Osborn House

Then there are the Forest Lodges. Set apart from the main house and perched among bushland, these modern timber-panelled cabins are a deliberate aesthetic departure. Bespoke lighting, vintage rugs, wood fires, and freestanding outdoor baths overlooking the national park create a sense of immersive privacy. Lodge guests also get exclusive access to the Forest Bathing Deck, an outdoor wellness platform in the middle of the forest with a sauna, jacuzzi, ice bath, and fire pit. It is the kind of facility that makes you wonder why every country hotel does not have one.

Dining at Osborn House is built around fire. Fire Kitchen, the property's open-fire restaurant, draws broadly on Latin American traditions to produce sharing plates cooked over flames. Premium cuts from the grill sit alongside vibrant vegetable dishes, all sourced from Southern Highlands and South Coast producers. The outdoor terrace, where guests can watch chefs working the fire dome against a backdrop of Morton National Park, makes the experience as much about theatre as flavour. Fire Kitchen is open for dinner Thursday through Sunday and lunch on weekends.

For something more relaxed, George's serves contemporary clubhouse-style food alongside an impeccably stocked bar. The indoor fireplace, velvet banquettes, and unhurried pace make it the natural spot for a long lunch or a pre-dinner cocktail. Twice a month, the kitchen also stages Fire Feast, an immersive outdoor communal dinner inspired by the South American asado. Expect flames, bold flavours, and the kind of shared-table energy that turns strangers into friends by dessert.

The spa uses premium Australian skincare by LaGaia Unedited, with every treatment personally curated rather than pulled from a standard menu. Beyond the treatment rooms, the wellness offering is unusually comprehensive for a property of this size: a 25-metre heated indoor-outdoor pool with a glass roof framing the bushland canopy, a jacuzzi, traditional sauna, steam room, infrared sauna, LED light therapy, gym facilities, and a tennis court. Day visitors can add a wellness pass to any spa booking.

Osborn House works because it refuses to be just one thing. It is a heritage property that does not trade on nostalgia. It is a design hotel that never feels cold or contrived. The fire-cooking concept gives it a genuine point of difference in a region that does not lack for good restaurants, and the Forest Lodges offer a style of bushland luxury that feels genuinely distinct. The property sits on stunning grounds between century-old formal gardens and the edge of Morton National Park, with views that stretch across the highlands from almost every vantage point.

There are rough edges. Service can be inconsistent during quieter periods, and the two-hour drive from Sydney means this is a destination, not a pit stop. But for a weekend built around good food, thoughtful design, and the kind of landscape that makes you breathe differently, Osborn House is one of the most compelling new additions to the Southern Highlands.