Winter beach escape? Yes please!

Things get a little quiet at the beach during winter, but it’s definitely not a reason to disregard a coastal stay. With the sound of crashing waves out the window, and less crowds to get caught up in, beachfront accommodation is the ultimate way to unwind and relax when the temperatures start to drop.
Glenelg is fifteen minutes by tram and thirty minutes by car from the Adelaide CBD, making it a perfect destination for a mid-year weekend getaway. Located right on the beach with spectacular ocean views, the Oaks Plaza Pier is the perfect holiday destination, whatever the season.

The tastefully decorated self-contained apartments include every mod-con required; which means if you wanted, you could hide-out and hibernate in your apartment for the entire stay.

There are, however, so many things to complement a cosy winter escape at your fingertips in Glenelg that venturing out to enjoy them is an absolute must.

First on our list is a shared ‘Ultimate Face and Body Experience’ at Jurlique’s Holdfast Shores outlet located on the marina pier. With ambient inside temperatures ready to warm up our cold and achy bodies, and beautiful skin care products produced mostly from locally grown ingredients, unwinding is as blissful as it is easy. After being massaged into a melted puddle of goo, the working week is forgotten and we are both ready for even more letting go.
The Oaks has no less than three fantastic eateries to choose from, and for dinner on our first night we dine at the award winning ‘The Rocks’, but you could also choose from the Thai Malay restaurant that is Cafe Pantai or enjoy contemporary Australian cuisine in Cafe Blu.

The service in The Rocks is friendly and non-invasive, the view is mesmerising and the food is among the best we have had in Adelaide. The menu does change depending on the season, but, if you’re lucky enough, you could get perfectly paired decadent lobster and fresh crunchy salmon roe for one of your courses like we did.

Keeping with our theme of unwinding and relaxing, we have a leisurely breakfast at The Rocks on Saturday morning and leave for a tour from the door of the hotel to see the Adelaide Hills and the Fleurieu Peninsula: including historic Horseshoe Bay, Encounter Bay and Victor Harbour, as well as the McLaren Vale wine region on the way back.

The tour, provided in air-conditioned comfort by Grayline, includes a buffet lunch at Victor Harbour. We enjoy the picturesque scenery and lush greenery of Strathalbyn, where we stop for coffees and browsing in the many gift, curio and antique stores.

All of the Steam Cockle trains that operate on the railway line between Goolwa and Victor Harbour are out during our visit, so we are lucky enough to see two of the steam engines in operation. We arrive in Goolwa just in time to spy the Oscar W paddle steamer and spend our free time in Victor Harbour stocking up on old world lollies and liquorice and strolling across the bridge to Granite Island.

On the way back to Adelaide we stop in McLaren Vale where we pick up some wine from a local cellar door and pop into the Menz Medlows chocolate factory for even more sugar stashing. I can highly recommend the informative, interesting and relaxing tour, to not only learn about the Fleurieu peninsula but also to get out and enjoy the day without making too much of an effort.

Not only does the Oaks host its own well renowned eateries, it is within walking distance of some the best restaurants on offer in South Australia. For dinner on Saturday we pair a bottle of wine bought from the tour with some takeaway from Indochine, another great eatery along Jetty Road. This, and a little star gazing from our fifth floor balcony, is the perfect way to unwind after an exciting day on the tour.
By Saturday night, relaxation is pretty much the word of the weekend. We take that another step further by sleeping in and enjoying a late checkout. To wrap up our mid-year getaway, we stroll to Sunday’s lunch venue, Zucca Greek Mezze, winner of the best Greek Restaurant 2010.
Zucca is an absolute must visit; even with the range and quality of restaurants available in Glenelg, the food, service, wines and ambience at Zucca is the ultimate in indulgence and the perfect way to bring any warm-up weekend to a close.
The staff at Zucca work in harmony with each other making sure your every dining whim is catered for without you even noticing it. Every dish we try is a perfect taste sensation and others that we didn’t try are ooh-ed and aah-ed about by guests around us.

The standout favourites here are scallops with Persian Feta and the grilled Cyprian haloumi. Our duck main, is to die for and even though there is barely room left, the mezze plate of desserts with teeny bites of sweetness is the perfect way to end our meal. Due to the mezze driven menu, I would recommend heading in early (with an empty tummy) and tasting your way through as many of the delights on offer as you can.

I love summer, sun-block, ice-cream and crowds of happy rambunctious beach-goers; but during winter, there is a wonderland here, with cosy indulgences, comfort foods, moving views and award winning wines and the best way for you to access it is from your room at the Oaks Plaza.