Clare and Cameron Kissell – Edge Luxury Villas
In this interview, Clare and Cameron Kissell, the husband and wife team behind Edge Luxury Villas give some insight into being owners of short-term accommodation and their top tips for visiting Margaret River.
What do you do?
We do it all! Maintenance is done by Cameron, social media by Clare, cleaning is both of us, we love both meeting the guests. Phone or email, you will be chatting with Clare. See a tractor or something being fixed or created, it will be Cameron.
Share a story from behind the scenes.
Cameron the super builder! Cameron had a 20+ year background as a welder and metal worker and has used his skills to create many of the wonderful features on the property. Those unique overwater balconies were designed and built by Cameron, the white bridge over the lake and floating jetty- yep built by him too. At the entrance to the property, you will see the beautiful gates and stonework, which were all created by him. Still to this day Clare asks ‘how on did you do that?!’
In 2012 when we looked at the property to buy it was an awful run-down and forgotten farm. It had been on the market for almost three years as no one wanted it. Clare looked around and thought ‘NO WAY!’ Cameron looked past all its flaws and saw endless potential. Our favourite quote is, “Change is hard at first, messy in the middle, and gorgeous at the end,” by Robin Sharma. This is absolutely true for our 137-acre property.
What food memory from your childhood or travels stands out?
Clare: My parents immigrated to Australia from Ireland in the early 1960s. My mother cooked our family potatoes for every single meal! She could do all sorts with them, but my favourite was roast potatoes for our Sunday roast, the crunchier the better and my brothers and I would argue over who got the best one. Amazingly after eating them every day of my childhood, I still love them!
Cameron grew up with an all boy household and they were all very close in age. The rule was first finished got second helpings, they didn’t care what was served they just wanted more! Quantity over quality for three growing boys.
What’s the best/ worst part of your job?
Our jobs are to ensure our guests have the most wonderful experience staying in our villas. Hearing positive feedback from guests about how relaxed they felt during their stay, that they don’t want to leave and the villas are the best accommodation they have ever stayed makes this the best part about our job. A job that is all about helping guests have a positive experience is a pretty amazing job in our eyes.
The worst part about our job is that we are the sole owners and operators of Edge Luxury Villas. We are a small family business that relies solely on guests coming to stay, no guests = no earnings. We are a very new business, opening in December 2023 and we are always working to let everyone know we are here and open. As a small business we do feel very vulnerable.
What’s one of your favourite food and beverage pairings?
The food in the Margaret River Wine Region is absolutely incredible, the standards are high, the food top quality and the area attracts the best chefs. Our surrounding neighbours (all within a ten-minute drive), are world-class wineries, many with beautiful restaurants attached. Our favourite way to eat is to enjoy a long lunch degustation (trust the chef style) and with each course have a Margaret River wine paired perfectly. We really do love to eat good food and wine, it’s all about an experience and being pampered.
What’s one of the most memorable things you’ve seen behind the scenes?
Last year (Summer 2024) we experienced a drought, it was the summer that just never ended. We watched the water in the lake drop, heard about nearby farms having no water for their stock and the wildlife and vegetation suffered. We are fortunate in that where we built the lake was a perfect spot to catch water and we had it made extremely well. Our lake remained at a good level and provided a haven for wildlife, they flocked to the lake area for a drink and the kangaroo would line the lake edge to eat the juicy green grass, we named it the ‘salad bar’. Our guests would all sit on their balconies, wine in hand and watch the wildlife, it was their own live Australian wildlife show right before their eyes. The rains did finally arrive and we have had a very mild summer 2025, with the area recovering and farmers and wineries having an incredible growing season.
The perfect day off would be…
Every Saturday we give ourselves the day off and have family day. The main reason behind starting our business was to have more quality family time together and Saturday is dedicated to spending the day with our 6-year-old daughter. This day would usually consist of being outside. Going to the beach, fishing, skatepark, walking the Busselton Jetty or catching up with friends. We always enjoy a lunch out somewhere too.
A day in the life of Clare and Cameron Kissell is…
Checking emails first thing in the morning, having breakfast altogether as a family and then sending our daughter off on the school bus. Then it’s walk the dog and get ready for the day at the villas. Cleaning villas, setting up for arrivals, being attached to a phone, being a photographer every time we look at the lake and just have to stop for yet another photo (yes, even now the views still take our breath away). We may need to mow the grass around the lake (Clare’s favourite job). Cameron will work on maintenance or projects he has (he has just installed two EV charging stations). Each day is different and you never know if something is going to pop up and change how the day is going to run, we need to be flexible.
What do Clare and Cameron Kissell do for fun?
Cameron loves fishing and keeping busy with creating projects on the property. Clare enjoys being in nature, wine and loves animals. We foster greyhounds that have been retired from the racing industry and help them to become fantastic pets for a new owner. Cameron belongs to the local volunteer fire brigade and Clare to a local wildlife care group and greyhound fostering association.
What would you like guests to know about Edge Luxury Villas?
Our villas are powered by the sun and we harvest rainwater. Luxury can be off-grid. When we decided to build the villas, we chose to build with quality in every single aspect and were rewarded by the villas winning four Western Australian Master Builder Awards, including best in its class. Guests love the views, attention to detail, sitting on the balcony and watching the kangaroo and birdlife. They also love our location, surrounded by wineries, beaches and attractions.
How have you grown in your profession? What are your key learnings from your start in the industry until now? Are there any misconceptions?
We are both brand new to this industry and learn every single day.
What would you like people to know about being an owner of luxury accommodation as a profession?
As the owners, we are always working. There is always something that needs done and we pride ourselves on ensuring guests love their stay. We wear many hats and share out different parts of the business so we can ensure nothing gets missed. We absolutely love our job!
What’s your view on accommodation scene in the Margaret River Region?
There is a lot of accommodation in the region catering for many different styles and needs. During busy peak times (weekends, summer & school holidays) accommodations are busy and it is best to book ahead. During the week and out of season the region is quiet. Winter is a wonderful time to visit and we designed the villas to be very winter friendly, not all accommodations have put 100% thought into every detail. In winter the rains and wind go over the top of your villa, so that you remain completely dry out on your balcony and the wood fire inside creates a cosy feel, you can even open up the entire lake side of the villa and enjoy an indoor/outdoor feel while being completely protected from the wind and rain. We faced our villas in the direction so that when it is very hot, the balcony is shaded.
It is a tough industry with a huge number of accommodation providers, which is why we chose to be different. We are unique with being out over the lake, high quality build and amenities, and being the sole owners of the business, we feel our attention to detail and the love for our villas, all sets us apart. Photos online are not always what is reality, here at Edge we are often told by our guests that it is even better in person. We did not simply create a place to sleep for the night, but an entire experience for our guests.
What are the top three things you like to do in the region you live in?
Visit the wineries, eat and visit the beautiful beaches! There really is so much to do here, booking a centrally located accommodation is our top tip and then you can explore to the north and then the south. We recommend three to five nights, which gives visitors time to explore but also time to sit and relax at the villa.
What practices do you currently implement or hope to implement to work towards social responsibility and sustainability in the future?
We are sustainability and quality tourism accredited by WA Tourism and are working towards our Eco Australia accreditation. We provide accessible accommodation to those with mobility needs. All cleaning products are eco certified and low tox (Clare has an autoimmune disease and we feel this is important for her and our guest’s health). All products provided the villas from our complimentary bottle of wine to bath products are all sourced within our immediate area.
The forest on our property is part of the government Land for Wildlife Scheme, meaning we vow to protect it and restore it to what it once was. This means there is a healthy ecosystem here and an abundance of wildlife to experience. Since 2012, every year Cameron and Clare plant thousands of native trees and shrubs. In 2024, we switch on the solar and with the harvest rainwater, became an off grid property. We are currently installing two EV charging stations for our guests to use, to be completed early April 2024.
What future plans do you have for your brand?
Our future plan for our luxury Villas is to be the accommodation of choice for travelers who want a unique, adults only, luxury stay in the region. We would absolutely love more international visitors who can enjoy a stay like no other in the region.
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