Peppers Guest House Hunter Valley at Pokolbin listed for sale

Peppers Guest House – the Hunter Valley retreat – has been listed for sale.

Set on 16 hectares of landscaped grounds in Pokolbin, the retreat has 47 guest rooms with a nightly rate of $350 and a four-bedroom homestead, which has a rack rate of $1,400 a night.

All of the luxuries associated with the five-star operation are on-site, including the Endota day spa and the Sanctuary Restaurant.

Sydney-based investors Matt Williams and Paul O’Rourke, through holding company Mattrow Pty Ltd, bought the property in 2007, which was part of a package that included the nearby Peppers Convent.

The partnership, which also holds the lease over Pokolbin’s Mercure resort on Broke Road, sold the Convent to Ken Cowley in 2010. However, it is understood the investors will retain the Mercure lease.

Peppers Guest House was a created in 1984 by power couple Mike and Suzi O’Connor, who set out to establish a venue dedicated to fine food and wine at a time when sophisticated weekend breaks were a new concept. The venture was to become the first property in the Peppers Group, which now has 28 upscale resorts throughout Australia and New Zealand. The brand is now part of the Surfers Paradise-based Mantra Group, which takes a strong management role in its more recently acquired properties. Millionaires Mike and Suzi O’Connor are no longer involved in the business.

CBRE Hotel selling agent Rob Cross says the demand for mid-range investment property is healthy in the Hunter Valley.

“Investments priced between $5 and $20 million attract high-net-worth locals in The Hunter as well as a few emotional buyers,” he says.

Expressions of interest for the property, which is being offered with Peppers management in place, close on May 31.