Spice of India Restaurant — Restaurant in Victoria

We stayed in the 'hotel' room in the big house at the Daylesford Inn, in the floor above where the reception and restaurant are located. The Daylesford Inn was one of the few places I could find that was willing to take a booking for a single night and we paid $120 for a double room.||||First the good things:||||- Excellent heating and hot water, once we'd arrived and turned the heater on. I did wonder if they couldn't have turned the heater on before we checked in, given that I had booked in advance. That would have been nice, but maybe they were saving on carbon emissions, so I won't complain.||||- The hosts were friendly.||||- There was a restaurant in the main house, though nothing on the menu took our fancy.||||- They were willing to accept a one night booking.||||- The room was clean and there were plenty of towels.||||Now the things that surprised us:||||- The other rooms on our floor had been hired out as a day spa/massage facility so we had people moving about the floor doing massages until about 5pm.||||- The shower was above the spa bath and had a couple of high and awkward steps to get in and out of. If you had any kind of mobility issues at all, even minor ones, getting in and out of the spa/shower would be impossible.||||- There were no toiletries. I had to ask for soap.||||- There was an ash tray on the emergency exit stairs that was overflowing with butts. This was no big deal, but is an example of little things that could be done differently to make the place seem a bit more cared for.||||- The bed was saggy and the room decor tired. It was the kind of bed where you either flail around in the saggy bit in the middle or stay on the edges where it's a bit firmer. Not ideal if you are on a romantic getaway.||||It wasn't a terrible stay but it wasn't great and we'd pick different...

We'd been here a couple of times before as we have a house in the area, and had had great experiences. After the 4 of us, 2 groups of 4 and another couple arrived, and the restaurant was fairly full by then. It took about 20 min for the waitress to arrive and take our drinks and main meal orders. After about 40 min, we noticed some of the other guests receiving their entrees. We thought it was fair enough they receive their entrees first, even though they arrived and ordered after we did. However, when, another 30 min later, we saw these guests then receiving their main meals, we decided to approach the main counter to ask how long our meals would be. I was told another 10 minutes. Without my prompting, they said the reason that the other guests were served before us was that they had ordered entrees, and we hadn't. I still don't understand this logic. This whole time, no one had let us know why there was a delay in our order, or even to see if we wanted another drink. We waited another 20 min before our meals were served. Staff were then apologetic, and offered us complimentary deserts. However, after having to wait again for anyone to clear the table and take desert orders, we decided to pay and leave. It was simply too long for my elderly parents to wait longer. Unfortunately, the 10% discount won't be enough to entice us back – which is a shame because the food is great. I understand that sometimes venues are short staffed and wait times can be longer the normal, but having to wait 90 minutes, with no notification, and then being told that other guests were served before us because they ordered an entrée and we didn't, just doesn't make sense. I note there are other reviews here that similarly describe excessively...

I think we must have been in the same room as one of the previous reviewers. Fuses blew as soon as the kettle and micro were turned on simultaneously, no toiletries provided, and I kid you not, my wife had to clean the toilet and sink as it obviously hadn't been done in ten years. No sheets pillowcases or doona covers were provided and the other "chalets" (tiny cheap units) were full of local homeless families (this is admirably community spirited of the owners but the rusting jalopies in the driveways lower the tone somewhat). ||All in all, the only truly redeeming feature (besides the owners' altruism and the free vagina cream left in the top drawer by the previous occupant) was their friendliness and unfailing silk purse from sow's ear enthusiasm for their facilities- however misguided it was, I actually found myself agreeing with Paul that our sub standard accommodation (which at $280 per night was not quite up to the standard of say, the Westin or the Hilton, where I can spend the night for a similar amount) was in fact the palatial 4 star luxury he believed it to be. Oh, and the hot water was brilliant- immediate and inexhaustible, as was the heating (although in one room only).||A couple of tips for improvement: ||||Clean the toilet. This isn't the guests' job.||||Sheets, doona covers and pillowcases are generally provided in 4 star accommodation.||||As are toiletries.||||Remove the previous occupant's vagina cream (if she's left it behind she's probably cured- its maybe best not to ring her and mention it).||||Thanks...! Andy...