The Black Sparrow

“The Black Sparrow - Recommended”

We stayed in The Black Sparrow Ruby Chalet over the Labour Day Long Weekend in Victoria in March 2024. The location was a short drive to Mansfield and Jamieson. It is a short walk to Lake Eildon, which is across the road. It was a very hot weekend. We had a swim in the lake, which has a very mudd… lisää

We stayed in The Black Sparrow Ruby Chalet over the Labour Day Long Weekend in Victoria in March 2024. The location was a short drive to Mansfield and Jamieson. It is a short walk to Lake Eildon, which is across the road. It was a very hot weekend. We had a swim in the lake, which has a very muddy shore line. The pool area was very welcoming after hot days, and walking, and after swimming in the lake. The pool water was surprisingly cool and refreshing even after several days of hot weather. The water was very clean. The pool has a nice open deck, and some shade. It was by far better than swimming in the lake. We then stayed at the pool for the remainder of the stay. It's a short walk to pool from the chalet. The chalet had lots of privacy screening around (you don't see anybody else except for the view out front) and a very nice open deck looking out towards hills and Lake Eildon, with an easy to use BBQ. Accommodation was clean. Yes, the decor is a bit dated outside and inside, especially the carpet, but in regards to "value for money" and the location and the space for two people is very generous. The bathroom is huge. The wood box fire and spa are great to have, but we didn't use them because there were very hot days. Looking forward to trying these out during winter. Yes, the BBQ is a bit old too, but its functional and works fine. The CD player struggled a bit at times and was missing playing some tracks. Air-conditioning worked fine. Didn't use the A/C heating function. Yes, there is a "bidet" in the bathroom, but it's easy to shrug off, scratch your head, have a bit of a giggle about it, ignore it, just don't use it, and don't worry too much about it. There are kangaroos hoping past in the evenings, lots of friendly colourful parrots that sit on the deck balustrade hoping to get something to nibble on, like a piece of fresh fruit, many stars to look at and satellites whizzing past in the night sky to count, and a large herd of very friendly goats, that come right up to the chalet. Goats wouldn't be suitable for young children, because they do get "very friendly" at times looking for food and could easily push a kid over (pardon the pun) Because it's been so hot, the paddocks looked very dry. The tennis court and large chess board could also benefit from a bit of a clean up and maintenance, not that we wanted to use them. The main driveway has unfortunately experienced some erosion from past heavy rains, and could also do with a bit of maintenance, which wasn't a problem for us as we had a 4WD. A non 4WD can easily get up the driveway, but you do need to be a bit more careful. The bed was firm and comfortable, and the linen was clean and fresh, but unfortunately the pillows were not to our liking. We will bring our own pillows next time. Overall, there were many more positives than the small negatives at The Black Sparrow. We loved it and wanted to stay a bit longer, but unfortunately we couldn't. We will definitely be going back there soon. Thanks and enjoy. P & P. Melbourne.

vähemmän

“Amazing location”

I got to postpone my trip due to the recent flood and Earl was very understanding and agreed to my date changes with no extra charge. Room view was amazing...stunning. Internet was good. Had a short blackout and Earl was quick in responding to confirm that it was a blackout but power back in a shor… lisää

I got to postpone my trip due to the recent flood and Earl was very understanding and agreed to my date changes with no extra charge. Room view was amazing...stunning. Internet was good. Had a short blackout and Earl was quick in responding to confirm that it was a blackout but power back in a short while. Overall love this place and will be back again.

vähemmän

“Great family trip away”

Wonderful peace and quiet. Saw many kangaroos and the kids loved the tennis court and giant chess. Took day trips snowboarding at Mt Buller and returned to a cottage with great heating and spa bath. Beds were very comfortable and the accommodation extremely clean. Would highly recommend. Sue

“Amazing location!”

We were 6 couples, stayed in two 3 bedroom chalets over the long weekend. The location was simply stunning. The facilities were excellent. We did a lot of walking in & around the property, visited wineries & the local brewery. We played tennis, had BBQ’s and sing song sessions around a campfire wit… lisää

We were 6 couples, stayed in two 3 bedroom chalets over the long weekend. The location was simply stunning. The facilities were excellent. We did a lot of walking in & around the property, visited wineries & the local brewery. We played tennis, had BBQ’s and sing song sessions around a campfire with a clear night sky. We watched kangaroos hop across the property and listened to the Kookaburras. Watching the sunset whilst sipping a glass of wine on the verandah was spectacular. All-in-all a fantastic weekend away - relaxing & enjoyable. Our host Earl was very accomodating with the many changes we requested due to Covid. Thoroughly recommended if you’d like quality time-off away from the busy rat race. Definitely on our plan to revisit this place. Excellent for young families too. They will enjoy the farm animals on the property. Thank you for an amazing experience.

vähemmän