Chocolate Gannets

Set across the road from Apollo Bay's sand, with Wild Dog Creek marking one edge of the property, Chocolate Gannets holds four two-bedroom villas along Victoria's Great Ocean Road. Two sit directly on the beachfront with unobstructed views over the bay; two, the Luxury Garden Villas, sit just behind them, facing partial ocean views over neighbouring farmland and bush. It is a compact property. Each villa has its own spa room, and in the Beachfront Villas the bath faces the water through doors that open straight onto the deck. A wood-fireplace, double-sided in the Beachfront Villas, warms both living room and spa on cooler nights. You can watch for whales, dolphins, and seals from the deck between May and September, and at low tide the walk into Apollo Bay along the sand takes about thirty to forty minutes. Behind the villas, a 200-metre track winds through eucalypts where koalas are often found asleep in the branches, though never guaranteed. Sheep graze the paddock next door. Apollo Bay's harbour, bakeries, and restaurants are a five-minute drive away. Check-in runs from 3pm, and the villas remain closed to through traffic, with access by a texted door code rather than a staffed desk.