My husband and I stayed here for two nights in Dec 13. The cottages are of an older decor but very…read moreclean and extremely spacious for two people (especially compared to a hotel room). Checking in was easy and the manager was extremely polite and helpful (told us to feel free to call at anytime as he is always on call!). When we arrived to our cottage their was a small breakfast hamper waiting for us in the fridge, a full loaf of fresh bread and a litre of milk. Very generous servings we thought. Cottages are well away from any roads and are spaced out. Fully equipped kitchen, aircon, fireplace and your own BBQ on your porch. Communal pool on site. Lovely place for a little getaway. Would stay here again.

It is the voco. It is an ihg hotel. We were upgraded to a valley view room. The advantage of…read morestatus. The hotel has too many stairs. I have not seen any disable ramps. I think this is an oversight. The hotel is in a great location.

Fun place. Smaller rooms but very nice. WiFi can be spotty but all in all awesome!…read more Super comfortable and clean rooms. Jade was one of our favorites. She was training but super engaging. Great stay.

Understand this is a get-away in a pricey area, and its at the top of the its mark in terms of…read moreservice and offerings... you will get a lot for your money, but you will spend a lot to get it. We had a wide variety of places to visit and travel to in our quick 2 weeks down under, but this was one of those locations I decided to splurge on our trip and spend 2 days exploring Hunter Valley. You could do a lot worse. The estate is quiet, the wine is not even sold like other places here, its so small you have to belong to buy, but there is no cellar door. The food was AMAZING, truly. The service was excellent, the staff was friendly, offering after hours cell contact and all the amenities you could want. The room had but a few minor issues, like the upstairs noise was a lot more than promised, and the stairway next to our room as quite loud, so reserve upper if you can. But it was luxurious, plenty of space, fireplace pre set up with wood, and heated everything, floors and towel bars and a private patio to enjoy. The local animals were always present and a nice country add to our quite stay, in room pests were not welcome and reported but there is only so much you can do about them, so that is something they can do to earn a 5... mind you not much more as they are very close to it already. Worth the stay if you want to have a bit of luxury, but be prepared- its going to be one of the more expensive places in the area.

Feels like a recently built guesthouse. It's a really good hotel. It's small, so you don't bump…read moreinto many other guests. It was full on the weekend we went up to the Hunter Valley and we felt like we were the only ones there. It has a restaurant onsite called Botanica which has excellent food. We arrived on the Friday night from Sydney and service was excellent on checkin, as was the cocktail on arrival (they send cocktails out to all the rooms at about 5 or 6pm. We stayed for a couple of nights and had breakfast in the restaurant each morning which was very well done. A good selection of their food is grown onsite, and they also have some pigs onsite as well for restaurant use. I really like that, making it as local as possible. We also had inroom dining on the night we arrived and it was very well presented - usually inroom dining tends to be bumpy and cool by the time you get it. Inroom dining from Spicers is hand carried from the restaurant and very professional. It's easy to get to and it's local to most of the Hunter (with a car). The guesthouse has some nice features - pool, very large checkers and chess set and also a massage place onsite. Will be going back.

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

Had a really good and relaxing stay here. Nice location and ample space for all guests. Highly…read morerecommended if you're looking for some quiet time.

We purchased a scoopon for a getaway. The value for money was good . The room needs a major upgrade…read more. The grounds were amazing with fantastic wildlife to view. The pool needs some TLC as it was very green and the poolside area isn't very inviting at all. One of the staff members was rude to us upon asking a question . Location is great and very central . A walk to Roche estate and Hunter valley gardens . We were out most of the time but it wouldn't be first on my list to visit .

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!).

Average service though well located to mall and eateries. You get what you need in this serviced…read moreapartment with the unique feature of internal stairs to get to the 2 bedrooms and bathroom. Kitchen and dining/lounge areas are downstairs. That said, it is pretty basic. The kids like the bunk bed for 3 (double bed on the bottom and single up top). A lot of room downstairs.

I give 4/stars based on our great Kogan travel Deal. I'm not sure what the rack rates are. But our…read moredeal was awesome, equating to $125 per night including breakfast. Well worth the money. While the rooms are dated, they were clean and tidy. Beds are a little hard, and I hate the anti-theft hangers. I have a rule that if I'm staying in a place that has to use these, I shouldn't be staying here. The staff were super polite and helpful, and we forgot toothbrushes, which they resolved for free for us. Our room vineyard view room had a great view with covered parking. Which in the heat was a welcome amenity. Great location and on property bar, Brokenback Bar and, the restaurant, The Mill, were above standard. The cellar door of THOMAS Wines is also onsite, but disappointing that house guests don't get free tastings. This seems a bit strange. Well stocked mini-bar. TV was ok, wifi offered but not used, as coverage was fine from Vodafone, which means Optus and Telstra's coverage should be good as well. If they fixed the bedding and tired appointments of the rooms, this place could easily be 5/stars. But at current rates, they are delivering more then fair value.