Clayfields Hunter Valley, a secluded retreat in Pokolbin, has officially launched with two adults-only villas and private artisan honey experiences on its 30-acre estate.
The rebranded property sits just off Hermitage Road in the Lower Hunter Valley, close to the cellar doors and restaurants of the Around Hermitage Wine and Food Trail. Behind its secure gates, the emphasis shifts from busy tasting itineraries to private spas, wood fires and quiet views across the surrounding countryside.
Clayfields also has an active apiary, with working hives positioned among native bushland and established trees. Honey collected on the estate appears in guests’ breakfast provisions, while guided tastings explore the different flavours produced by seasonal flowers and Ironbark blossom.
The launch announcement on 23 September 2026 also opened bookings for the private honey experiences and villas.
Two private villas near Hermitage Road
The Lakeview King Villa and Valley View King Villa are self-contained, one-bedroom retreats created for adult couples. With close to 150 square metres available indoors and outdoors, each gives guests more room than a conventional hotel suite.
The interiors combine king-size beds and freestanding spa baths with dual-sided, wood-burning fireplaces. Outside, each villa has a private heated jacuzzi, a terrace and barbecue facilities, creating a relaxed setting for long breakfasts or an evening overlooking the estate.
The fireplaces connect the living and sleeping areas, making the villas suitable for the Hunter Valley’s cooler months as well as warm-weather stays. The outdoor jacuzzis provide another place to relax, including at sunset when guests can stay on the property rather than return immediately to the region’s restaurants.
Both villas include gourmet country breakfast hampers. The provisions feature a complimentary jar of Clayfields’ raw, cold-extracted honey, bringing produce from the estate’s hives directly into the stay.
Valley View King Villa is also pet-friendly, an important distinction within an otherwise adults-only property. It gives couples travelling with a pet access to the same spacious layout and private facilities without moving to a larger shared holiday house.
With only two villas across 30 acres, Clayfields is built around seclusion rather than communal resort facilities. Guests can spend the day visiting Pokolbin’s wineries before returning through the estate’s gates for a private spa bath, barbecue or evening beside the fire.
The apiary shapes the Clayfields experience
Clayfields Artisan Honey is also used in the breakfast hamper. The estate’s working apiary gives guests another way to experience the agricultural landscape of the Hunter Valley, with private tastings focused on small-batch production and seasonal variations.
The honey is harvested raw and unpasteurised in limited batches. Its character changes as different plants flower, which means separate harvests can carry distinct flavours rather than conforming to a consistent house style.
Resident bees forage among seasonal botanicals and Ironbark blossoms around the property. Guests can taste honeycomb and infused varieties alongside pure honey, while guided sessions cover how the hives operate and how each batch reaches the jar.
Mike Wilkins, Clayfields partner and apiarist, began keeping bees after buying a Flow Hive. His small experiment developed into a much larger operation across the Hunter Valley.
“I purchased a Flow Hive out of curiosity and quickly worked out I had a passion for beekeeping,” Wilkins said in an earlier HUNTERhunter interview. “One hive became two, then a traditional hive joined the collection, and before long the apiary had grown to more than 40 hives, and there’s another 15 on the way.”
Clayfields’ apiary operations extend across Pokolbin and Lovedale. The two locations allow the bees to forage in different surroundings, producing variations even when the hives are separated by only a short distance.
“It’s amazing how much the flavour changes,” Wilkins said. “People don’t realise that two apiaries so close together can produce completely different honey.”
That variation forms the basis of the private tastings now offered with the villas. Previous Clayfields experiences have paired honey with regional cheese and chocolate, while hands-on hive sessions have allowed visitors to wear protective suits and learn about beekeeping at close range.
The current launch focuses on guided tastings, seasonal harvests and small-batch methods. It gives guests an experience rooted in the property itself, rather than requiring another drive between venues.
A private base for the Around Hermitage trail
Clayfields is located at 274 Old North Road, Pokolbin, within the Around Hermitage Wine and Food Trail. The route brings together boutique wineries and restaurants, along with regional produce, a brewery and a distillery.
This position allows guests to divide a stay between wine-country dining and time on the estate. Cellar doors remain within easy reach, but the secure, rural setting offers separation from the busier parts of Pokolbin once the day’s tastings are finished.
The private format will suit travellers who prefer an independent itinerary to a full-service resort schedule. There are no large communal spaces described in the launch, and the property’s principal facilities belong to the individual villas.
Breakfast can be prepared from the supplied hamper, lunch can follow a morning on the trail, and the evening can be spent beside the fireplace or in the heated outdoor jacuzzi. The barbecue terraces also give guests the option to bring regional produce back to the villa.
The estate’s honey experiences broaden that itinerary beyond wine. Wilkins said visitors often associate the Hunter Valley primarily with vineyards, while Clayfields wanted to introduce another side of local production.
“People often think the Hunter Valley is just about wine,” he said. “We wanted to create experiences that show there’s so much more to discover.”
A city-to-country project in Pokolbin
Clayfields is run by proprietor Stanford Deveraux and his partner, Wilkins, who exchanged city life for Pokolbin. Their work combines boutique accommodation with beekeeping and management of the surrounding land.
The rebrand formalises a retreat built around privacy and direct connections to the estate’s produce. Rather than adding a broad range of resort facilities, Clayfields concentrates its luxury offering within two large villas and a small programme of bookable honey experiences.
“We didn’t just want to build another place to sleep in the Hunter Valley; we wanted to create an authentic, grounded experience that reflects the true soul of this region,” Deveraux said in the launch announcement.
He described Pokolbin as the couple’s home and Clayfields as a “labor of love”, with the villas intended for guests wanting to slow their pace while retaining generous private comforts.
The accommodation and apiary reflect that approach. Heated jacuzzis and spa baths provide private comforts, while honey harvested from hives among the estate’s trees connects the stay to the land.
Booking Clayfields Hunter Valley
Clayfields Hunter Valley is now accepting reservations for the private honey experiences it offers as well as both villas. The property’s listing with the Hunter Valley Wine and Tourism Association gives a 2pm check-in time and 10.30am checkout.
Key details for planning a stay include:
- Location: 274 Old North Road, Pokolbin, New South Wales
- Accommodation: Two self-contained, one-bedroom villas for adult couples
- Pet policy: Valley View King Villa is pet-friendly
- Included provisions: A country breakfast hamper with Clayfields raw honey
Each villa offers close to 150 square metres of living space, a king-size bed, indoor and outdoor spa facilities, a wood-burning fireplace and a private terrace. Guests can arrange honey tastings alongside their accommodation when planning the visit.
Direct reservations are available through the Clayfields Hunter Valley website.
