21_2025_nswta_hosted_accom_mt_hay_retreat_v2

Louise Warren from Mt Hay Retreat interview.

Transcript

00:00Louise Warren from Mount Hay Retreat, you've just won gold in a five-star accommodation.

00:05How are you feeling?

00:07Jittery. The adrenaline is going.

00:10I am much more comfortable behind the scenes than I am in front of a camera,

00:13so this is me completely out of my comfort zone, but we're just going to go with it.

00:18It can't be easy running a five-star accommodation, though.

00:20That must be also quite challenging.

00:22No, but doing something in front of a camera is a lot more scary.

00:25Tell me about Mount Hay Retreat. Where is it and what's it like?

00:29So, Mount Hay Retreat is on the south coast of New South Wales, just outside Bury.

00:34It's a spectacular spot. We're on 364 acres,

00:38overlooking the spectacular countryside around Bury, all the way out to the coast and the horizon.

00:43We have enormous vistas and just some spectacular accommodation with amazing facilities,

00:49and we pride ourselves in giving people just the most relaxing, chilled-out,

00:54welcome vibe that they can possibly look for in a weekend or a couple of days away.

00:59That's what we do. We specialise in making people feel welcome and loved.

01:05And any thoughts as to why you guys were chosen to win gold tonight?

01:09Is there something you've done particularly well in the last 12 months?

01:12I think it's just doing things consistently and doing it with a bit of heart and a bit of passion.

01:19What I love about where we live is we're surrounded by a lot of small businesses.

01:24We're properly regional and rural, and the other small business owners are so passionate about what they do too

01:30that you just can't help kind of being enthused by it and just wanting always to do it a little bit better

01:36and make it even more special for people, and I think people see that.

01:40So I hope that's what's made the difference.

01:44You're now going to move on to the Australian Tourism Awards.

01:47Yes, that's big.

01:48Feeling confident?

01:50Terrified.

01:51But confident?

01:53Oh, you can hope. You can always hope.

01:55You've got to go in with an open heart and an open mind and just hope for the absolute best.

01:59But it's a privilege just to be here.

02:01We're a really small business, so for us this is a huge thing.

02:04Our fingers are crossed for you.

02:06Thank you very much indeed.

02:07Thanks, Louise.