voco Kirkton Park Hunter Valley by IHG — Hotel in Pokolbin

Nice stay overall, but definitely not worth $500+ a night”

It was an okay stay — nice enough — but when you remember the price (over $500 a night), it’s hard not to feel a bit underwhelmed. For that kind of money, I’d expect a few more touches and a bit more polish.

The good bits: We were really happy to see EV charging available on-site, and even better — it was free! It’s a slow charger, so if there had been more than two EVs there it might’ve been a bit painful, but it was still a pleasant surprise and took away the stress of finding one nearby. It was covered in cobwebs though so maybe they don't get many people with EV's?

Check-in was easy, and the staff were lovely once we got settled. The restaurant food was good for lunch and the team there were great.

Dinner in the restaurant was good — tasty food and friendly service. The set menu was $90 for two courses, but we were able to just order mains for $45 each, which was appreciated - but you have to ask.

The not-so-great bits: You’re on your own with luggage — no one helps with bags, and it’s not the easiest walk from the carpark (especially with a few sets of small stairs thrown in, maybe not super accessible, i did not see any ramps ? ). For a “luxury” stay, that was disappointing. Reception was empty when we arrived, and while staff walked past and smiled, no one stopped to help. Maybe just bad timing, but still not ideal.

The room was fine — clean and comfortable — but missing those little extras you’d expect at this price point (no cotton buds, toothbrush, shower cap, etc.), and the shower gel was empty. Small things, but they do matter when you’re paying top dollar.

The pool area looks great online but needs more love in real life. It could do with regular cleaning and upkeep through the day — there were cobwebs on chairs, dirty surfaces, and no towels available. After asking towels we waited 45 minutes and ended up grabbing a couple from a housekeeping trolley ourselves.

Outdoor seating areas in general could use a good clean; some chairs had rust, bird droppings, and just felt neglected. The rose garden was beautiful though — lights and all — but the fountain wasn’t working, which also added to the neglected feel.

Overall: It was a pleasant stay, but the value just isn’t there for the price. If rates were lower, I’d probably stay again because the location is good, staff are friendly and the setting is lovely. But for $500+ a night, there’s a lot that could be improved. It is a big property which possibly explains why some areas require more attention.

Australian hotels really need to lift their game when it comes to service and amenities — overseas (like Bali or Thailand), you just get so much more for your money. We should be doing better if we want people to choose to...

I really wanted to enjoy my stay here but just left feeling ripped off and an inconvenience when I first arrived.

Location is great and the room lovely.

Staff are a mix between super lovely & helpful /or/ flat out disgruntled / condescending. I had to hear staff complaining loudly with each other about shift covers during breakfast, another staff member having a phone job interview outside my door & a housekeeper on a smoko break having a conversation on her mobile speaker phone for an hour outside my balcony about Shift covers & her life. She could see I was sitting there hearing her whole conversation and didn’t care a jot!

Housekeeping/Cleanliness, you get the bare minimum. I had to request twice for the scum from the last guest to be cleaned out of my tub. One of the robes in my room was dirty. Had to request a restock of tp. I tried to kindly address this with staff at the time but when it keeps happening it’s very frustrating. You have a small window of opportunity for housekeeping to service your room so in my time there it was only serviced once!

Some room service trays from myself and another room stacked outside my door and left there for over 24hours and when I got back late the next day I called reception to get someone to collect them so I wouldn’t have to see decaying pork ribs out my door another day.

Was told on check in, reception is 24 hours so just call anytime. QR code for room service in the room didn’t work, I kept trying to call their reception for over an hour for help or direction. I went to the desk & waited- no one. I ended up going to the bar and asking if I could order food there. Staff weren’t sure how to do it but were kind to me and managed. They charge you $5 for each delivery to your room. The staff kept saying “you can order on your QR code!” I asked them to show me where I was going wrong and they couldn’t tell me because they hadn’t been trained on the system and just kept insisting I should be able to do it. It wasn’t until I saw the bar staff using 1 of 2 QR codes I discovered the wrong one had been placed in my room (which was the hotel information only QR code). Everyone just assumed I was in the wrong and didn’t actually try to help me rectify the problem.

When it was delivered it was wrong- tried calling reception again for another 15 mins to ask them to rectify this again and was given attitude, and ended up going back to the bar to get them to fix this myself again.

This was all in my first couple of days and it just ended up leaving a really bad taste in my mouth and just wanted to leave by the end of my time there. Although the staff that took the time to help me were really kind, the rest of my experience left me really disappointed. For the money I spent I expected higher...

Well, I booked this for my husband and myself, and my girlfriend and her friend booked a second room with Luxury Escapes. It was a very good deal with a lot of inclusions, but I was a little worried about some of the reviews… now I don’t know who it is that keeps writing all these rotten reviews about places that I go to ,but I always find them fabulous ,and this is no exception. |The place itself is stunning, especially coming from the main road, it’s much larger than I thought .. and perfectly positioned to enjoy a magnificent sunset over the lake down the bottom of the property, and also to enjoy a beautiful sun rise in the morning. It’s beautifully maintained, even though it’s old- it’s just gorgeous. Communication from the hotel was excellent. I got a number of emails just checking in with us that we were arriving, and what to expect when you got here etc. Etc…. What I didn’t expect ,was to be upgraded to the manor suite in the Manor house.! I don’t think I’ve ever been upgraded before, so I thank this hotel very much- because it’s absolutely beautiful and spacious.. |It seems to be a very popular place for workplace conferences. The people in the room next to us were part of one of these and they responded at how beautiful it was, and how lovely their rooms were. .. my friends felt the same way. |Now this place has the most amazing indoor warm pool., with plenty of seating around and hanging basket chairs, and also a hot bubbling spa pool in the corner.. there’s a gym in the next building, I look at those but I never go in, 😂. There is a bar that serves food as well as drinks., and a restaurant, and other rooms for different things, there are patios with chairs everywhere… perfect for that place to sit and watch the sunset with a glass of wine. There’s also a tennis court and some other sporting facilities. A number of pools full of ducks and water features… There’s also a pig in a stable that I believe gets fed all the scraps from the restaurant.. they have their own vegetable garden. The grounds are immaculate.. the staff, every single one of them, are so friendly and nice that I look forward to coming back. | again.||The only thing that I would point out is the bath in the manor suite has obviously been painted over and it needs resealing again because the paint is starting to come off but that is nothing that would stop me from booking again … I don’t they have beautiful amenities, and...