Project spokesperson and Director of Hotellerie consultancy Sonia Lefevre said the Hahndorf villas would be well spaced on sloping land to provide privacy and views across the vineyard.
She said it was hoped construction would begin in the second half of this year ahead of a September 2023 launch.
An artist’s render of one of the villas at The Lane Luxury Lodge.
“We’ve been designing this for about three years now and as COVID hit we re-looked at everything we were proposing to make sure it was relevant for the future and sustainable from a tourism perspective,” Lefevre said.
“It’s a lovely large piece of land directly next to The Lane vineyards which sits on quite a slope and that means each of the villas had to be carefully designed and provided absolute privacy for the guests staying in them.”
“We looked at lodges globally and for us it was drawing on how we can make this as unique and different as possible, because travellers are far more sophisticated these days so we wanted to future-proof what we were offering.”
The group is proposing 13 one-bedroom villas and seven two-bedroom villas and a main lodge featuring a wellness centre, library, wine cellar and a space for guests to have intimate gatherings away from the villas.
The Lane’s cellar door and restaurant offers sweeping views across its vineyards.
The villas will be located about a five-minute walk from The Lane’s restaurant and cellar door in the south-west corner of the site.
The project group announced its plan in April 2020 to build an iconic $50 million hotel and day spa in the Barossa.
The 12-storey Oscar Seppeltsfield hotel is “progressing” despite some community opposition.
Lefevre said The Lane Luxury Lodge development was in response to a glaring need for more luxury accommodation in the area and an opportunity to capitalise on the emerging wellness travel segment.
“The Adelaide Hills is such a beautiful day-tripper destination but it’s really looking for some unique, luxury accommodation that has tourism drivers so it can support year-round business and not juxjmtzywst peak weekends,” she said.
“We believe that the wellness traveller is a new area, one that will continue to grow and develop and one that we think this lodge will be attractive to.
“Given the small nature and secluded way in which we’ve designed the villas it really does also lend itself to small parties looking for an exclusive wedding or special event destination.”
The group’s design for its proposed Oscar Seppeltsfield hotel in the Barossa has attracted a lot of interest.
The group estimates the Adelaide Hills development will provide 50 construction jobs and at least 30 ongoing jobs for the region once operational.
The designs have been completed by Intro Architecture with director Damien Ellis saying sustainability is a key driver of the project.
The Lane Vineyard CEO Jared Stringer said the accommodation offering would add to the cellar door’s “breathtaking estate views, award-winning wines and world-class restaurant”.
