Overview
In just a few weeks, the days will be getting chillier and you'll be, once again, unpacking beanies and mitts — and cosy weekend getaways are likely already on your mind. Happily, this year sees the return of a popular pop-up accommodation option to regional Victorian, with the Wine Down Pop-Up Hotel heading back to three wineries this autumn.
The two beautifully upcycled and solar-powered shipping container hotels are the work of Contained — known for crafting bars, restaurants, offices and hotels out of shipping containers — and are all at once comfy, luxuriously appointed and sustainably crafted. And they'll soon be well-travelled, moving across three of the state's best-loved wine regions between February and June.
Designed to inspire some weekend adventures in your own backyard, the pop-up eco hotels will be making their home at Yarra Valley's Seville Estate (February 28–March 28), before a stint at Montalto in the Mornington Peninsula (April 3–May 2), which has restaurants and even its own sculpture trail. It'll wrap things up at historic Rutherglen's All Saints Estate (May 8–June 7).
Nestled among the vines, the self-contained Wine Down retreats come kitted out with a swag of high-end trimmings, boasting a plush queen-size bed with primo Cultiver linen, full bathroom stocked with Leif toiletries, a minibar with a bottle of the property's finest vino, a breakfast hamper of local produce, floor-to-ceiling windows leading onto a deck and — wait for it — your own private hot tub. An electric BMW will also be available to use to explore the surrounding areas and neighbouring wineries if you please.
As well as the two pop-up hotels, this year, for the first time, there'll also be a third shipping container. Though, instead of beds and a bathroom, this one will be filled with wine. It's promising an "entirely new way" of engaging with wine via a virtual reality trip showcasing regional Victorian produce — as well as actual wine and food samples to eat and drink from across the Pinot Coast, Shiraz Central, King Valley Prosecco Road, Muscat of Rutherglen and Yarra Valley. It's open to all hotel guests and can be booked for $35 a pop over here.
The Wine Down Pop-Up Hotel is heading to Yarra Valley from February 28–March 28, Mornington Peninsula from April 3–May 2, and Rutherglen from May 8–June 7. Prices start at $275 per night from Sundays through Thursdays and $375 per night on weekends and booking are now open via contained.com.au/hotel.