Welcome to our farm
Margaret River Retreat has been an important meeting place, since the 1980s. Situated at the gateway to the regions most pristine wilderness. Originally built as a Horse Hotel running Gypsy Wagon tours through the Boranup Forest and Historic Clydesdale farm, to a school camp venue and later a wellness retreat destination.
We are passionate about creating a holiday destination which is authentic, sustainable and accessible for family and friends. A period of family time and a long history and love of camping and glamping, now offers an opportunity to move into a new wave of experiential tourism. Let us share with you our unique Margaret River Retreat and Venue.
Margaret River Retreat offers a diverse mix of accommodation styles. Featuring our luxury eco-glamping village, flexible family glamping and camping within our Billy Camp-site and three self-contained Studio Rooms. Plus a dedicated team offering you everything you need for Festival-style glamping and Event venue hire.
Hugged by Forest Grove National Park and adjacent to Wadandi Track and trails, our privately-owned farm forms part of a natural wildlife corridor between Augusta, Margaret River and Nannup all the way to Contos Beach. Our 75-acre farm has been meticulously re-worked to form an important connection to place, community, culture, family and friends.
The perfect resting place from which to explore and experience your next wilderness adventure…
join us fireside! Son & Nick Edwards
Sustainable stays
Margaret River Retreat aims to achieve a high level of sustainable retreat initiatives. Our mission is to provide a low impact and integrated creative space for holiday makers, adventure seekers, comfort campers and extraordinary events.
Wildlife
From its conception, we have planted extensive native vegetation and maintained wildlife corridors with limited fencing from our National Park boundary. Kangaroos and emus are free to roam past your door and graze our paddocks. The threatened Fire-tail cockatoos have a home in the giant Marri trees and every five years or so they travel in great numbers from the Wheatbelt area to roost. We are fortunate to also support the Western ringtail possum who nest in the Peppermint trees and the White bellied frog who resides in the neighbouring creek lines.
We do not intentionally feed our wildlife and we do not allow pets to stay at the retreat.
During the Spring holidays, we join Geo Catch in helping to record data on the Western ringtail possum activity at night. Register your interest at geocatch.asn.au and get involved!
Resources
During the Retreats’ recent upgrades, we have been careful to recycle timbers and repurpose them for use in furniture and interiors. Much of the construction and landscaping materials, such as, gravel and timber, have been sourced from the farm.
The Augusta-Margaret River Shire Council have implemented many important sustainable initiatives in areas of health and environment. Margaret River Retreat aims to adhere to Councils strict rubbish sorting and recycling programs. In addition, we provide composting and worm farming facilities.
Forest Grove is reported to have one of the highest rainfalls in Western Australia and we aim to be self-sufficient in our supply of UV treated, filtered potable water. In addition, we aim to refit our shower and laundry facilities with Solar hotwater and Grey water systems, to be reused on our nearby screen plantings and orchard areas. (2020 goals!)
Carbon footprint
Margaret River Retreat aims to reduce our carbon footprint by delivering a closed laundry system. Our linen has been chosen specifically to support our committment to eco accommodation initiatives. By laundering much of our linen on-site we are not participating in the high travel miles and chemical use that is widely accepted by the industry. Our fine 100% French Flax and Organic Cotton linens have been carefully sourced from sustainable production houses and accredited farms. We clean our linen using pure natural products, soft rainwater and sunlight. They will often look crinkled and, we believe, this adds to an authentic glamping experience.
In addition, we have sourced Bamboo topped, Western Australian mattresses and hyper allergenic pillows made from recycled PET bottles. Who Gives a Crap toilet and tissue paper is used throughout our retreat and all of our cleaning products are 100% natural. We also recently moved to a locally handcrafted amenity manufacturer, who allows us to buy in bulk and repackage under our own label in 500ml recycled plastic pump bottles, elliminating the need for one use plastic amenities in all of our bathrooms and kitchens.
Suppliers
All suppliers have been sourced locally for kitchen supplies, furniture, services and building contractors. We also have a locals first policy within our employment advertising procedures and policies framework. We choose to support Austrlian tent designers who manufacuture using the highest grade canvas available to reduce unnecessary waste in the Tourism Industry.
Gardening
After a period of resting, we are reshaping our gardens into intensive food production zones. Drawing on our experience in Permaculture practices, we aim to supply our Café with seasonal fresh fruit, vegetables, flowers, herbs and eggs. We currently harvest small amounts of Macadamia nuts, Almonds, Plums, Citrus and Apricots from mature trees that have inspired us with their resilience.
Artisan community
Where possible, our interiors and homewares have been collected from Australian cottage industry artisans who share our commitment to cultivating an environmental and culturally sustainable community. Through these collaborations, together we aim to forge a World Class glamping destination.
Local community
Margaret River Retreat is pleased to offer a Green Supplier Policy. This initiative extends to our employment, contruction, tour and wedding vendor partnerships and service suppliers.
Please view our Experiences, Retreats and Weddings pages for all of our preferred local suppliers.
We welcome all opportunities to deliver a higher standard of sustainable retreat initiatives. Please share with us your ideas via email and we will endeavour to implement them in the future.
Our Contributions
Our Mission
We aim to assist others both directly and indirectly from our commercial tourism platform. This journey has motivated us and propelled us to living a more authentically sustainable and connected lifestyle.
Direct Contributions
Margaret River Retreat is a proud member of Nature Conservation Margaret River who support, educate and provide funding in areas of local conservation, such as water, weed, forest and fire management, bird flora and fauna protection. Please visit www.natureconservation.org.au to learn how you can join and donate to Nature Conservation Margaret River.
We choose to support www.SOAP_AID.org.au to generate awareness of health and hygiene. Our Hotel to Hands partnership encourages guests to deposit their amenity soap waste within our collection bins. These are sent on for recycling and reconstituting into bars of lifesaving soap. We now offer a slow and closed manufacture SOAP AID recycling system for you to become part of.
Margaret River Retreat acknowledges the Wadandi people as the traditional owners of the Leeuwin-Naturalist region, and we would like to pay our respects to all Elders, past, present and future.
ECO RETREAT ECO STORE EXTRAORDINARY EVENTS
