Faq's
Special Reservation Conditions
Cancellation Policy
Please read our cancellation policy before making a booking
General terms and conditions of your stay at Monreale Estate
About Monreale Estate
- The 100 year old historic Country House has been redeveloped at least four times in the last 80 years, and has historic gardens that date back to the early 1900's.
- Today the gardens are fully developed and cover three acres, the property is surrounded by natural rain forests and Sassafras creek, no visible neighbours and you can find a number of challenging walks a short distance away.
- The new cottages were built in 2000 with the water garden complex of trout ponds and waterfalls completed in 2001.
Accreditation
Monreale is a nationally accredited business through the Better Business Accreditation Program.
The quality assurance program identifies best practice business conduct and customer service.
We commit our business philosophy to embrace;
- Professional customer service
- Compliance with all health and safety standards
- Ethical conduct and business professionalism
- Honest advertising
- Continuous service improvement and staff training about Monreale Estate
- The 100 year old historic Country House has been redeveloped at least four times in the last 80 years, and has historic gardens that date back to the early 1900's.
- Today the gardens are fully developed and cover three acres, the property is surrounded by natural rain forests and Sassafras creek, no visible neighbours and you can find a number of challenging walks a short distance away.
- The new cottages were built in 2000 with the water garden complex of trout ponds and waterfalls completed in 2001.
Breakfast Provisions
Please view our bushfire awareness page>
Business facilities
Mobile phones do not work on the property due to our location in a rain forest gully.
Mobile phone reception can be obtained at Sassafras village, some 3 kilometres away.
Important email and facsimile service can be arranged at reception. (Conditions may apply)
Chauffeur service
Due to insurance issues, we do not provide a chauffer service for guests wishing to be picked up or taken to restaurants and reception centres, we are pleased to pre-arrange and book taxis and other transport providers as and when you require.
Check In and Check Out times
Check in time is..... 3.00pm on day of arrival
Check out time is.... 11.30am on day of departure
Check In procedures
In arrival at the property, park your vehicle in the designated car space provided in either the cottage or retreat car park and then follow the timber walkway or garden path to reception.
You will be required to pay the balance of your total accommodation cost.
After registration, your host will accompany you to your accommodation and explain the property features and accommodation facilities.
Children
We are happy to discuss your needs regarding children, and we are not anti children at Monreale, as there is plenty of separation between cottages to cater for individual privacy.
Confirmation of your reservation
All reservations are confirmed on the day of receipt of the deposit.
We will email or post a confirmation invoice to you setting out all the details of your reservation, and will also attach a detailed brochure and provide directions on how to find us. Please check the reservation details, all discrepancies should be notified to management immediately.
Cottages and Retreats
There are four individually designed cottages and two retreats to select from. Each has distinct features and attractions as can be seen in the accommodation page or the current detailed brochure.
Departure
Mini bar or extras must be paid on departure.
Check all cupboards to avoid leaving behind any valuables or personal belongings.
Ensure key is left in the door or handed in to reception.
Please consider completing the performance-rating sheet.
Disabled Access to cottages or retreats
As our property is located on a semi steep hill slope, we have a variety of paths and steps to engage and encounter, if this is of concern to you we suggest you discuss your needs with us as certain access solutions can be provided to enable and facilitate your participation.
Eating in or out
All cottages and retreats have a fully equipped kitchen - fridge, microwave, gas cook top, oven, china, cutlery and glasses all designed to make self- catering as easy as possible. Eating out is also very convenient as Olinda and Sassafras village's are only a short distance from the property and have an array of restaurants and eating establishments
Extra persons
The tariff is for two adults; (any extra persons including children must be approved by management)
Additional persons will be charged at:
- $50.00 per extra person each per night.
- $25.00 extra per 3 -10 year old child each per night.
- $0.00 extra per 0 to 2 year old child each per night.
Gift Vouchers
Can be tailored to suit any occasion or event, and may be made out to the person of your choice.
Gift Certificates are issued only when payment has been received in full.
Hampers
A variety of hampers are available as an optional extra (refer hamper page) and are delivered to your cottage or retreat at a prearranged time.
How to find us
Sassafras is in the Dandenong Ranges, 2.5 km from the intersection of the Mount Dandenong Tourist Road and The Crescent, watch for our large sign, and then select the left driveway for cottages and right driveway for our retreats.
Inviting your friends or other visitors to Monreale Estate
In order to preserve the peaceful ambience of the property for all our guests, we ask all guests to refrain from inviting visitors to their cottage or residence during their stay. Should you nonetheless wish to have a small number of friends or visitors for a brief daytime visit during your stay, please arrange beforehand with reception.
Laundry Facilities
There are public laundry facilities located adjacent to reception.
Liquor licence
We are licensed and make available local wines, which are available in each accommodation unit (mini bar) or at reception.
Loyalty Program
Once you have stayed at Monreale Estate, we regard your return as even more special than your first time with us. A loyalty Program is presently being developed.
Messages
We try to be as unobtrusive as we can to allow you to enjoy the seclusion and privacy of our Estate, but we are happy to accept messages from family and leave them at reception for you. Naturally if the messages are of an extremely important nature we will pass them on to you immediately.
Mini-bar
Each cottage or retreat has a mini-bar with a quality range of chocolates, beer and local wines from which to choose. Special requests in this regard will be catered for to the best of our ability.
Number of Guests per cottage or retreat
- Unless otherwise arranged with us, each cottage or retreat is designed to accommodate 2 people.
- Magnolia country house retreat, which is a two-bedroom apartment style accommodation, can accommodate up to 4 people.
- Some cottages have double sofa beds.
Our menagerie of animals
We have two cats, 20 or so chooks, a variety of friendly wild ducks, often a horse and a passing parade of native birds and parrots that harvest our apple trees, tree ferns and spring flowers.
They are all trained by past visitors and will readily call to say hello.
We suggest that you keep your door closed at all times if you wish to avoid sharing your accommodation with them.
Pets
Monreale Estate cannot accommodate pets.
Power Failures.
- We are pleased to say that we experience much fewer power failures than used to be the case than four years ago.
- Major blackouts can occur during severe storms, and as we rely entirely on electricity for virtually everything that opens and shuts on the property, temporary inconvenience issues may arise.
- Thankfully most occur very late at night or very early in the morning, but these events will still cause the water to stop because the pumps won't work.
- Unfortunately the use of showers and toilets will be delayed until power resumes. On such occasions we provide temporary water for toilet flushing and cups of tea.
Privacy
We are also committed to protecting our guests' privacy before, during, and after their stay with us.
All information remains strictly private and will not be divulged to any other unauthorised party.
Your presence at Monreale Estate is nobody else's business. We will decline to divulge your presence here should anyone ring inquiring for you - unless instructed otherwise by you.
Public Lighting
All paths have external all night secure lighting for your safety.
Reservation information
You will need to provide the following when making a reservation:
- Name
- No of persons
- Accommodation dates required
- Date of arrival and departure
- Postal address
- Home phone number
- Mobile phone number
- Estimated time of arrival
- Credit card details if paying by this method;
Optional information
- E-mail address
- Where you first heard about Monreale Estate e.g. which web site, magazine etc.
Travel time from Melbourne
Generally allow at least one and a half hours from the airport or city, and one hour from the eastern suburbs.
Servicing accommodation
We do not service during your stay unless the stay exceeds three days, but as need or circumstances warrant, we are happy to provide additional towels that can be obtained at reception
Smoke-free environment
All internal areas including all of the cottages and retreats are smoke free environments.
We require our guests to respect this condition and refrain totally from smoking inside.
For smokers, we have provided facilities for smokers on the decking outside of each cottage or retreat.
Water our precious resource
- We are not connected to mains town water, and must rely on pumping our own water supply.
- We receive water from two sources both controlled by mother nature, firstly we have our rain water collection system, and secondly our natural spring water we mix with rain water to form a delightful mineral spring concoction.
- We store this water in a holding tank and pump the water back under pressure to each accommodation unit.
- This system usually works well until we are hit by storms, which can temporarily affect the coloration quality of the water, from the discoloration occurring from the accumulated debris on the roof collection points.
- Whilst we have ample water, we request that you endeavor to limit your water usage to reasonable limits taking into account the needs of spas and other domestic appliances and uses.
What do you need to bring with you?
Literally, nothing but your clothes and an intention to have the best time ever.
All accommodation be it cottages or retreats, are fully provisioned with all linen, towels, toiletries and are self-contained for your convenience.
