WOW WOW WOW. What more can I say. 4 of us stayed 2 weekends ago at The Residence at Cape Lodge, celebrating a birthday.

The Residence used to be the owners residence. It is a 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom open planned house with its own lake, lawns and putting green. The house is very comfortable, well appointed, well fitted out, and extremley livable.

Service and food at Cape Lodge is what makes this property outstanding. The receptionist is extremley efficent, overheard us talking about visitng a restaurant in the area for lunch and asked if she could make a reservation for us.

The dining experience is superb. The sommelier (Latecia from France) is one of the smartest, most knowledgable sommeliers I have ever met. She is a young lady with a good knowledge of wine, can pair wines with food easily, and a bubbly personality. There are a number of french staff at the property, and at times we felt like we were in France. Service overall was very flawless, smooth, professional but unobtrusive. Cape Lodge has a phenomal wine cellar which after a day of tasting superb wines makes it even more difficult to choose from

Tony Howell - the chef and his team produce great food. We had dinner twice (once in the house), and the quality, flavour and presentation fo food was outstanding. All dishes are available either as en Entree or Main course. On our 2nd night we pretty much ordered one of everything off the menu as Entree portions to try it all. We noted that they used local produce where possible, and the tastes were subliminal. Breakfast is also a top notch affair with the usual 'full english' but also dishes such as Whiting (local fish), smoked salomn with scrambled eggs, french toast, etc.

To get around the grounds, we walked, but there are also Club Cars that can ferry you from your room to reception to restaurant, etc. On site there is a tennis court, beautiful walking trails and manicured gardens.

Overall Cape Lodge is a great place to get away to relax, see the region from but more so eat and be happy :)

beautiful hotel, pricey, but a treat. about 25 minute drive from margaret river town. beautiful grounds, rooms lovely, very spacious & nicely decorated. food AMAZING! staff excellent, could not do enough for us.

I wanted a weekend away for my 52nd birthday and decided on Cape Lodge. My husband reeled slightly when I told him the price ($495 per night), but nevertheless, came along willingly.

After a 3.5 hr drive from Perth the driveway into the beautiful grounds of Cape Lodge was a welcome sight. We were greeted by Veronique who showed us to our room and gave us a map of the region.

The "Superior Spa Suite" was no better than any other five star hotel, however our outlook onto the grounds was wonderful. Cape Lodge is a haven of tranquility, with only the sounds of nature to intrude - such a welcome respite from the hustle and bustle of city life.

One disappointment was that the television a small, old model. located quite a distance from the sofa or bed. We felt that patrons willing to pay almost $500 per night expect a larger, flat screen TV. Why put up with something inferior to own facilities in a "luxury" hotel.

There was definitely no "wow" factor about the room and one certainly didn't feel there was anything "luxurious" about it - other than the quiet, peaceful environment and the small number of other guests, providing a high level of privacy (which my husband interpreted as slightly elitist and I interpreted as "wonderful.")

The restaurant was marvellous - beautifully appointed with attentive and friendly staff and a wonderful view of the lake. The menu was varied and not overly or pretentiously "posh."

We would visit Cape Lodge again, but only for the peace, serenity and the food, as our room was nothing out of the ordinary. We also noted that most other patrons were in their 60s, so in our early 50s, we felt like the "youngsters." We'd also wait until we found a reduced tariff on wotif.com rather than pay the full price.

Cape Lodge has beautiful grounds and we especially enjoyed the delicious breakfasts. It was great to have breakfast on our porch overlooking the lake. We also enjoyed a very tasty dinner at the restaurant on the property, and the staff were friendly and professional. But the rooms themselves were unremarkable, and had the feel of a business hotel rather than a boutique resort. There was nothing cosy about them. Overall, Cape Lodge is a place we would return to for a meal, but we would probably stay somewhere else, because there are other places in Margaret River in a similar setting but better priced.