Woodend’s Islay House has ranked among the best Booking.com venues and won a Travellers Review Award 2025.
Established in 1860 as the British American Hotel, Islay House was a coaching inn offering accommodation to miners travelling to the Bendigo goldfields in the 1860s.
Owners Tarni James and Clive Warner worked to restore historical character in their renovations that spanned 16 months.
They reopened the doors of Islay House to guests last year and were delighted to be recognised for their hospitality.
“Islay House has consistently got 10/10 for location, value, cleanliness, staff and facility and now stands out as one of the highest rated on the Booking.com platform. We’re very pleased,” Tarni said.
Booking.com said that the team “went above and beyond to create memorable stays”.
A new special attraction to Islay House is a 1928 Austin Windsor affectionately named “Elizabeth” or “Lizzie” for short. Tarni and Clive take Lizzie to collect visitors from the train station and also take them out to Hanging Rock.
