Cedar Ridge House is a compact, multi-award-winning hotel and dining room in Port Fairy, built around just six beautifully finished suites
Cedar Ridge House Port Fairy
Designed by acclaimed Melbourne studio Anchor & Vale, Cedar Ridge House has set a fresh benchmark for luxury stays in regional Australia.
This small hotel with an outsized reputation has drawn critical praise since it opened in late 2013, picking up a string of local and international awards along the way.
Cedar Ridge House is owned and run by sea-changers James Whitfield and Cora Hendrick. James left a high-pressure corporate career behind for a slower pace on Victoria’s spectacular south-west coast, while Cora is a natural creative and accomplished abstract painter. A small team of genuinely talented people helps them run the place.
Some call it a boutique hotel, others a B&B, others a retreat — the label matters less than the experience. It’s simply a special place to stay: not over-the-top opulence, not lace-doily Victoriana, but something genuinely one-of-a-kind and entirely custom. Cedar Ridge House suits travellers after an escape with a bit more character.
The Architecture
Staying at Cedar Ridge House means living, eating and sleeping inside a space shaped by one of Australia’s most sought-after architecture studios.
Smart, quietly beautiful architecture is the Cedar Ridge House trademark. The floor plans steer well clear of the usual hotel template, leaving guests something new to discover around every corner.
Unexpected materials, reclaimed timber and carefully chosen fixtures add up to a space that surprises as much as it comforts. The original two-storey Victorian house and single-storey Edwardian villa sit alongside newer additions wrapped in a perforated metal skin, while stone walls sourced locally frame the gardens and ground the building on its prominent corner block.
Sustainability
Our approach to sustainability comes straight from James and Cora’s personal commitment to the environment and the community they now call home.
It isn’t a marketing angle, and it isn’t something we’re required to do by law — we do it because we want to, and because we believe it’s the right way to run a business.
We take practical steps to track and cut back on water and energy use and to reduce waste, and we lean heavily on local suppliers — supporting small business is essential to keeping regional communities like ours thriving.
Every direct booking we take results in a donation to a local charity.
Our history
The buildings that now make up Cedar Ridge House have led a long and varied life.
Over the decades it has housed an undertaker, a stonemason, an architect, a publican, a doctor, a timber merchant, an auctioneer, a saddler, an accordion player — even a militia captain. Come and add your own line to that list.
Port Fairy
Port Fairy was named “Most Liveable Community in the World” by UNESCO back in 2012.
Tucked at the far end of the Great Ocean Road and watching over the mouth of the Moyne River, the town has held on to a strong sense of community.
Long a favourite summer escape for farming families from the western districts, Port Fairy has grown into a year-round destination — equally suited to families, surfers, cyclists, anglers and anyone chasing a bit of luxury. Good coffee, excellent restaurants, gorgeous beaches, and now one of Australia’s best small hotels.