Moonlight Head Private Lodge on Great Ocean Road is architecturally interesting, situated on a beautiful piece of land, has a wonderful chef and top notch beds and linens.Yet it fails to deliver on value. A contemporary villa, it feels like nothing more than an upscale bed and breakfast. It lacked privacy, they didn't replace the toiletries (I had to dig empty bottles out of the garbage to wash my hair the last day) and it was hot and stuffy with no air-conditioning. Those things were irritants but not deal-breakers. For us the biggest problem was with the extra tours. We booked them in advance, they were expensive and Moonlight Head Lodge didn't deliver what we had contracted. They claimed that having the housekeeper give us a ride down the road to visit the local horsetrainer had the same value as a helicopter tour. Each unit at the lodge sleeps six or eight so maybe you get better value with a larger number of people but for two people it was by far the priciest of any property we used in Australia and it was far from the top of our list for experience.

The Great Ocean Road in Victoria, Australia is one of the great drives of the world. Stretching for about 270km it winds through National Park and small rural and fishing communities with stunning vistas of coastal cliffs and the wild Great Southern Ocean.

About half way along its length, and a short drive from one of the major attractions (the Twelve Apostles), lies Mark Banning-Taylors temple to modern design. Working with one of Australia's most famous modern architects (Glenn Murcutt), he is part way through creating a series of identical 5 star residences which are a unique accommodation. Situated in a bush location, on top of a headland they are isolated luxury. We stayed in No 2, which was the first finished. No 3 was also just completed and work on No 4 was advanced. While all will undoubtedly be fabulous, I would think that the views from the bedrooms in 3 and 5 will probably be the most panoramic. 2 is also fine. 1 and 4 at this time look like they will have views of the bush rather than the sea. These houses are cleverly designed for the typical local climate. Our sense was that they would be simply outstanding in the cooler months. The weather during our stay was generally mild sunny summer weather and they were perfect. I suspect that during the occasional 40 degree summer days they may be a little less comfortable, being designed not to use air-conditioning. We had one 36 degree day and it was -warm- indoors.

Visit the Lodge web site for good photographs of the buildings. The site is a short drive on a dirt access road off the Great Ocean Road and the staff meet you at the turn off and escort you.

The experience offered is also unique. From a full time team to find whatever you need, to classic modern furniture, toiletries that my other half loved, an integrated B&O sound system in the living areas that your iPod can plug into, enormous towels, an enormous bath, mixed with personal touches of antique Persian rugs and favorite paintings. The beds are exceptional.

Your meals are discussed and planned with the chef each day who visits and cooks food which is at least 13/20 on capital city rating scales and a number of meals above that. Local wines are provided, with tasting notes. (Just a warning, you can book dinner at any time you like, but it seems the chef will always arrive at 8pm.)

One aspect of the service which we underestimated was their ability to satisfy unusual requests. We wanted to drive the Road in a Porsche Boxster in summer with the roof off. Although they clearly can't control the weather, we hadn't realised that a request for a Boxster on arrival is exactly the sort of request they delight in satisfying.

We had found our own car using a group called Sports Car Rentals Online in Sydney and Melbourne and had a staggeringly bad service experience that ruined the first day of our holiday. It involved staff who could barely speak English, failure to deliver cars to airport pickup, hours spent being couriered across Melbourne to their office to sort it out, a different car to that promised, together with conflicting stories about why all this had occurred which made it clear that at least some of the staff we spoke to were lying. Moonlight Head were horrified as well and it quickly became clear that had they known what we were thinking they would have organised it.

Having survived the actual car rental, the road was perfect for the Boxster and the drive truly is a great experience.

The lodges have four bedrooms and would be perfect for a group or family. They go to considerable trouble to provide entertainment for children (games, DVDs, visits by the local wildlife park staff with young koalas, kangaroos etc), but this is an isolated location and I suspect most children would find more than a couple of days spent at the lodge boring. As a base to explore the Great Ocean Road however, it is exceptional. The nearest child friendly beach is probably Port Campbell.

One other thing, do drive as far as Port Fairy if you have time and do stop and have a look at most of the lookouts along the road. This means drives will take a lot longer than you expect! And in summer, take every form of fly protection you can find, including silly hats with fly net masks (the lodge itself has fly screens on windows and doors)!