Charlotte's Cottage - A Renovator's Delight

First let me say that i would rather stay at a B&B than any other form of accommodation. I'm a big fan of personal service, beautiful furniture, and after a good night sleep, a lovely cooked breakfast.  They are usually very reasonably priced and in this regard, our Sunday night and breaky cost us $140 a night for both of us and the local generic motel not far away was $130, with no service, 1970's brick walls and breakfast was extra.  Why would you?

It takes a certain kind of person to run a B&B and they usually are very personable and enjoy meeting people. Some would argue that there is a lack of privacy with overzealous owners and other guests but i have never yet felt uncomfortable and usually they are very interesting people. They meet so many travellers and are usually so well travelled themselves that they have great stories to tell.   There was one other couple on our night and we kept to ourselves in the lounge room in the evening and booked our morning an hour later to give them them privacy. 




So how did it go from this  .......

This Victorian Picturesque Gothic cottage is built on land which was once the vineyard of Henry Hopwood, the founder of Echuca. When Henry died he left the land to his wife Charlotte who later sold it to Elizabeth Wilson. In 1871, Elizabeth built the cottage as a small private school for the children of wealthy families, in the “Wealthy West End” of Echuca. When Elizabeth died, she left the cottage to her friend Emily Fedarb, who continued to run it as a school until early in the 20th Century.

Over recent years, the cottage became derelict, but fortunately it was heritage listed and unable to be demolished. In 2007, it was lovingly restored and remodelled to become a luxury Bed and Breakfast. Period features include the original polished floorboards, large Victorian windows, fireplaces and twelve foot timber ceilings

Charlottes Cottage -  Click on here to go directly to their web site. 

Words cannot convey how successful the renovations have been.  Whilst a former school house with very large rooms, the decor and furnishings make it cosy and welcoming. 

The property is owned and run by two couples who are not only friends but neighbours.  This is why they are not on the property, they live within a stones throw.  They pop in to see that you have all you need and then again in the morning.  They used an historical architect to ensure that the building remained sympathetic to the period.  Some of the furnishings are personal items from family and this gives it a feeling of being a home.  

I would readily give this B&B 5 out of 5, as have so many others in the guest book and online review sites, which is how i found them.  

The rest of this post will simply be a pictorial of the property.  

To This.....

You can just see the new section at the back on the roofline where a commercial kitchen was installed.   

The Ceilings were all polished wood with wooden roses.

Our breakfast setting.  

Cereal, berries, stewed plums and thick honey yogurt with fresh orange juice and plunged coffee.

Eggs, bacon, tomato and hollandaise sauce.  Tom had scrambled eggs and he loved it. 

Tom with one of the owners who is a retired school librarian and food tech teacher.  She had just come back from Gallipoli in Turkey and had lots to tell Tom.

And so, after breakfast it was time to cross the border into New South Wales and head for Narrandera, my home town.  Catch you soon!

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