Lavender Berry Cottages (LBC) in Pemberton found me via a Facebook ad the day after I mentioned we were looking for a getaway with our kids in the South West after exhaustingly (and disappointedly) looking for self-contained accommodation for 2 adults, 2 children and a baby under $200 a night for over a week on the internet.
Our oldest daughter is OBSESSED with berries, so she was sold straight away and we booked after looking at several other Pemberton options. I was hesitant looking at the décor of the chalets, on arrival I was pleased to discover the chalet we had booked (Shannon) presented nicer than the promo photos. It really was also just 4 minutes from town, and located within easy reach of all of the Pemberton region’s top drawcards. If you want 5 star accommodation then you pay 5 star prices, we wanted to explore the region and chose our accommodation accordingly.
It was a stinkingly hot, humid afternoon when we arrived and our rammed earth chalet was refreshingly cool on entry despite the lack of air conditioning. The chalets overlook a lake and the windows from the main bedroom and lounge room were lovely.
The facilities in the chalet were very basic, but it was expected, the owners had stated exactly what was supplied on their website. The beds are firm and the pillows soft, although it was an extremely (unwelcome) early start with at least 5 roosters crowing at each other from 4.00 am from the farm and across nearby properties.
We were disappointed that there was not a gas barbeque provided at the front of our chalet considering we had planned to BBQ for 3 nights overlooking the lake, there was a “smoker” on the front porch and a small wood barbeque in our car parking space out the back. Being mid-January in Western Australia we were very concerned as to whether or not we could even light either of the wood fuelled devices as total fire bans are in effect were we live for the summer months. Any information in the compendium in regard to this would have been appreciated.
At the price, for self-contained accommodation we would have also expected a free laundry even of it wasn’t in the chalet, however you need to pay to use the communal coin operated washing machine here. Sorry, I would rather take my washing home than pay more money after spending $752 on 4 nights accommodation.
That said, our nature loving children had a wonderful time finding frogs, feeding ducks and exploring the lake. We even had the beautiful experience of having frogs on our door knob and outdoor furniture, rescuing a tiny frog that had come up the shower drain with hair wrapped around his back legs that we cut off and then delivered him back to the lake was another gorgeous experience for the kids. Wrens flit around the property and many other bird species fly past and stop to graze.
The actual Berry and Lavender gardens were not quite what we expected, especially the kids, there were no berries to pick on any of the 4 days (pretty much the sole reason for booking), the raspberry rows looked awfully sick as did the lavender. The grassed area in front of the café was gorgeously green and well worth a visit. The playground was also great.
On the morning of our departure we decided to try the café. It took at least 30 mins for our order of 1 pancake, 2 scones, a chocolate icecream and 2 coffees to come out, despite only 1 other table of 4 being in the café and already eating when we sat down. The giant scones and massive pancake tasted strongly of rising agent but smothered in the icecream/berry sauce/cream/jam you couldn’t tell, they were delicious! The jam when tasted on its own was exceptional.
We chose to stay at the LBF to spend some quality time with our children and it certainly provided a wonderful opportunity to do so. Sitting on a rug by the lake whilst the sun went down, our children played and we relaxed or played games was a beautiful experience, combined with the close proximity to all of Pemby’s best attractions means we really enjoyed our time here.