Gawthorne's Hut located just outside of Mudgee has been awarded Australia's Best Unique Stay by Airbnb.

Winners were selected based on Airbnb data, guest scores and reviews, with oversight from a panel of judges.

Gawthorne's Hut Hosts Rick and Stephanie Gordon who hail originally from the Rylstone area, said they used to picnic in the location of the now-hut with their family and decided it was the perfect spot to build guest accommodation.

"We worked with an architect to design a purpose-built space that not only optimised the views of the land, but captured the imagination of guests," Stephanie said.

"There's a feeling of isolation when you arrive - a real sense of peace and tranquility. We've kept the facilities fairly minimal so that guests focus on the views over the valley and natural surroundings.

"Guests arrive at the hut via a back lane, and while we encourage them to explore the farm, many are attracted to the privacy and seclusion of the setting. We truly love creating a special experience for our guests."

At the beginning of this year, the Mudgee Guardian went out to Gawthorne's Hut to learn more about its history and what made is special.

"We built it to capture the views. We've tried to keep it modern and partially luxurious without being overly ostentatious. So we've used natural timber lining throughout, all timber doors and windows, a polished concrete floor, timber bed, timber cabinets and bench top," Rick said of its design.

Designer of Gawthorne's Hut, Cameron Anderson of Cameron Anderson Architects, said great care was taken to respect and incorporate the area's history in the design.

"Like with any project like this, we go through a pretty rigorous development process, where we try to understand what it is they're trying to do," Cameron said.

"With this one - the way we try and approach these buildings is for them to have a story essentially, and to have a relationship to their site. And so some of the conversations that we started having very early on... were more about the history of the Wilgowra site as a working property and to see if some of that history can be retained within the accommodation experience.

"One thing that drove that a little bit was - when we had that big storm a few years ago, when Mudgee got hit they had a significant hay shed on their property that was knocked over. And it became one of the talking points in the region about the damage that was done - and so that angled form, in a way was something that was loosely driven from that, as well as a starting point for a solar array on the roof."

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