Luxury renaissance
IT’S HARD NOT TO BE mesmerised by the lush Barossan countryside, a pocket of South Australia where the dusty greens of eucalyptus fade into the delicate scalloped leaves of grape vines, and the horizon seems as endless as the opportunities to indulge. This is your backdrop – your cocoon – at Kingsford The Barossa, South Australia’s newest luxury retreat that feels like it has been fine-tuning hospitality offerings since time immortal. Well, at least since the original Georgianstyle mansion was built here, amid 90 hectares of native bushland, in 1856.
It’s the kind of setting you’d expect to see on postcards, or in movies – small wonder Chanel Nine snapped up the grounds in 2000 to act as the set of hit TV drama McLeod’s Daughters for eight seasons. When the show ended, Stefan and Leanne Ahrens didn’t hesitate to move in – Stefan, having grown up down the road, played among the gums here
A historic slice of South Australia is reinvented as a high-style luxury retreat at Kingsford The Barossa.
when he was a child. It holds a sweet spot. The couple spent more than a decade first graciously renovating the Kingsford Homestead, then adding the 16 luxe suites that welcomed guests from mid-2021.
The worldly couple’s labour of love is like a snapshot of their combined passions. Each accommodation is individually designed and decorated with hand-picked objets that hero South Australian artists.
You can thank Leanne for the attention to detail – her interior design background elevates rooms and suites with niceties like Barossan potteries, bespoke lighting and furniture that looks like it has slipped from the pages of a glossy magazine.
Food and wine is a firm focus, whether you’re enjoying woodfired pizzas alfresco amid the estate’s gardens, a five-course degustation in the Wine Tunnel, or savouring classic vintages in one of the Wine Vaults, which house a museum collection of Penfolds Grange and one of the largest private collections of shiraz in Australia. Of course you can visit the Barossa’s legendary wineries in person, with Kingsford staff able to arrange bespoke, behind-the-scenes experiences at the likes of Seppeltsfield and Yalumba – Stefan is a member of the Barons of Barossa wine fraternity, after all.
But you won’t want to go too far; there’s plenty to entertain on-site. Not in the least the Bush Bath – think a secluded tub overlooking the North Parra River, with cheese and champagne and plush robes ready to take your sunset soak to dreamy heights. For something a little more high-octane, head to the on-site Kegelbahn, where the Ahrens have assembled a nine-pin bowling alley replete with a movie screen and bar, for when it’s time to retire from the lanes.
Still, one of the best ways to appreciate this landscape is when there are no distractions at all – when the Milky Way twinkles overhead, the fire crackles beside you and the marshmallows begin to ooze around your stick. kingsfordbarossa.com.au