Arcadia has high local significance as a remaining 1920s guest house and, from 1958 to 1980, as a boarding house for workers on the Cardinia Dam, at a local nursery and the S.P.C. Jam Factory. It is one of the earliest, substantially intact surviving examples of the numerous guest houses that opened in the Dandenongs during the guest house boom of the 1920s and 1930s.

Arcadia is a low set house facing the Belgrave-Monbulk Road. The building is visible from the road, set back only marginally behind a low, stepped brick fence and a cottage garden. The house appears from the street to be a single storey building, however the steep slope of the site has allowed the incorporation of a basement level to the west.

The rectangular plan house has a dominant transverse gable roof, which includes a small hip roofed section to the north and a single brick chimney to the south. A centrally located projecting gable highlights the main entrance while the roof overhang to east forms a verandah along the building's facade. The verandah has brick pillars and edging which mirrors the form and detail of the front fence. The verandah floor is timber lined. The remainder of the house, including the gable ends is clad with timber. The gable end also has a small lattice detail incorporated beneath the apex. The windows to the east facade include a combination of timber framed double hung and casement windows, while those to the side elevations have largely been replaced with modern, larger windows.

Physical Conditions: Good

Integrity: Intact