By Tanya Steele
Yarra Gables has been awarded TripAdvisor’s 2023 Travellers Choice ‘Best of the Best’ award winner for Top 25 B&Bs and Inns on Tuesday 24 May.
The Healesville accommodation was ranked number one in the B&Bs and inns category in Australia, the South Pacific and number three in the world.
Yarra Gables owners Ralph Henderson and Helen Wood said they are honoured that their guests rate their experiences at Yarra Gables so highly.
“We think of all our guests as visitors to our home and host them accordingly,” they said.
“It is a significant achievement for us and our team and for the Yarra Valley, which is one of Australia’s premier tourism destinations.”
The Trip Advisor awards honour travellers’ favourite destinations, accommodations, restaurants, and attractions and is based on the reviews and opinions collected from travellers around the world over a 12 month period.
John Boris, Chief Marketing Officer at TripAdvisor said congratulations to the winners and that The travel resurgence they’ve seen throughout the past year has further heightened the competition for these awards.
“Ranking among the best of the best demonstrates that Ralph and Helen have provided exemplary experiences to those who matter most: their guests,” he said.
Ralph Hendson said that the couple have owned and run their establishment for nine years and put a lot of work into making the accommodations a peaceful place people want to come and enjoy.
“It helps we have a large space and it’s quite relaxing, people can have a wander and kids can play,” he said.
“We try to make people feel welcome when they come.”
The staff had a little celebration on 23 May now that the news is public, but plan to celebrate in a larger fashion when some of their co-workers return from leave.
“We told our staff yesterday morning, and they’re all very excited,” Mr Henderson said.
The Yarra Gables has historical significance to Healesville, the Yarra Gables site was part of a 775 acre land grant to James Sullivan in 1865.
The house and land went through several evolutions and owners since then, there is an old Healesville Guest house “The Marna House” which was built in the early 1900’s still on the property.
When people come to stay on the property they are often interested in its history and Mr Hendsoren said it is lovely to meet people who have stayed or lived there previously.
“We have a lot of people that come back, and we do have quite a lot of regular guests who come back once or twice a year and they’re just now they’re just good friends, which is really lovely,” he said.
The couple plans to live and work at Yarra Gables for a long time and enjoy being part of the Healesville community.
“The old house is just beautiful,” Mr Henderson said.
Mr Henderson said he is pleased by the award but plans to continue to strive towards getting better all the time.
“We’ve got a couple of things we want to do, we just progressively want to keep steadily improving, “ he said.
