The Louise

Relaxed luxury redefined! If you’re seeking stunning surroundings, thoughtfully designed accommodations, exceptional service, outstanding food and wine, and those little extra touches, The Louise is a must-visit. This boutique-style retreat offers everything you could hope for. From the warm and inviting entrance to its impeccable attention to detail, every moment of your stay feels extraordinary. You don’t even need to leave the property to experience the culinary delights the Barossa is renowned for, some of the best meals and wines of our five-day stay in the region were enjoyed at The Louise. The rooms are immaculately clean, spacious, and equipped with everything you could possibly need for a relaxing and indulgent getaway. The six-course dinners at the on-site restaurant are spectacular. Having dined at some of the finest establishments in the area, I can confidently say the in-house restaurant surpasses many of the renowned set-menu restaurants nearby. The service strikes a perfect balance between friendly and professional, with a enthusiastic team who are knowledgeable and genuinely passionate about ensuring a memorable experience. For those concerned about overindulgence (easily done in the Barossa!), the lap pool, sauna, and gym are welcome additions to balance the indulgent dining and wine-tasting experiences. If you’re looking for something truly special, The Louise delivers in every way. It’s well worth the price and offers an unforgettable stay that redefines relaxed luxury.

Elegant retreat in the heart of the Barossa Valley, surrounded by orchards and lovely views. With only 15 rooms, this is a very quiet and quaint hotel. Breakfast and degaustation dinner included, as well as a well packed packed fridge and snacks. Just find yourself lunch somewhere in the plethora of local wineries, cafes and more. Alternatively, just book for a degaustation dinner, with optional wine pairing for some amazing food that you will remember. The chef is an absolute wizard, with some odd pairings that just click for an amazing experience. Yes, it's expensive but 100% worth it!

This cracking discovery was the location for the launch of a new electric vehicle model, thus an overnight stay was required.||Getting there||QANTAS was late in both directions. The once great airline is now a creaking old granny||The Car||Polestar 4 Dual Motor Performance||The Louise||In the heart of the Barossa Valley, South Australia, The Louise’s main building houses reception/gift shop, the kitchen and dining areas, the bar, and various administrative rooms. The front door is at the end of a long grape-vine festooned colonnade. Either side of the colonnade are the villas of varying sizes, mine being the smallest 95m2 Baillie suite at around $1100 a night. ||After checking in at The Louise reception, walked a few metres up the front path to the villa compound. I entered the small Mediterranean-like limestone-walled courtyard via a tall, locked gate using the key (or touch-fob). Inside, the sun trap had a couple of Adirondack chairs, and a substantial front door that wouldn’t look out of place on a renovated 15th century farmhouse in France.||My case and a hand-written welcome note had been delivered to the valet shelf in the walk-in wardrobe just inside the front door. The staff are thoughtful, attentive and well trained, and will do a good-night service whilst you’re at dinner. A hot water bottle is placed in your king bed, a nighttime herb tea is prepared ready for hot water, and an oil burner lit to lightly scent the room with slumber-inducing herbal infusions.||The suite has several rooms including the luxurious bathroom with both an indoor and outdoor shower. ||The rear has a private terrace overlooking the vineyards.||The complimentary mini-bar includes local wine, beer, and canned gin and tonic. There is also a large decanter of tawny (previously known as Port) for a night cap. There is coffee (pods), tea of many flavours, and a selection of chef’s homemade goodies to snack on.||There is a small TV in the sitting room and another in the bathroom, but they will probably see little use.||I enjoyed a gin and tonic while taking a pre-dinner outdoor shower in the small high-walled courtyard off the main bathroom.||Linen is top quality as are the pillows and mattress. The towels were dense rather than fluffy so didn’t quite float my boat. Should you need the loo in the night, you can leave a bathroom night light on.||There are plenty of USB and power points throughout, as well as a quality Bluetooth speaker to pair your phone to.||The resort has an eye on minimising waste so there is a small hand-made soap as well as large refillable bodywash, shampoo, and conditioner containers.|The villa has a fireplace in the bedroom as well as central air conditioning.||Dining and Facilities||The main building has several eating and drinking spaces, including the main dining room and a cosy “speak-easy” style snug. The private gent’s study atmosphere is perfect for a late cocktail if the main bar doesn’t appeal.||There are only 15 suites, so the dining room is unlikely to be overly crowded. It adds further to the exclusive experience, as does the fact that most windows have expansive views over the hills.||There is a gym and pool for those so inclined, for the rest of us there is the superb food to be had in the dining spaces. ||The wines matched each of the 7 courses. ||A vegan menu was requested by the hosts in honour of the nature of the electric car being launched. Vegan is hard to get right and if given the chance I’d have preferred a conventional offering to sample chef’s talent with meat and fish.|Chef forages on and around the property, and uses the bounty from the search, and that from the kitchen garden, in the spectacularly inventive menu.||The highlights were the sensational seasonal ice-cream dessert and luscious mushroom cannoli canape. There was a celeriac course, but as that is my least favourite root vegetable, I only sampled it to be polite. ||Dinner is included, so all guests can dine in the evening. There is a private dining room, a timber deck, and various other spots to eat. In addition, there are further sites on the property for a quiet wine or picturesque picnic.||The Barossa is the centre of South Australian wine country so it might be worth hiring a driver for a few days so wine tasting can be guilt and crime free.||Reception has a small gift ship with top quality items available such as silk scarves and arty aluminium water jugs.||What I loved:||Quality construction and attention to detail, superb food and wine (do try the tawny), outdoor shower (even in winter), home made snacks on the hospitality tray.|View from the villas are stunning with a kangaroo coming right up to the window||Not so much||Although the towels were good quality, the dense weave was not to my taste. I prefer very fluffy white towels to the heavy, dense, brown bath linen.

My husband and I had three nights at The Louise. We arrived on a Saturday in torrential rain but we were greeted warmly by Darcy who gave us a welcome drink, a tour of the hotel and our room and gave us suggestions of local things to do|Room 7 was lovely. We didn’t use the outdoor shower or sitting areas outside but they would be great in warmer weather. Everything is included at The Louise. The minibar was stocked with handmade treats, drinks and two bottles of wine which were all replenished daily|Dinner was a highlight. We enjoyed the different menus and the matching wines were a great way to explore different varieties of wine from some of the many Barossa wineries. Wait staff were friendly and knowledgeable |Breakfast was also delicious. It started with a breakfast basket with yogurt and pastries then we chose a hot item. Linda was very friendly and pleasant |We found lots to do close by to the hotel but we also enjoyed staying in our room. The bed was super comfortable and spoils you for other hotels. Toiletries made locally were a great touch|After dinner at turndown service a teapot with sleep tea was delivered |We would love to return to The Louise and also stay at some of the other hotels. Thanks for a fabulous stay

We stayed at the Louise Hotel in Barossa Valley for 2 nights. |The Stonewell suite is very nice with a vineyard view and plenty of room to stretch out. The heated bathroom floor and a great electric fireplace were a nice touch as the weather was cold. We enjoyed the morning breakfast but didn’t take advantage of the included appellation fine dining experience. There are only Australian wines available for purchase in addition to the included wine program. |The team at The Louise works very hard to make sure you have a great stay in the Barossa. We will book again the next time we visit.

Don’t do it! Unless you’re 100% sure on your booking dates, I recommend a NO to The Louise, or Bailey Lodges in general. Their reservations staff lack any concept of life’s curve balls or extenuating circumstances. A request for a simple date change fell on deaf ears & as a result left me cutting my stay short & attending one sad & lonely evening all by myself! I’ll spend my next $3,200.00 + more weekend elsewhere. Thanks for your understanding Bailey Lodges .. NOT .. shame on you!

Incredible culinary experience pairing local produce with wines from a vast number of vineyards and grapes types. Pity the pool was not heated or a spa overlooking the vines. The suites are well appointed and the outdoor private shower would be a nice experience in the warmer weather. Loved the local art. Well situated near so many premium Barossa vineyards to explore by car or local bus tour.

My husband and I and savouring our last breakfast moment at The Louise after a 4 night stay and we don’t want to leave! This is our 2nd Baillie Lodges’ experience - we stayed at Southern Ocean Lodge for our honeymoon, and now the Louise, the Baillie’s brand delivered again! From the moment we walked in, I couldn’t help but immediately felt relaxed! The whole place is serene, absolutely beautiful, both in terms of the interior design and the view of the Barossa We stayed in one of the Stonewell Suite and for 2 people it’s good space, lovely furnishing and windows looking out the gorgeous vineyards. I did a couple of workouts in the courtyard looking out to the vines! The room came with a lot of house made snacks and drinks, replenished everyday. We’re end of September when it’s still quite chilly, but I highly recommend doing a dip in the “not heated” swimming pool looking out, yet again, to the vines and quickly duck into the sauna after, it’s a treat! If we were being picky, the beds and pillows were too soft for us, but that’s a personal preference And you must must must enjoy the included degustation dinner which is included with the room charge with matching wine (or they have also just started pairing non-alcoholic beverages). Every dish was beautifully crafted, tasted amazing using local produce and the matching wine give you a chance to check out wineries that you otherwise might not know about but with banging products! And if weather permits, definitely sit on the deck and enjoy the beautiful sunset. And you go back to your room with sleepy time tea all ready and a hot water bottle tucked in your bed! Breakfast comes with a continental breakfast tray and then options to order something more substantial. Again if I am being picky, the breakfast options could be expanded to include pancakes/waffles, omelettes etc. Location; it’s in the heart of the Barossa, perfect spot for sight seeing if you have your own vehicle. And what really made it was the staff, they all have amazing personalities and delivered classic Australian hospitality with great banters and never missed a beat! Darcy, Linda, Francesca, Mel, Gus, Toni and I am probably missing some people now but they have made the experience incredibly memorable, big thanks 🙌