Lakes & Ocean Hotel — Restaurant in Forster

UPDATE: I CONTACTED THE HOTEL ON 13/02/22 AT 3.52pm, SPOKE WITH THE MANAGER DEREK. HE WAS NICE AND EXPLAINED THAT THERE WOULDN'T BE AN ISSUE IN GETTING A REFUND AS I BOOKED VIA QANTAS HOTEL AND OFFERING US A COMPLEMENTARY NIGHT NEXT TIME. I WILL UPDATE THIS REVIEW ONCE I RECEIVED A FULL REFUND AND THE COMPLEMENTARY NIGHT THAT I WAS PROMISED TO GET.

12/02/2022 - I wish I could give a good rating about this hotel but I just couldn't. The booking confirmation email from the hotel stated that the check in time for Saturday is until midnight or 12am and it is stated on the website too and hence why we choose this place as we were driving all the way from Brisbane to Sydney and need a place to rest in between and also got to enjoy the surroundings area. Arrived there at 11.15pm only to found out that the entire hotel has closed and front door is locked and dark already. We were shocked and disappointed as we just had a long drive and exhausted already plus we have our baby with us too so it's not an easy journey to get to Forster! I emailed the hotel at 11.17pm, called them couple of times and even took a video as a proof. Went to police station that's located across the hotel, but they couldn't do much as they don't have the owner's or an alternate phone number (it's a small town so we thought people knowing each other especially it's just located across the road).

This is very unprofessional, we had a reservation and in email it's stated clearly that check in time is until 12am on Friday and Saturday, but why the hotel decided to close early and didn't even bother to checking up on us before they close? Refund only won't be enough, we want a...

So we ordered the fish and chips (very good) corn ribs (also good) calamari (tasted ok but looked anaemic (see picture) and two Thai beef salads (no picture as we returned and …..). The Thai Beef salads were awful. The steak was over cooked and stewed, very gristly ( had to politely spit it into a napkin it was so bad) and the salad was limp and oily. It consisted of rocket and very soggy pickled carrot, Spanish onion and bean sprouts. We took it to the chef who said what’s wrong with it we said ‘the steak is overcooked and gristly and the salad is just oily’ he responded in a patronising tone, ‘ the dressing has oil in it’ to which I responded of course it does, but it should zing with lime and have sesame oil, salty and sweet’ No response. No offer of a different meal ( it was $26 a serve). So we walked away. I also paid $26 for a casamigos blanco tequila and squash. Ok if I was in Sydney maybe and at $72 a bottle retail not sure how you justify the price at lunchtime in an almost empty pub. The other positives were the delightful lady taking the food orders in the bistro was very friendly and professional as was the young man in the bar. Food however - Very...

Very disappointed. My 20 year old daughter took her 19 and 17 year old cousins there for lunch. After ordering a meal and buying 3 cokes they were told by a powerhungry bar tender that they had to leave as one person was under 18. None of the girls were near the bar except to purchase a soft drink and then it wasn’t the 17 year old. . They were happy to sit in the restaurant or on the outside verandah but were not allowed as they weren’t deemed responsible. They had to have someone over 25. The restaurant staff were quite happy to allow them to eat it was just one bar tender that was making it into an issue. To top it off they still had to pay for their drinks and food. Were forced to eat it in the car as it was raining without any cutlery. None of the girls were acting out. All three are very quiet. If this is the law (which from what I have researched it isn’t)they should have been given a refund on their food and drinks and spoken to in a far more professional manner. A person should be deemed responsible on their actions not their age. Very annoyed that one persons action can spoil what...