Photos: Thomas Schaefer and Taryn Wills
Back in 2019, two eco-villas opened in The Barossa, and they’ve got us seriously swooning.
With their eco-friendly design, beautiful furnishings, French linen sheets, and a deep soak tub, it’s the sort of place that already has us checking our diaries for our next free weekend.
Sitting right in the heart of the Barossa’s iconic Seppeltsfield Road precinct The Villas – Barossa are open for bookings.
There are only two villas spread out across the one hectare property, with just the natural landscape and 150-year-old-sugar gums for neighbours, so you’re in for a secluded escape.
Each villa sleeps two people (leave the kids at home) and includes a full kitchen stocked with local produce for breakfast.
They’re in a stellar spot for exploring the nearby cellar doors (with plenty only minutes walk away) or just enjoying the natural environment.
Take a gander here:
The Villas are the creation of local couple Grant and Cathy Wills. While Cathy’s family has lived in the Barossa since the 1840s, she spent most of her adult life living in Sydney’s Surry Hills.
The couple decided to make the move back to South Australia seven years ago, making an historic school cottage their home in the heart of the Barossa.
Designed to blend seamlessly into the surrounding environment, the villas are Ecoshelta minimal impact, prefabricated modular buildings, designed by Stephen Sainsbury Architects in Sydney.
“They arrived on a semi-trailer Ikea-style, in a flat pack,” says Cathy.
“They sent a supervisor over and we just gathered our friends and family who all learnt to build them under their guidance – it was really a collaborative effort. Even my brother who’s a winemaker gave up being a winemaker for a few weeks and learnt to build.”
All up, the villas were constructed in three weeks.
While they’re sitting in the perfect spot to explore the local area, Cathy hopes that the villas will be a place for people go to disconnect and slow down.
“What I would love it for people to see a slower side of the Barossa. Especially people coming out of Adelaide usually have a pretty full itinerary and then go home. Or they stay for a night and pack a lot in,” she said.
“But I really love the idea of someone coming to really slow down in the beautiful environment. We really love the simple life and it’d be nice for people to just come and slow down.”
Bookings for The Villas – Barossa are available seven days a week, for a minimum of two nights. You can find out more info and book in here.
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