Does Highlands Lakehouse - Rural Farm Escape have a pool?

Yes, this property has an outdoor pool.

Is Highlands Lakehouse - Rural Farm Escape pet-friendly?

Yes, pets are allowed at this property. Some restrictions may apply, so please contact the property for more details.

Onsite parking is available at the property.

Where is Highlands Lakehouse - Rural Farm Escape located?

This family-friendly Mandemar farm stay is located on the waterfront, 2.2 mi (3.6 km) from Joadja Vineyard, and within 6 mi (10 km) of Jellore Flora Reserve and Bou-saada Vineyard and Wines. Bendooley Estate Book Barn and Nattai National Park are also within 9 mi (15 km).

Highlands Lakehouse - Rural Farm Escape Reviews, Deals & Photos 2026

8/10 Good

Jessica E.

27 January 2025

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Rustic farmhouse with lots of activities

My husband and I stayed here for a long weekend with two other families. We’d seen some negative reviews, and while the house is rough around the edge, we had a great stay and the kids loved the sheep, chickens, pool, basketball and tennis courts. The house isn’t in pristine condition, but it’s neat and tidy, comfortable and is in a beautiful location. The properlty manager was also very responsive and flexible with check-in’s

Stayed 2 nights in Jan 2025

10/10 Excellent

Megan T.

22 July 2019

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Peaceful

Great property for 2 families to stay. Lots is space for the kids to run and play games. The hosts were so welcoming and helpful

Stayed 2 nights in Jul 2019

10/10 Excellent

Anne P.

18 April 2019

Beautiful property perfect family escape

The main house, bunk house and cabin were all clean and beautifully furnished. Perfect for autumn visit with fireplaces and heating inside and stunning colour in the garden. Tricky to find but worth the journey.

Stayed 2 nights in Apr 2019

2/10 Terrible

Michael K.

3 August 2025

Liked: Check-in

Disliked: Cleanliness, listing accuracy

Promise didn’t match reality

Owners appear to be selling the property and have essentially abandoned it. Place was dirty and moldy, leaves everywhere. Animals onsite looked uncared for. Images not updated since its original listing. Hard to heat even with all fires blazing. Pool and spa unusable. Tennis courts out of action

Stayed 2 nights in Aug 2025

6/10 Okay

Melissa N.

9 February 2025

Liked: Check-in, communication, location

Disliked: Cleanliness, listing accuracy

Great Potential

The location was perfect. Bedrooms, kitchen and living areas are tidy and well presented. The photos are not an accurate representation of the current property. Understanding it is a rural property, however it lacks in general cleaninless and maintenance both indoors and outdoors. The family still had a fantastic time!

Stayed 2 nights in Feb 2025

8/10 Good

judy q.

23 May 2021

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Family Time

If you want to feed the chooks. Watch the ducks. See the sheep sit around the fire pit. It is great. Watch the collie dogs that took me back to my childhood of sheep & wheat. Home is a bit outdated though if you want some quiet time, great.

Stayed 2 nights in May 2021

8/10 Good

Shari F.

2 January 2024

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location

Great family trip

We had an enjoyable week at the lake house. The inside was neat, tidy & pretty well maintained considering the age of the property. The grassed area leading to the lake was a great area for cricket & soccer, and the family enjoyed fishing in the lake. We had 5 adults + 4 kids in the house and it was more than big enough. The pool was a good size & despite being a bit cold (it is not heated) the kids had a lot of fun. The spa took a while to heat but once it got going it was used constantly. The only down side was that some parts of the outside areas are in need of some maintenance & clean-up but apart from the BBQs & ping pong table it was all still useable. We would definitely stay again.

Stayed 5 nights in Dec 2023

10/10 Excellent

Michelle L.

29 May 2024

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Wonderful family time

Our family loved our weekend at Highlands Lake House. Sam was amazing to communicate with. Location stunning. House had great atmosphere. We loved the log fire and fire pit. Highly recommend. Only comment would be to Stayz that it would improve information for people with additional needs if you listed each accessibility feature rather than just a generic ‘wheelchair accessible’ comment. (Eg step free access to different areas including showers etc.) if you provided hosts with different features to tick this would enable more accuracy and more ease with finding the right property for people with additional needs like electric wheelchair.

Stayed 3 nights in May 2024

8/10 Good

Kelly C.

9 January 2023

Liked: Check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Enjoyable stay, however could do with a clean.

Overall we had an enjoyable stay at Highlands Lakehouse. The kids enjoyed the pool the most. It was very refreshing in the hot weather we had during our stay. We had looked forward to using the spa too, however we were disappointed to find it was out of order. The property could do with a more thorough clean - while commonly used areas and items were clean, there were items that needed some attention - some of the leisure equipment, and most notably the BBQ which we decided not to use due to caked on grime. The house and kitchen were spacious and had beautiful decor. The grounds and lake were also very pretty, and it was nice to take a stroll around and also see the sheep and chickens. We had a very relaxing stay here.

Stayed 2 nights in Dec 2022

2/10 Terrible

Rebecca C.

18 July 2025

Liked: Location

Disliked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, listing accuracy

Unfortunately our stay posed a safety concern as there are no installed smoke detectors in the house at all. The first night the fireplace was letting out a lot of smoke as the wood provided was left in the wet, not stored well. luckily I woke up to the smoke and opened all the windows! There were brackets to hold them but none installed. Having stayed at this property 4 times over the last 5 years we always enjoyed it but the lack of upkeep or maintenance to the property has declined as many here have mentioned and the kitchen utensils are in a sad state. The aircon is in need of repair as the heating wasn’t really getting up to a warm heat at all. Location is great though and kids had fun but it hasn’t been up kept and photos do not match the current worn state as others have mentioned in their reviews. One bathroom contains extensive black mould on the ceiling as others have mentioned in their reviews. The internal spa bath no longer works or has the button pad installed. The cute but cheeky animals come right up to the house which is great but they do poo everywhere at the doorway. Still a lovely location and stay for families and kids with a great layout.

Stayed 2 nights in Jul 2025

2/10 Terrible

JUDITH R.

17 July 2022

Liked: Location

Disliked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, listing accuracy

Photos of current Stayz ad are inaccurate

The property wasn't clean; the basketball and tennis court were out of service and run down; the spa was not on at arrival and took over 24hrs for the spa to heat; no floor heating; bedding was not as stated; long-term rusted leaking roof in bathrooms required buckets to catch water; the fireplace was not cleaned; nothing to start a fire with; property not as described, photos of beautiful horse stables and horses are false. The manager offered a deposit credit to be used at a later date if no negative review is posted.

Stayed 2 nights in Jul 2022

10/10 Excellent

Mark E.

7 December 2022

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Overall a nice property

Overall our group was pleased with the stay. There are always small issues that arise, but the owners were quite responsive, and appears that they are committed to continuously improving the property. We would definitely stay here again.

Stayed 4 nights in Dec 2022

8/10 Good

Audrey K.

25 April 2022

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Easter stay

Overall we had a nice time there (despite the cold, rainy weather) and the kids loved feeding the sheep and chicken and playing with the dogs on the property. There were a couple of things that brought our rating down (the pool was really dirty and it looked like it had been a while since it was cleaned, and one of the bathroom doors kept coming off the hinge and falling on whoever was opening/closing the door) but overall, the property is great for families/friends to get together.

Stayed 3 nights in Apr 2022

10/10 Excellent

Mechelle S.

20 March 2022

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Amazing property

We booked this amazing property to host our daughters bridal shower/bachelorette party. The house is amazing and the barn was perfect for our daughters Sydney friends to come and stay with us. Everyone loved the farm and the animals. Millie and her beautiful dogs made us feel very welcome. Would recommend the property to anyone!!

Stayed 2 nights in Mar 2022

2/10 Terrible

Tony D.

23 July 2021

Disliked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Lockdown - minimal refund

We lost over $1000 in money not refunded. Less than 25% refund. Government lockdown cost two pensioners more than they have ever lost in any situation in their whole lives. This was unfair and morally unacceptable. My advice is book another property.

Stayed 2 nights in Jul 2021

8/10 Good

Julie A.

17 May 2021

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Ladies weekend

Weekend away for 6 ladies, so much room. The house had everything we needed. The views of the lake are breathtaking. Beautiful property. Lovely secluded feel. Out of town, but only 20 minutes to all we wanted to see. Perfect for adults and for a family getaway.

Stayed 2 nights in May 2021

10/10 Excellent

Thi Anh Tu D.

20 April 2021

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Beautiful view! House clean, nice and warm. Friendly manager.

Our kids love to spent time at the front yard (beautiful garden) with 2 lovely pet dogs from the manager. We recommend this property for those who love quiet and fresh air. We will back soon one day! (The only things should be improved is the laundry. It was a bit messy with bed sheet cover in and out of the machine so we couldn't use it.) Thank you for sharing a lovely house!

Stayed 2 nights in Apr 2021

6/10 Okay

April E.

13 April 2021

Liked: Check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Disliked: Cleanliness

Loved our stay, just a few unfortunate cons!

Overall, we loved our stay and made good use of the property, but the property needs maintenance and felt a bit tired and dated. The pool area is under construction, but we made use of the spa anyway and the outlook from the back of the house is beautiful. The kids loved the animals, including the dogs! Unfortunately, there was also a rat resident in the kitchen during our stay, which was a bit of a shock! Overall though, we really enjoyed ourselves.

Stayed 4 nights in Apr 2021

10/10 Excellent

Sue and Michael B.

6 April 2021

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Fabulous Easter break

Just returned from our fantastic stay at the Lakehouse. Milly and Rob made us very welcome and were always obliging and keen to make our visit memorable. The house was lovely! Enjoyed many fun times together cooking and wine tasting. The outside facilities were a great hit for kids and adults alike. The farm animals, pool, tennis court , fire pit and walks around the lake kept us all busy. Wonderful weather and many unforgettable memories of our time together. We will be back with bells on ! Thanks for sharing your beautiful property , Sue and Michael

Stayed 4 nights in Apr 2021

8/10 Good

richard k.

28 February 2021

Liked: Check-in, location, listing accuracy

Disliked: Communication

Great weekend!

Overall the house was great and so many amenities were available to us to keep us busy all weekend! Would highly recommend staying here for anyone who love to be outdoors.

Stayed 2 nights in Feb 2021

2/10 Terrible

Debbie P.

3 December 2020

Liked: Check-in, communication, location

Disliked: Cleanliness, listing accuracy

Nothing like we expected. Very disappointed.

The pool was not under maintenance, it was a big hole where the pool was. BTW the pool is sitting on top of the ground in the front yard. No AC No fly screens. Poorly maintained not to forget all the things left behind in the fridge (which was broken), the bathroom and the bedrooms. Very expensive for the property condition.

Stayed 2 nights in Nov 2020

8/10 Good

Wendy E.

6 July 2020

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Beautiful property & lovely host

Spacious and clean property... Heated floors and fire place kept us warm in the middle of winter... Amazing surrounding

Stayed 2 nights in Jul 2020

10/10 Excellent

Alena B.

23 June 2020

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Lovely country getaway

A beautiful stay in the country! Phil was fantastic and took us around the property and to feed the sheep. The fire and jacuzzi were great. A lovely weekend

Stayed 2 nights in Jun 2020

10/10 Excellent

Deborah E.

25 April 2019

Amazing Easter Break!!

Thank you so much for having us!! 4 families had the best time over Easter. Great house. Kids loved the pool, spa and all the animals!! Beautiful property felt like we were a world away!! Thanks again Deb

10/10 Excellent

Ashley S.

27 February 2019

Beautiful property!

Such a great, spacious property, had a great girls weekend!

Stayed 2 nights in Feb 2019

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