Spa Country
The Spa Country business started back in 1999 with the launch of Daylesford Getaways (now Dayget Retreats). Now a decade on, Spa Country is the largest tourism and hospitality businesses in the region, comprising eight different businesses and growing. The businesses are all privately owned by Chris Malden and Wayne Cross, who two years ago, starting pulling together the various business under one group, Spa Country. However it is not until April 2011 that Spa Country publically launched as the umbrella lifestyle brand behind the elegant lifestyle businesses within the group.
Peppers Mineral Springs Retreat
Visions of the great Gatsby era come to mind, when delving into the History of the Mineral Springs Hotel.
Many a wonderful holiday has been spent, soaking in the famous mineral waters by day, followed by evenings of singing around the piano, dancing, listening to the wireless and playing cards.
Today, Peppers Mineral Springs Retreat still retains allusions of art deco glamour, to honor its early origins. Built in 1935, the Mineral Springs Hotel was not the first to stand on this site; two others preceded it.
Little is know of the original buildings, as records and documentation have disappeared over time. It is thought that the first Hotel dates back to 1864, the same year Fabrizzio Crippa built Villa Parma.
The earliest owners on record were Italian immigrant Giuseppe Rolleri and his wife Kate. They purchased the Hotel and Villa Parma in 1883. Like Fabrizzo, Giuseppe also had an interest in wine making and carried on the tradition of producing award winning wine from the land. Following Giuseppe’s death, his wife Kate continued to operate the Hotel and also used Villa Parma as a guest house.
No one seems to recall the true fate of the original Hotel building; it was either burned down during the bush fires of 1906, or demolished around 1900 and rebuilt as an Edwardian timber Hotel in 1910. By this time, guests were provided with such luxuries as hot and cold water, tennis courts, golf course and even parking for motorcars. This Hotel may have also been damaged by fire and was eventually demolished, making way for the new Mineral Springs Hotel.
In the late 30’s and again in the 50’s, distinguished chef Albert (Bing) Baker managed the kitchen. He used his influence to attract sports personalities and famous bands to perform for guests; as in the 50’s dancing and frivolity occurred every night.
Some time during the 60’s, the Hotel was owned by Captain Dyson, a gentleman well known for his rather laid back business style. To obtain service in the bar, one had to ring a ship’s bell. He also owned an amusement business in Maribyrnong. Occasionally, some of the performers would spend time at the Hotel for a bit of R&R, including the Monkeys.
Developers Chris Malden and Wayne Cross acquired the property in 2000, with a vision to return the Hotel to its glory days and beyond. They completely restored the building, adding modern electrics, air-conditioning/heating, stylish interior design, new rooms, restaurant, mineral spa, conference centre and spa villas; all this, without closing for a single day. It is an ongoing project that has transformed a simple country pub hotel into a Four Star award winning luxury Resort destination.
Dayget Retreats (formerly Daylesford Getaways)
When Chris Malden and Wayne Cross first discovered Daylesford in mid 90’s, they decided to build their own little country getaway. They wanted a weekend retreat from Melbourne City, where they could tend to their garden and relax.
It all began with the restoration of a Tudor style reception centre/cafe in Hepburn Springs. However, given that Wayne and Chris were in the business of property development, they started to build other getaways in the area.
Instead of following the crowd, painting and decorating old cottages, they created modern spacious villas, using unique materials and offering premium luxury, style and comfort. It soon became apparent that the holiday rental market of the time didn’t cater for such properties and the clients they would attract.
Such a minor setback didn’t deter these young entrepreneurs and Daylesford Getaways was formed. They appointed Wayne’s parents, Brian and Heather Cross, as property managers and set about establishing Australia’s first holiday accommodation booking website; pioneering the nation’s first complete online accommodation booking and payments system in this sector.
Within months, Wayne and Chris were approached by other owners of similarly unique properties and before long, the Daylesford Getaways portfolio grew to such an extent that they gave up their city jobs and moved permanently.
Today, the newly renamed Dayget Retreats boasts more than 180 of the most stylish properties in the region, hosting over 45,000 guests every year.
Villa Parma
In 1864, Italian immigrant Fabrizzio Crippa, set about creating a magnificent vineyard in Hepburn Springs. He fertilized the rich chocolate brown soil with bones from his butchery and planted over 15,000 vines. Fabrizzio’s wine eventually won international accolades, yet his finest legacy is the vineyard’s iconic Villa Parma.
Adjacent to Peppers Mineral Springs Hotel, Fabrizzio’s stately family home still stands, as a tribute to grand, renaissance style, Italian architecture and Victoria’s history.
Finely crafted in cement rendered brick and stone, with decorative highlights surrounding wooden doors and windows. Underground, lays a secluded, enchanting cellar, installed for the purpose of aging Fabrizzio’s wine. Fresh water was originally drawn from a deep natural spring well, which rises up from the cellar floor.
Over nearly 150 years Villa Parma has been transformed from a residence to guest house, restaurant, bed and breakfast and even the venue for a Swiss/Italian Film Festival. During the early 1900’s a secret tunnel ran through to the Hotel nextdoor. It is suspected this was used to facilitate drinking after regulation 6 o’clock closing. One fateful day in 1984 the building almost met its demise in a terrible fire. Damage was of such severity that the Victorian Ministry of Housing considered it for demolition. Yet repairs were eventually made and Villa Parma lived on.
In 2006, current owners Wayne Cross and Chris Maldon meticulously restored Villa Parma to its former glory, working closely with Heritage Victoria. Whilst replacing floorboards they still discovered fire scorched floor joists. Although amenities were modernized, Wayne and Chris consciously retained the historical character of the building, leaving such things as cracked render and exposed brickwork still in place.
Villa Parma today, is regularly inhabited by families and celebration groups as luxurious accommodation, with fine banqueting events held in the cellar. You will often observe tourists capturing its beauty on camera, as it remains one of Victoria’s historical landmarks - once described as ‘An ornament to the road’.
