Central Maitland Stay This 1-bedroom studio apartment in…read moreCentral Maitland is a convenient and affordable base for visiting the Hunter Valley. The location is excellent, with a supermarket just a 5-minute walk away and High Street's shops, cafés, and dining options around 10 minutes on foot. The apartment was well-appointed and featured a very comfortable king bed, air conditioning, kitchenette, and private bathroom. The kitchenette was particularly well equipped, including a fridge/freezer, 2-burner electric cooktop, dishwasher, microwave, pod coffee machine, kettle, and toaster. Basic cookware, crockery, cutlery, glassware, and tea and coffee supplies were also provided. A nice bonus was the free laundry facilities on the ground floor, complete with detergent sachets. The secure parking was appreciated, although the spaces were a little tight. Check-in was fully remote, with smart lock access throughout the property using the same code issued for the apartment. We didn't interact with many staff during our stay, but the housekeeping team were very friendly and helpful. The only downside was the limited storage space. Although there was a wardrobe, much of it was occupied by the ironing board and clothes drying rack, leaving very little room for personal belongings. The studio also included a small dining table with two chairs, plus two curved tub chairs and a small coffee table, which felt unnecessary in the compact space -- we ended up using them to store clothing instead. Overall, this is a comfortable and good-value option for a stay in Central Maitland.

I had really bad experiences with hotels in NSW, so i decided to look for a hotel (on a hotel site)…read morewith the best customer service reviews within a 100 km radius of where I was and happened upon this gem. It was worth the 1 hours drive, and it brought me to NSW wine country, which was an added bonus. The upstair hotel is as quaint as can be. The decor is full of miscellaneous artifacts from the 1950s, 60s and 70s put together with exquisite taste. The rooms are adorable. It's clean. The inn keeper is a gem himself. One of the "rooms" is actually a stocked kitchen that is available for vacationers' use. The tables in the 'dining room' are made from reworked antique doors. Absolutely fabulous, and was so worth going out of our way for.

This is a great little hotel in Cessnock which is a great town to base yourself while exploring…read moreHunter Valley. The owner has taken great care in curating the fabulous retro funriture throughout the entire inn so if you like retro be sure to book here. The service was nearly invisible which is the way I like it: all fresh pillows and no hassle.

Cheap, clean and convenient Stayed here while driving back…read morefrom Melbourne to Brisbane. The rooms are small, even by Ibis standards, but have a shower & toilet, so at less than $70 this was a better option than a cabin in a camping ground. The room itself is clean and the bed comfortable. The hotel features free tea an coffee during reception hours, and has a some vending machines, a communal fridge and a microwave for your catering needs. The local shopping mall is within walking distance and there are some ok restaurants near by. The staff (1) was friendly and helpful and happy to recommend a restaurant and print out a map for directions. This is not the Hilton, and I would have been upset if I had brought my family here for a holiday, but for an overnight stay its perfect!

I usually stay in Newcastle but decided to stay in Charlestown instead. Very friendly staff and…read morevery clean and large apartment rooms. Location is very close to Charlestown Square and easy drive to Newcastle. The apartment is located in quiet suburbs not far from main Charlestown business. Definitely a perfect place for staying with families.

Disgusting! I…read morearrived at 10pm after. 4 hour train trip to discover the room was completely filthy! It hadnt been cleaned from the previous disgusting tenant. I could even use the toilet! No one answered the multiple emergency after hours calls. No on answered my 3 emails the following day. I had to walk myself and 4 bags at 11pm to the nearest hotel. On speaking with the Manager he didn't even apologise! In fact he won't even offer me a refund, and wants to charge me the cancellation fee! Never stay here!

Location is decent, right in the heart of the strip. Views…read morefrom windows not too good, but it's not exactly by the water but close enough. Staff are friendly and nice. Parking is decent

This was just what I needed!…read more I had to get escape Sydney for a bit, and was amped to check out the sand dunes in Newcastle for the weekend. So I took the train 3 hours up, and walked the 2 blocks from the station to the YHA. And talk about prime real estate! As soon as I walked in, I almost see the house's history seeping through the walls. After a quick tour, it was pretty obvious that this was an old gentlemen's club back in the day. It had that look about it - the old dancing hall, quaint private rooms, and of course a beautiful grand stairwell pouring into the front room. Due to its classic Victorian architectural design, it was easy to get lost in a nice, relaxing perch just about anywhere. The old dance hall, however, has been declared the main room for eating and social gathering. In this room you can join one of the many circles of travelers around the TV, the small library and book exchange, or any of the tables spread all over the room. I went up to Newcastle alone, but instantly made friends at the YHA. There were quite a few backpackers looking for work in the area, thus becoming leaders of the next night's random pub crawl through town! The hostel staff were great as well. One of the guys on staff at the time admitted that they didn't coordinate many events until last minute since the travelers kind of predicted how the nights went. And it makes sense really. Unless you're an obsessed fan of Silverchair, people come here mainly to check out the sand dunes; therefore forcing their nights to be cut short for the next's morning's early outing. But if you're night is free, the nightlife is well worth the time. Oh and fyi, If you ARE a Silverchair fan, you are in luck! I've been told that no matter what there's always someone in the hostel who can tell you where to go to find any of the native band members. Btw I love that people actually still care about this. Woo! 1990s! Silverchair yeah! Anyway stay here. This hostel is rocks. There's no way a place this grandiose could let you down.

Roomy and friendly backpackers occupying an interesting historical building with lots of character…read moreand original features. As the name suggests it's close to the beach, there are also many bars and restaurants nearby and the bus terminus is a short walk away. For supplies, there's a convenience store (Foodworks) just a few minutes walk across to the opposite corner of Pacific Park or there are supermarkets (Marketown and Coles) if you travel west across town on the bus. We stayed in a large dorm for the first night before moving to a private room once one became available for the rest of our stay. The shared dorm accommodation we stayed in was basic and comprised of four sets of bunk beds (it was a large room though, they weren't packed in), lockers and ensuite facilities, and was situated just off the main reception area and hallway. There are other shower and toilet facilities located throughout the building if one of your roommates is taking too long in the shower! The private room was upstairs and comprised of two single beds, bedside table and wall mounted TV with built in DVD player which was a bonus we weren't expecting. No frills but perfect for the price for the budget conscious traveller. The one drawback from our stay here was the lack of air con - the summer heat was stifling at night, and opening the window just let the mozzies in as there are no insect screens. The kitchen is in the basement of the building and does get busy at certain times, but I was always able to grab a space to prep my meals. There are gas hobs, one countertop mini oven, fridge and freezer space plus lots of shelf space. There's a dining area just off the kitchen, and there are coin operated laundry facilities on this level too. There's a large common room on the ground floor which used to be a ballroom in the days that this building was home to a gentleman's club, and it still evokes its grand past with wood panelled walls and leather couches. Comfortable and with lots of space to chill out and socialise. There's a TV and DVD player with a large selection of DVDs, board games, books, table tennis and pool table, and access to the small outdoor space with BBQ. The staff here were very friendly and welcoming and the hostel felt like more than just a bed for the night, there was a good community feel and I enjoyed spending a bit of down time here too. The boards were updated every day with weather forecasts and events and suggestions of things to do in Newcastle. You can also get free hire of surf boards and body boards from the staff at reception as well as book day trips (we did the Hunter Valley wine tour - would highly recommend!).

This was our favorite hotel of our entire Australian trip. We had a studio suite that overlooked…read morethe vineyard and large pond with ducks. There were free laundry facilities and it was just a short walk to an amazing restaurant, Il Cacciatore. There was a continental breakfast in the room each day that included English muffins with several topping choices, yogurt/berry parfaits, and muesli. Coffee and tea were also in the room, or espresso drinks were available in the lobby for a small fee. Each morning, I went to the lobby to get a latte and was able to sit and talk with the owners. They are LOVELY and gave great recommendations for restaurants and activities. This place helped make Hunter Valley my favorite Australian destination!

Lovely hotel centrally located in Hunter Valley. Stayed in the vineyard studio which has a nice…read moreopen floor plan with a cute little balcony facing the vines. Room was clean and spacious. Few things to note, continental breakfast is included and is actually already in the fridge upon arrival--which allows one to have a midnight snack (if you get hungry during the night like me, haha) and gives you flexibility with when you want to take your breakfast (no early morning knocking). On a side note, for those who are particular about toiletries, the hotel provides a combo shampoo/body wash. If that's not your cup of tea, you might want to bring your own shampoo. Also, complimentary wifi for those techies, like myself.

This is easily one of my favourite Newcastle pubs. It's recently been renovated and restored in…read morekeeping with its heritage. Drinks are reasonably priced the bar staff are friendly. The restaurant food ranges from reliable to amazing. It's always good. There are always different specials and you can get a schnitzel for $10. Tuesday night jazz at The Underground ($10-$15 entry) is of an exceptional standard and definitely worth doing at least once.

Pros: Nice staff and cleanly renovated…read more Cons: Meals took 30 minutes, came out in a staggered way (when there are only two eating, this is awkward), chips were undercooked and from fish tasting oil, schnitzel was flavourless, beef salad was very light on the beef, couldn't order alcohol at the bistro, bar required minimum $10 spend for EFTPOS (no sign). The drinks menu only had half the drinks, so not only awkward to see selection, had to order double, then had to ask prices too. Overall: has potential, but needs to pay attention to these details to make things a smoother process for the customer. It felt like work.