Peppers Craigieburn Bowral

Our stay was very enjoyable indeed. Plenty of places to sit near a fire on a cold winter’s night. The restaurant was lovely for dinner but the rooms could do with a refresh to stay in keeping with the cost to stay at, and standard of this property.

The rooms might not be super modern but for what you pay, I think they are very reasonable. The actual hotel is stunning and so warm and cosy. The hotel held an Easter egg hunt for the children which was really sweet. They put so much effort into it. They had a drinks cart and finger foods for the parents. They also had an ice cream truck for the parents and children and were so generous with the amount of eggs they used for the hunt. It was such a perfect place for an Easter egg hunt. The landscape around the hotel was definitely one of the highlights of our stay. The staff were also friendly. Breakfast was tasty, but the staff (in particular Joshua and Jenny) were our highlight. Their genuine warmth made our stay extra special, its people like them that makes my decision to stay here again a definite. Thanks for making my little family getaway extra special :)

I stayed here a few weeks back and thought the service was great but rooms a little uncomfortable and run down. But the staff were amazing so I stayed here again this week for another bus. trip. I was very disappointed from start to end. On arrival after half a day travelling, I was placed in a room where the phone does not work to order room service and TV did not work, room was even smaller than first trip. On a couple of trips back to reception after being told to turn the TV off at the wall to reset it and admitting that they knew the phone didn't work so I should come to the bar to order my food, I was then moved to another room. I cannot fault the reception team member as she did her best to accommodate me by putting me in The suite which was in much need of a clean given it was full of nasty webs that sadly the beautiful staff proceeded to remove through my arachnophobic cries for help. The next morning I left my luggage with the team who were going to find another room for me with simple request of working amenities and a desk to work from in the evening. Upon returning to the property I was placed in a new room only to find the phone also did not work and the heating kept cutting out. I called reception from my mobile to ask for assistance and if they could have the restaurant call me for an order. 15 minutes later I had to call again as I had not heard back to be told that their phones also do not work. Thankfully the wonderful gentleman in reception took my order. The meal arrived and smelt incredible, I ordered the Angus beef meatballs in Napoli sauce and Linguini, however what I received was 3 meatballs only, no pasta. It would appear that perhaps the pasta was missed in preparing my order. Needless to say on the 3rd night I chose not to eat because $32 for 3 meatballs seemed quite high, so I purchased something and brought it to the room. Very disappointing stay as the outside of this property and the grounds are stunning. The rooms however are very small, the facilities are not working in much of the building including the Restaurant from which you need to place your orders and it is in much need of a clean. I have a few more trips to attend in Bowral and sadly I will not be returning to this property nor would I recommend it to others unfortunately. This is a real shame because the staff are really lovely people and the downstairs lounges are beautiful with their fireplaces, but the rooms and amenities are highly lacking.

Positives: - On two occasions I emailed the property prior to booking. Both emails were quickly responded to. - Early check in was explored and they were able accommodate. - Free on site parking. - Breakfast was reasonable quality. - Friendly staff. - Clean. Areas for improvement: - Reception layout is odd. There’s no where to put bags while checking in, except front walk way. - Nothing about the property feels premium. Everything is tired and most common areas are not well maintained (dated, chipped paint, poorly lit, mismatched carpets, dated allocation of multiple chunky metal keys no card system). - Standard of room is pretty poor. It was more like a 2 star motel. Local comparable motels are around $150 per night, meanwhile I just paid $400 for a room that didn’t even have tissues or a working bathroom exhaust fan. - Entirely dated and needs a lot of TLC. - Rock hard mattress.