Conferences for up to 200 delegates, company retreats and weddings can be organized at The Stables, a contemporary barn-style venue on Bendooley Estate, 3020 Old Hume Highway, Berrima, in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales, between Sydney and Canberra. The estate adds a second conference venue, cottages for teams of up to 22, a restaurant, a cellar door and its own wines.
Seminars and company events
The Stables takes up to 200 guests with flexible conference furniture, in-house audiovisual equipment and high-speed Wi-Fi. It has its own private entrance across the paddocks, so delegates arrive directly at their room. For smaller groups, The Shed, set in the estate's private gardens, holds up to 60 with presentation technology and Wi-Fi. Half-day and full-day delegate packages are offered in both venues.
Programs can include working lunches, yoga by the lake, wine tastings, winemaking tours, tennis, barbecues and private dining. Off the estate, the team can arrange team development sessions, horse riding, golf and bushwalking. For residential retreats and overnight stays, the whole estate can be booked as an exclusive buy-out.
Weddings and receptions
The Stables is one of two wedding venues on the estate, alongside the Book Barn. The space works for both ceremony and reception, and its barn doors open onto gardens planted with native flora, with views over the countryside. Elsewhere on the estate, ceremonies can be held in the European gardens, at the heritage homestead, by the lakeside pavilion or in the Rose Garden. The site does not publish a wedding guest count for The Stables, so numbers are confirmed with the wedding team.
Rooms and capacities
The Stables has cathedral ceilings, exposed beams and floor-to-ceiling glass walls looking over open paddocks, and takes up to 200 guests in conference layouts. The Shed takes up to 60. The Book Barn, lined with rare books and warmed by open fireplaces under timber beams, is the estate's other wedding venue, and the Book Barn Restaurant and Leo's By Night serve for dining.
Accommodation
Teams of up to 22 can stay on the estate in cottages and suites. Options include self-contained studio, two-bedroom and three-bedroom cottages, The Loft for up to ten and The Homestead for up to twelve. A pool, a tennis court, barbecue areas, a billiard room, a private bar, the restaurant and the cellar door are all within walking distance.
Catering
Bendooley's own chefs cook seasonal menus from local and estate-grown produce, from day delegate lunches to private evening dinners. Wedding menus are served as shared feasts or plated meals. Private fine dining can be held in The Homestead and barbecue dinners in the gardens. The estate's cool-climate wines, made by winemaker Jonathan Holgate, are poured with the menus.
History and setting
Bendooley Estate is run by a fifth-generation family of booksellers, the Berkelouws, who have sold books since 1812, which explains the shelves of the Book Barn. The property carries around two centuries of history, and the estate today employs more than 150 people across its venues, restaurant and vineyard.
Getting there
The estate is at 3020 Old Hume Highway, Berrima NSW 2577. The driveway allows left turns in only: guests from the south use the Old Hume Highway, and guests from the north take the Berrima exit at Medway Road, then head north on the Old Hume Highway. Sydney Airport is the nearest major airport, and Moss Vale and Bowral are the closest towns on the rail line.
