Aug 21

Aug 21 A wintery escape to Merlot Mountain Haven

You know we are always on the look out for dog-friendly places to stay and a winter escape to wine country in the Granite Belt had our name all over it, so we were excited to discover a whole house with literal acres of land for our floof at Merlot Mountain Haven.

Less than 10 minutes south of Stanthorpe itself, this house truly is a haven. From the keyless entry to the wood-burning fireplace, and a kitchen stocked with all the necessities, you may never want to leave!

To get to the house, you head along a dirt road, jump out to open the gate and continue to almost complete privacy. The way in is well signposted and marked with solar lights so you won’t get lost either.

The country house itself is three bedrooms, but those not in use for your booking are locked off. The best bit? Up to four dogs can stay per booking with no size restrictions. For our 25kg ball of fluff, this is a welcome surprise.

In terms of being dog-friendly, it doesn’t get much better than this. Dogs are allowed inside, just not on the beds or furniture, plus there’s a securely fenced yard and a fenced paddock for them to run amok to their heart’s delight. Dog beds, bowls, towels and plenty of treats are supplied.

We discovered the pond on the property as soon as we arrived with Falcor the water pup making a beeline and going for a swim! A quick hose off and a towel and he was almost good as new.

Humans are treated just as well with local Washpool bath products, plenty of tea and condiments supplied in the kitchen and a Nespresso coffee machine for those cold early mornings! You could quite easily have all your meals here too with a great bbq out on the deck.

If you can’t wait for the fire to heat up the house, both the lounge and the main bedroom have reverse-cycle aircon that will warm you up in no time.

The master bedroom has an ensuite with heated lamps that were very welcome on the nights that got down to 2-degrees while we visited.

For relaxing after a hard day of wine-tasting, there is a TV with several streaming services ready to go or enjoy the large clawfoot bath in the main bathroom to really wind down.

There's even a small piano situated in the living room if you are musically inclined.

If you want to get out and explore, owners Lance and Marylin have put together a book with all the dog-friendly cafes, restaurants and walks.

This place just opened up for bookings at the end of 2021, and we are so glad it did. I am pretty sure we will be back again – maybe when it is a little warmer and the apples are on the trees.