Lakes Hotel

We had the best time at our friends’ wedding a couple of weeks ago. The food and service were magnificent, and the wedding function staff, especially the function manager, created a dreamy experience for everyone. Thanks for the wonderful memories. It was a 10 out of 10 for us, not just five stars ✨️

The stir fry we both ordered was nice, though nothing special. The bar was so loud, with the music on top of the crowd noise, that I wouldn’t go back, especially for Valentine’s Day. We would have ordered dessert and another drink, but never got the chance. We’d gone out for dinner on Valentine’s Day, but were told there were no tables available and to wait in the bar until someone let us know. There were tables, and I don’t know why we couldn’t have one. Nobody came to seat us in the dining area, so we stayed at the bar. The bar attendant was playing with her hair and then serving drinks. What happened to good service and hygiene standards? Going out is expensive enough, so I’ll spend my money elsewhere.

The staff were lovely, and the other vegetables were good. We both had the roast, and the meat was great, but the broccoli, cauliflower and pumpkin were too firm. The pork crackling is usually really good, though today it wasn't. There was far too much pepper on the vegetables.

Our first stay over the Christmas break was reasonably priced and went well, so we booked again for the trip back west. The second stay cost $385 a night, double the first rate. We were happy to pay because breakfast was included and we’d enjoyed our first visit. They had a wedding on and the place was busy, which wasn't a problem. The trouble started in the room. The corridor smelled of smoke, and our room was worse. I have a one-year-old and a two-year-old with me. We opened the doors and turned on the air conditioning for ten minutes, but the smell didn’t clear. I asked whether something was wrong and if we could move. They gave us another room, but it was filthy: bandaids on the ceiling, used coffee on the cutlery, toothpaste in the bottoms of the cups, and dirty floors. The bathroom door and blinds didn’t work. We just wanted to leave in the morning. When I returned the key, I spoke to a manager who said someone would contact me, but nobody has. He also seemed to know people were smoking inside and gave me the impression that it was acceptable. For what we paid on the second stay, I’d rather have stayed somewhere else.