The Kooralbyn Valley — Hotel in Kooralbyn

For a year we looked forward to this little vacation. My partner was starting a new job, and this was going to be our last getaway for a while. Checking in on Sunday and checking out Tuesday. The photos on the website did not disappoint and everything we read about the place was so exciting. Archery, Kayaking, Golf Buggy, Putt Putt, a gym, heated pools I mean the list could go on. When we arrived, we knew this was the start of the disappointment. The buildings are so old and have not been revamped for a vey long time. Everything from the carpet to the musty smell in the rooms and the dirty balcony’s… this was only the start.

We started off our stay by heading straight to the pool, after all they were heated right, and it was cloudy day so it would be lovely. WRONG. the pools were all of the same temperature and there was no “spa” either... slight disappointment but we looked passed that. On the website it states there is three different places in the Dining and Bar sector. Ringtails Country Club aka the Golf Shop. This is the place you are to go if you want to hire golf buggy, kayak, archery, drinks by the pool etc. THIS SHOP WAS SHUT ON THE MONDAY – For “golf course maintenance”. This absolutely blew my mind given the fact that majority of the activities we wanted to do was to be organised via the Golf Shop. Yes, we could have gone the day we arrived, but we were not told the golf course was going to be shut ton Monday, we checked in at 3pm and the Golf Shop shuts at 5pm.

We thought we would look around anyway to see what we could have done if the Golf Shop was open… and let’s just say we wouldn’t have missed out on much. The archery was literally a piece of paper on a hay bale, the kayaks (three) were all over the place, one in the water, one in a bush and one resting on the grass above the pond. These kayaks were not kept in good condition whatsoever. Dirty, fill of pond water and just gross. Lord knows what kind of illness you would get from the pond. Dirty, mossy, small and smelly... you sure as hell wouldn’t want to fall in. The gym was 6 machines that looked about 40 years old, two of which weren’t working. The room stunk and it was overall not a gym, yet a box with a few pieces of broken equipment.

The next Dining and Bar was Lilies. Absolute beautiful buffet and blew my expectations out of the water, they were low at this point. Keep in mind this is only open for breakfast due to “maintenance” ... which was for a couple of weeks... however, reading previous reviews online this has been shut for a while.

Where do we go for lunch and dinner then right? 300m walk down the property to a pub called the Pavilion. Lovely staff… and that’s it. The steak tasted old, and the pizza was hardly cooked and made my partner feel pretty ill. The putt putt course had not had any maintenance in the last five years and looked so sad… nothing to get excited about.

After realising how disappointed we were we decided to check out early. There was no point in staying another night in an uncomfortable bed where I got bitten all night and had to listen to the helicopter in the room (aircon unit)

The only positive out of this was Ann, the lady at the front desk who went above and beyond for us and offered us a bottle of wine for putting us in the wrong room at the start. Can’t say much about the receptionist on the Monday who was rude and not very helpful. We are a positive couple the always look on the brighter side of life, and also take everything as a life experience however this is the most, I have ever been disappointed with a place, and I can’t believe how much we spent for this a year ago now to see it gone down half the price. We could have stayed somewhere a lot nicer that had working and open facilities. Do not waste your time,...

Dear Manager,||||I would like to bring to your attention the utter disappointment we had after our stay on the weekend.||As a golfer who has frequented your golf course over the last few years i decided to bring the family out to stay over the weekend as we were part of a golfing group.||||We were booked in for dinner both nights at your Pavilion facility and i have nothing good whatsoever to say about the place, the staff, the Manager there and the cleanliness of the premises. The first word that comes to mind is DISGUSTING. ||||1. The state of the bathrooms was abhorrent. The stale smell of urine from the mens toilet was bordering on gag worthy. ||||2. When we were first seated we had to ask staff multiple times to please wipe our table down as it was a sticky filthy mess. It was not fit for eating off at all.||||3. The Manager - When trying to convey our concerns of the cleanliness of the table we were seated at she just said, "Well move to another one" in a voice you use when scalding a cat.||||Upon complaining about the state of the toilets to staff we were told "So what, what do you want us to do about" I confronted the manager again and she just fobbed us off and said "we are busy and too bad".|| ||4. Twice they stuffed our orders up even after explaining to the order taker we would like all our meals brought out at the same time, but it appears that was too much trouble for the staff who were more entertained about making sniggering comments just out of earshot then laughing.||||5.Three times i spoke with the female manager and not once did she show any concern, nor was interested in hearing our complaints. ||||6. The food was cold when it eventually was served and the chicken schnitzels were almost rubber like from being over cooked.|||| When we arrived back at the resort and were speaking with several others from our golfing group, they all shared the same opinion at how poorly run the Pavilion Tavern was and how unprofessional the female manager / staff were in hearing any form of complaint and how flippant the Manager was in her replies or zero attempts in making sure tables were at least hygienically clean to sit at and eat off.||||If this is truly the best in leadership of your premises then its no wonder there are so many negative reviews online about the Pavilion and resort.||||One shining light was the Lilies buffet on Saturday night (which when booking we were told it was not open ) ||||The food was fresh and a great variety to cater for almost everyone and anyone.||||Its safe to say we will NOT be coming back and will be strongly recommending to all our friends and families to keep a wide berth of your disgusting Pavilion Tavern and the staff and Manager who run it.||||If it wasn't for the lovely lady on reception we would of all bailed out on Saturday night. At least she the decency to listen to our complaints and seemed legitimately interested in finding a solution. ||||Regards||Michael S (The...

This was our 6th visit to Kooralbyn in 6 years and we (myself, my partner and our two young children) love coming here as somewhere to getaway from the Gold Coast for a few days.

However, it does sadden me to see how rundown the hotel continues to get on each visit. I'm in my 40s now and when I came to this resort in the early-90s with my parents. I remember there being loads of activities to do in and around the resort.

There was always a party-vibe atmosphere around the pool area, a place where it felt like new years every night, especially in the summer. Recommendation: During the summer, extend the trading hours of the bar in the golf shop and put some lights in and around the pool area, with some music from a speaker. You're sure to do more trade and have people hang around with their families until later. Even if it's just for another hour.

I understand that it costs a lot of money to give the entire hotel a complete overhaul, to advertise and to continually get tourists in. It's just the basics of the rooms that I feel should be focused on. A new paint job, attention to fixing broken parts in each room (the door handle in our bathroom was detached, as was the tap handle for the outside sink). The glass door that led outside to the balcony was stuck - I had to open it each time because my partner and kids couldn't. Towels weren't replaced each night of our stay, which most would expect to be an automatic thing.

When we came to Kooralbyn two years ago, there was a towel room down by the pool area for guests. There wasn't any towels at all available.

Don't get me wrong, we'll be back, as long as our kids want to keep going each summer. But as someone who grew up with great memories of this resort, I'd sincerely love it if things could be like they were 30 years ago. Or at least some intention shown from the owners to get there. The food at the Pavilion was exceptional every time we went during our stay, and even though we didn't have the breakfast buffet this time, the staff have always been pleasant, as have the staff at the front desk.

So you have something there to build on with the food and the general setup. What I'd love to know is what your plans are for the future (if any)? Are there plans in place to fix or upgrade the facilities? To better the standards of the hotel rooms and the internet quality? And if so, when? Because I would very much look forward to seeing it.

All the best, and I hope this feedback is...