Review: Bendigo Ernest Hotel

Clare Acheson Clare Acheson
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Bendigo’s former commercial bank is transformed into an intimate design hotel, thanks to the careful eye and exquisite touch of two established career creatives.

Regional cities hold the nation’s most precious gems. But, like all valuable stones, they could do with a good polish every so often to revive their glimmer. Nestled in Bendigo’s central Rosalind Park, the Bendigo Ernest Hotel is the latest establishment to buff the colonial edges of Victoria’s gold-mining city, while tastefully celebrating its colloquial charm.

Bendigo Ernest Hotel entry
The city’s oldest bank building has been reimagined as the exquisite Bendigo Ernest Hotel.

The backstory

Opened in early 2022, the 10-suite property combines majestic architecture, impossibly high ceilings and features from its colourful past (including a bullet hole in an original window pane; a memento from a heist) with the fresh viewpoint of directorial duo David Cook-Doulton and Martin Shew.

Bendigo Ernest Hotel artworks
Artworks by Melbourne Studio School director Richard Birmingham and Archibald finalist David Bromley adorn the walls of the hotel.

The boutique hotel is the pair’s first collaborative venture, however, you wouldn’t know it when walking into the impeccably styled welcome lounge. Skills garnered through decades working in marketing, hospitality and creative services are expertly applied to a new medium to replace regional guesthouse clichés with elevated touches.

Named after Cook-Doulton’s grandfather, who was a vocal supporter of his creative endeavours during his formative years, the Ernest Hotel is part-residence, part-stage for lesser-heard voices and experts of craft. It’s this intentional dismantling of power within the city’s oldest banking building that so cleverly softens the space and connects historical and contemporary narratives in unexpected ways.

The rooms

Each of the hotel’s bespoke suites is a design-lover’s dream and themed around an artist’s work selected from Cook-Doulton’s private art collection, which is the product of 20 years’ patronage. The boutique hotel features works by Melbourne Studio School director Richard Birmingham and Archibald finalist David Bromley.

The interiors at the Bendigo Ernest Hotel in Victoria, Australia
Expect to be welcomed by plush velvet and felt couches.

Expect to be welcomed by plush velvet and felt couches, plaid wool blankets, softly lit wishbone seating and plumes of a woody fragrance custom-designed for the space by Melbourne-based aromatherapy consultancy Aromacare.

Stroll into the walk-in bank vaults and find two micro lounges that feature works by female artists that highlight the inequality of labour value between genders.

Dedication to balanced aesthetics is something that the whole team takes seriously. Staff are educated in the composition of each room so spaces can be reset daily, to create an experience that is reassuringly consistent, no matter if it’s your first or 101st stay.

The guest bed at Bendigo Ernest Hotel in Victoria, Australia
The exquisite styling inside the guest rooms at Bendigo Ernest Hotel.

While the bathrooms might feel a bit retro (we predict a renovation is on the horizon), every lamp, bathrobe, cushion and appliance complements the artwork to cocoon visitors in visual harmony during their stay. Weekend guests may also meet Fletcher, the owners’ affable Airedale terrier, whose coiffed curls are as much a part of the decor as the ochre espresso cups.

Above all else, the Bendigo Ernest Hotel is a modern take on traditional hospitality with a sincere passion for old tales and new memories at its core. A heartfelt reminder that Victoria holds treasure troves of hidden wonders within its colonial shrouds, if you only know where to look.

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Details

A wide shot of the guest bed at the Bendigo Ernest Hotel in Victoria, Australia
The hotel offers a modern take on traditional hospitality with a sincere passion for old tales and new memories at its core.

Address: Bendigo Ernest Hotel , 10–12 View Street, Bendigo, Vic

Verdict: A welcoming art-lovers retreat that unearths local history and celebrates fresh perspectives, where each luxurious detail tells a story.

Score: 4.5/5

We rated: The pet-friendly, accessible ground-floor suite, perfect for dog owners and visitors who need accessible shower facilities.

We’d change: Being an older building, single glazing is retained in some rooms leading to early-morning street noise.

Green credentials: Local artists, furniture designers and producers are on display, cutting down on the carbon footprint.

Notes: Weekday stays are charged at a reduced rate and are ideal if you are planning a visit to Bendigo Art Gallery outside of busy weekend hours. Look out for the team’s second destination, Hotel Vera in Ballarat, which is due to open later this year.

All AT reviews are conducted anonymously and our writers pay their own way – so we experience exactly what you would.
Clare Acheson
Clare Acheson is a creative strategist based in Melbourne. When she isn't helping brands connect with audiences and communities, she can be found documenting her travels in search of art, music and culinary experiences, to bring fresh perspectives to readers who savour the little things.
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Good food, beautiful nature & history: your guide to a long weekend in West Gippsland

(Credit: Rob Blackburn)

    Carla Grossetti Carla Grossetti
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    From rainforest walks and scenic drives to historic gold-rush towns and standout regional dining experiences, you can find it all in West Gippsland.

    Hover over West Gippsland on Google Earth and you’ll see vast tracts of land spread out like green velveteen around the Toorongo Falls Reserve. It’s a landscape that feels almost impossibly lush for a region sitting little more than an hour from Melbourne.

    Track southeast in late autumn and early winter and you’ll see pockets of the Mt Baw Baw Plateau dusted in snow. In addition to the forests of mountain ash veined with creeks and rivers, there are pastures and farmland cross-stitched together to form pretty patchworks.

    But West Gippsland isn’t defined by scenery alone: in addition to its awe-inspiring nature, a Venn diagram of the region includes gold-rush history and great culinary experiences.  Spend a long weekend here and it quickly becomes clear how often these three overlap.

    Getting there

    Messmates Dining west gippsland
    Spend the weekend eating and exploring in West Gippsland. (Credit: Messmates Dining)

    Getting to West Gippsland involves as easy drive – it’s just over an hour out of Melbourne along the Monash Freeway.

    Not driving? Catch the train from Melbourne on the Gippsland line, terminating at either Traralgon or Bairnsdale, and hop off at Warragul or Drouin.

    Visit historic villages

    Walhalla historic township
    Wander into Australia’s Gold Rush history at Walhalla. (Credit: Rob Blackburn)

    The West Gippsland region is on the Traditional Lands of the Kulin and Kurnai nations, specifically linked to the Bunurong, Gunaikurnai and Wurundjeri Peoples, whose connection to Country stretches back thousands of years.

    European settlement occurred in the 19th century as timber cutters, farmers and gold seekers pushed into the region’s dense forests. Small towns grew around sawmills and railway lines, and many of those gold rush settlements, timber towns and railway villages still shape the character of the region today.

    The most evocative of these is Walhalla Historic Township , a remarkably preserved gold-rush township tucked deep in the mountains. In the late 1800s, it was one of Victoria’s richest goldfields. Today visitors can step inside that history at the Long Tunnel Extended Gold Mine, where underground tours reveal the scale of the mining operation that once powered the town’s prosperity. Nearby, the Walhalla Goldfields Railway retraces part of the original narrow-gauge line through the valley, offering a slow journey past forest and river scenery.

    Further west, Noojee is a classic mountain village. It’s surrounded by dense forest and waterfalls and has become a natural base for exploring the Baw Baw region. Just outside town, Noojee Trestle Bridge stands as one of West Gippsland’s most striking relics of the rail era. The towering wooden structure is the tallest surviving trestle bridge in Victoria and today forms the centrepiece of an easy scenic walk with wide views across the valley.

    Alpine Trout Farm west gippsland
    Catch your own lunch at Alpine Trout Farm. (Credit: Nicky Cawood)

    At Alpine Trout Farm near Noojee, visitors can fish for trout in mountain-fed ponds before enjoying the catch prepared fresh onsite. It’s a simple experience that reflects the area’s long connection to the surrounding waterways.

    Back in Warragul , the region’s main service town, the story shifts from heritage to modern regional life. With galleries, restaurants and sweeping views across the rolling farmland of Gippsland, the town has become a lively hub linking the district’s past with its evolving food and cultural scene. Drive through the town and you’ll find heritage buildings, old pubs and weatherboard cottages that hint at the area’s early days as a frontier landscape.

    In other towns the past survives in quieter ways – a historic hall here, a century-old bakery there.

    Walks, waterfalls and wild places

    Toorongo Falls in west gippsland
    Stroll Toorongo Falls Reserve. (Credit: Nicky Cawood)

    Even simple roadside stops can feel cinematic in West Gippsland. The region also delivers plenty of opportunities to lace up your walking shoes.

    One of the region’s most rewarding nature escapes lies just outside Noojee at Toorongo Falls Reserve . A network of walking tracks winds through the cool-temperate rainforest where towering mountain ash trees filter the light and the air smells of rich, damp earth. The 2.2-kilometre trail to the viewing platform overlooking Toorongo Falls is short, but spectacular, as the water cascades down over moss-covered rock faces into a cool, green gully in Little Toorongo River.

    Further north, the Mount Baw Baw Alpine Resort offers year-round adventures. In winter, the mountain attracts skiers and snowboarders. The warmer months are just as compelling, with scenic drives to see alpine wildflowers, mountain bike trails and panoramic hiking routes that open across the plateau.

    Cyclists and walkers looking for a more relaxed pace can follow the Rokeby Neerim Rail Trail , which traces a former railway line through farmland and small Gippsland villages. The mostly flat trail passes rolling paddocks, creeks and historic bridges, making it an easy way to drop it down a gear when exploring the countryside.

    Taste the best eats of West Gippsland

    Hogget Kitchen west gippsland
    Taste the best of the region at Hogget Kitchen.

    For many travellers, the real drawcards of West Gippsland are the food and wine. The region sits in the heart of Victoria’s fertile dairy country, and that agricultural backdrop has helped shape a dining scene where seasonal produce and local provenance take centre stage.

    Hogget Kitchen has helped put Warragul firmly on the radar for serious regional dining in West Gippsland. Here, head chef and owner Trevor Perkins runs the kitchen alongside well-known winemakers William (Bill) Downie and Pat Sullivan. Hogget Kitchen lives up to its promise of exceptional destination dining; what lands on the table depends largely on what nearby farms have harvested that week as well as a wine list from Wild Dog Winery and other Gippsland producers.

    Warragul is also where you’ll find Messmates Dining where the kitchen team is led by Michelin-trained chefs. The Euro-leaning bistro and wine bar brings a polished edge to the local dining scene using produce sourced from across West Gippsland.

    For something more casual, the century-old Noojee Hotel is the kind of hub that every traveller dreams of finding after a long drive. Expect generous pub classics served on the sunny deck in summer or beside the crackle of a log fire in winter.  Nearby, rustic Toolshed Bar, Bistro & Cabins is the place to go for a wood-fired pizza topped with smoked local trout paired with Gippsland wine, making it a rewarding stop for lunch or an overnight stay.

    Time your visit with the Truffle Festival

    Food lovers visiting in winter should consider timing their trip to coincide with Noojee Truffle Festival , running from 10 July to 2 August 2026. The inaugural event celebrates the region’s emerging truffle industry with tastings, special menus and events built around one of winter’s most prized ingredients.

    Start planning your long weekend in West Gippsland at visitgippsland.com.au .