Sydney cut the journey to under an hour. As a luxury resort in the Blue Mountains region, it offers a scale of private, protected land that few hotels anywhere can match.