Grand View Hotel

We came for lunch after seeing the online reviews, with three of us ordering food. It took 40 minutes to arrive, which would have been fine if it had been fresh. Instead, it was inedible. The frozen fish tasted off and undercooked, and my father couldn’t eat it. The pumpkin soup tasted like microwaved Campbells with some coriander added. The burger had the texture of compressed sawdust. The only decent item was the side salad, but it had no dressing. We paid $80 in total for a woeful meal. The pub looks lovely and has a great atmosphere, so I was shocked the food seemed to have all been microwaved. Don’t eat here.

We booked room 8 through booking.com about a week ahead for one night on Saturday 14 February, hoping for a lovely Valentine’s weekend away together. It was the only room available, and we thought we were lucky, but it turned out to be the opposite. After a 2.5-hour drive, we arrived at 3:30pm, an hour and a half after the 2pm check-in time. One young man was handling drinks, service and reception. He told us our room key had been misplaced and that “the cleaner may have it.” We waited at reception while he searched, and watched him get more flustered. After about ten minutes, he asked, “Are you guys looking to go up to the room now?” Yes, we’d paid $230 and were already past check-in. He said the room was unlocked and we could go in, but without the key the door couldn’t be locked. We had dinner reservations and planned to leave at 5pm, so couldn’t leave our valuables unsecured in an unlocked room opposite the shared bathroom facilities. His casual answer was that he’d find the key by 5pm. I want to know how this happened and how long they’d known before check-in. I suspect the key had been missing well before we arrived. We felt unsafe and couldn’t be sure the room or our valuables would be secure, so we cancelled and still had to pay the full booking fee. That feels extremely unfair. If they’d told us transparently before we arrived that the key was misplaced, we could have cancelled and dealt with the fee without this experience. Proper checks to account for all room keys before guests arrive would have prevented this. Instead, it seemed no one noticed until we were standing at reception. On our way out, the young man was in the hallway talking to someone else and said over his shoulder he was “still trying to find the key.” I wish clearer communication and better practices had prevented this, and hope it doesn’t happen to other guests.

I’d been anxious about the changes since the sale, but Trevor, the new owner, went to a lot of trouble to accommodate our group of 14 for Christmas lunch at the Grand View Hotel today. We all had the best experience we could have had at any pub or restaurant in the Blue Mountains. The food, service and room were all great. I highly recommend ref Grand View Hotel, and wish Trevor and the staff all the best for the future.

This was a really nice place to stay, within walking distance of the train, shops and the start of the Grand Cliff Top Walk. The staff were super friendly and happy to help. They kindly kept my bags for me while I explored after check-out. Wentworth falls is definitely the nicer side of the blue mountains when you’re starting your hike.