Berrima Retreat has just added a set of new facilities built for bigger, better group stays. These upgrades give your group more comfort, more space, and more ways to spend time together.

This guide walks through every new Berrima Retreat facilities you’ll love. You will find practical details on what each one offers, and why it matters for your next family reunion, school camp, wedding, or corporate retreat in the Southern Highlands.

Berrima Retreat is an exclusive-hire property that sleeps 22 to 55 guests. It sits less than 90 minutes from both Sydney and Canberra, making it an easy weekend escape. Because the whole property is yours alone during your stay, every facility below is exclusively for your group, no shared spaces, no other guests.

Start planning your weekend getaway today and see how these new facilities can shape your next group trip!

Berrima Retreat Facilities: A Quick Overview

Before we go feature by feature, here is a snapshot of what makes Berrima Retreat facilities stand out from a typical Southern Highlands stay.

Quick facts:

• Sleeps 22 to 55 guests across the Mansion and North Wing
• Fully exclusive hire, one group at a time, no shared spaces
• Less than 90 minutes from Sydney and Canberra
• Existing features include a Giant Kangaroo Jumper, trampolines, a pool, a private dam, kayaks, bikes, pizza ovens, a fire pit, a media room, and a commercial kitchen
• Suits school camps, corporate retreats, family reunions, weddings, sports teams, and birthday groups

The new facilities covered in this guide build directly on these foundations. They add more comfort, more entertaining space, and more hands-on experiences for guests of every age.

Think of it this way. The old Berrima Retreat was already built for big groups. The new Berrima Retreat is built for big groups who want more choice, more comfort, and more reasons to linger outdoors.

Every upgrade below solves a real problem groups run into on a stay. Hot bedrooms. Nowhere private to work. Rainy days with no backup plan. Each new feature answers one of these directly, so your group spends less time working around the property and more time enjoying it.

The New Entertainer’s Outdoor Space

The biggest addition to Berrima Retreat facilities is the new covered outdoor entertaining area. It is built for groups who want to cook, play, and gather together. Best of all, guests never need to worry about the weather.

This space is a great example of exclusive group accommodation NSW at its best. It brings everyone together in one warm, welcoming spot. You can smell fresh pizza baking and hear laughter from the pool table nearby.

The area sits under a large, open-sided steel shed roof, with a concrete floor and corrugated metal cladding along one wall. It stays open to the lawn on the other sides, so the space feels connected to the gardens even while covered.

At the heart of this area sits a wood-fired pizza oven and a full BBQ, ready for a group pizza night or a relaxed dinner outdoors. Around it sit a mix of timber dining tables and benches, a round wicker dining table with wicker chairs, and a couple of wicker armchairs, giving guests several places to sit and eat together.

Games and Friendly Competition

Alongside the cooking setup sit a pool table and a table tennis table. These games keep guests entertained between meals and activities. They also give quieter group members an easy, relaxed way to join in.

A friendly tournament often forms naturally during a stay. Sports teams enjoy some light competition after a day of training. Birthday groups and school camps both find these games are always a hit.

These games matter more than they might first appear. Not every guest wants to swim, hike, or feed the animals. A pool table gives them a low-key way to still be part of the group. It is an easy way to fill an hour before dinner, or wind down after a big day.

Table tennis, in particular, tends to draw a crowd. It is fast, social, and easy to jump in and out of. Even guests who have never played before usually end up having a go, especially once a light-hearted tournament bracket gets going.

Built for Big Events, Too

When your group needs more room, the entertaining area can be configured to seat up to 150 people. This makes it genuinely useful for weddings, milestone birthdays, and corporate functions, not just casual group hangouts.

Wedding parties can host their reception right here, under cover. Corporate groups can run an awards dinner or a closing celebration in the same space. It flexes easily between a quiet family dinner and a full-scale event.

The seating configuration is genuinely flexible. Tables can run in long banquet-style rows for a formal wedding reception. They can also cluster into smaller groups for a relaxed cocktail-style function. Either way, the covered roof and open sides keep the space feeling connected to the gardens outside.

Because the whole property is exclusive hire, there is no need to book an external reception venue. Your guests simply move from the ceremony spot to dinner, without leaving the property at all. That alone removes a huge amount of logistics from wedding planning.

Rain or Shine, All Year Round

Because it is covered, this space works whatever the weather does. Summer days stay shaded and cool under the roof. Winter evenings feel warm and cosy once the pizza oven is going.

This is a real advantage in the Southern Highlands, where weather can shift quickly between seasons. Groups never need a backup plan for their outdoor plans. Every event can go ahead exactly as planned.

Southern Highlands weather is famously changeable. A clear morning can turn into a light shower by lunchtime. With a fully covered entertaining area, your itinerary does not need to bend around the forecast. Pizza night, the wedding reception, or the school camp dinner all go ahead as planned, rain or shine.

What This Means for Your Stay

Here is how different groups tend to use the space:

• Cook a group pizza night using the wood-fired oven
• Run a relaxed BBQ dinner without moving indoors
• Set up tournament-style pool or table tennis for teams or school groups
• Use the seated configuration for a wedding reception or awards dinner
• Host a corporate function without booking an outside venue
• Run a rainy-day activity block when outdoor plans need a backup

Whatever the occasion, this outdoor space becomes the heart of a Berrima Retreat stay. It is where big groups slow down, eat well, and truly connect.

New Landscaped Gardens and Open Front Field

Berrima Retreat’s grounds have also had a significant refresh. New landscaped gardens now frame the property, with defined lawns and walking paths connecting the main buildings.

Alongside this, there is a massive open field at the front of the property. This space is purpose-built for group activities that need room to move.

What the Field Is Used For

• Lawn games such as giant Jenga, cricket, or tug of war
• Corporate team-building exercises and outdoor workshops
• Casual picnics or an outdoor breakfast setup
• Free play space for kids during family reunions

For corporate groups running a team-building retreat, having a large, flat, private field on site removes the need to book an external venue. Everything happens within the exclusive-hire property.

Accessible Bathroom for Every Guest

Group trips work best when every member of the group is genuinely included. Berrima Retreat facilities now include an accessible bathroom, designed for guests with mobility needs.

This addition matters most for multi-generational family reunions, faith groups, and school groups where accessibility is a real, practical requirement, not an afterthought. It means more families and groups can book Berrima Retreat with confidence that everyone will be comfortable.

If accessibility is a key requirement for your group, it is worth mentioning this when you enquire, so the team can confirm the current room configuration for your dates.

Meet the Farm: Sheep, Alpacas and Feeding Time

No Southern Highlands stay feels complete without a little farm life, and Berrima Retreat has expanded exactly that. The property now has more sheep and alpacas, along with hands-on feeding activities for guests.

This is a small addition with an outsized effect on group stays. Feeding time is genuinely engaging for children, but it is also a quiet, calming activity that adults enjoy just as much. It gives a group a shared, unhurried moment together, something that is often missing from busier group itineraries.

For school camps, this ties in naturally with outdoor and nature-based learning. For family reunions, it is simply a lovely way to slow the pace down for an hour.

Why Feeding Time Works So Well

Most group stays are full of moving parts. Meals, activities, and travel all need timing and planning. Feeding time asks for none of that. Guests simply walk over, take some feed, and let the animals do the rest.

There is no skill required and no right way to do it. That makes it one of the few activities on a group stay that truly suits every age and every energy level. A shy child, a tired parent, and a curious grandparent can all take part the same way, standing side by side.

A Moment to Slow Down Together

Group trips can move fast. Between meals, activities, and free time, it is easy for a stay to feel busy from start to finish. Feeding the sheep and alpacas gives guests a reason to pause.

There is no schedule to keep and nowhere else to be during feeding time. Guests tend to linger a little longer than they planned, watching the animals and chatting quietly with each other. It is a small window in the day where the whole group can simply be together, without an activity to run or a place to get to.

Who Enjoys It Most

For school camps, teachers can use the animals as a starting point for lessons on farm life, animal care, or the local landscape. It gives structured learning time a hands-on, memorable moment.

For family reunions, grandparents and grandchildren often enjoy feeding time together, finding easy common ground in something as simple as feeding a curious alpaca. Corporate groups and sports teams find it works well too, as a gentle icebreaker between more structured parts of the day.

A Low-Key Addition With Lasting Appeal

Not every memorable part of a group stay needs to be big or planned. Feeding time is a quiet example of that. It costs nothing extra to enjoy, needs no booking, and fits naturally into free time between other activities.

For many guests, it becomes an unexpected highlight of their visit. Photos from feeding time are often among the ones families and groups keep and share long after the stay ends.

Dedicated Office Space for Working Groups

Corporate groups now have a dedicated office space at Berrima Retreat, comfortably fitting eight or more people. This is a genuinely useful addition for any corporate retreat near Sydney or Canberra that needs to combine focused work time with team downtime.

The idea is simple: run meetings, workshops, or strategy sessions during the day, then step outside to the pool, the field, or the new entertaining area once the working session wraps up. Everything happens on the one exclusive-hire property, without the group needing to travel between a meeting venue and accommodation.

This makes Berrima Retreat facilities a practical option for offsites, planning days, and small conference-style retreats, not just purely social group trips.

Outdoor Bar Deck Overlooking the Pool and Kids Arena

The final major addition is the outdoor bar deck, positioned to overlook both the pool and the kids’ arena. It is a small design choice with a real practical benefit: adults can relax with a drink while still keeping an eye on children playing nearby.

This kind of layout matters more than it might seem. On a lot of group trips, adults end up split between supervising kids and actually relaxing. The bar deck at Berrima Retreat is built to remove that trade-off.

Ready to see it for yourself? Reach out to check current availability and start planning your weekend getaway at Berrima Retreat.

Which Facilities Suit Your Group?

Different groups will get the most value from different parts of the property. Here is a quick guide to help you plan.

Group Type	Facilities That Matter Most
Family reunions	Farm animal feeding, open field, pool, entertaining space
Corporate retreats	Office space, entertaining space, pool, media room
School camps	Accessible bathroom, farm animals, open field, commercial kitchen
Weddings	Entertaining space (150-seat configuration), bar deck, gardens
Sports teams	Open field, pool, entertaining space, commercial kitchen
Birthday groups	Bar deck, pool, entertaining space, media room

This is only a starting point. Because Berrima Retreat is fully exclusive hire, your group has access to every facility on the property for the full length of your stay, these are simply the features that tend to matter most for each type of trip.

FAQ

• How many people can the new outdoor entertaining space hold?
  • The covered outdoor entertaining area can be configured to seat up to 150 people, making it suitable for weddings and larger events, not just everyday group use.
• Is Berrima Retreat suitable for guests with accessibility needs?
  • Yes. Berrima Retreat facilities now include an accessible bathroom. It’s a good idea to mention specific accessibility needs when enquiring, so the team can confirm the setup suits your group.
• Can groups take part in sheep and alpaca feeding?
  • Yes. The property now has more sheep and alpacas, with hands-on feeding activities available for guests during their stay.
• Is there a workspace suitable for corporate groups?
  • Yes. Berrima Retreat now has a dedicated office space that comfortably fits eight or more people, making it practical for meetings, workshops, and offsites.
• Does every bedroom have air conditioning?
  • Yes. Bedrooms in the Mansion now have ducted air conditioning, and the North Wing is fitted with a split system.
• How many guests can Berrima Retreat accommodate overall?
  • Berrima Retreat sleeps between 22 and 55 guests and operates as a fully exclusive-hire property, meaning only one group stays on site at a time.

Conclusion

Berrima Retreat facilities have grown significantly, from the new covered entertaining space and outdoor bar deck to practical additions like ducted air conditioning, an accessible bathroom, and a dedicated office space. Together with the farm animals, landscaped gardens, and open front field, these upgrades give groups more ways to work, play, and relax together in one exclusive-hire property.

Whether you’re planning a family reunion, a corporate retreat, a wedding, or a school camp, these facilities are built to support your group from arrival to departure.

Start planning your weekend getaway today. Visit berrimaretreat.com.au to check availability, or call 1300 76 13 76 to speak with the team about your group’s dates.