Tyalgum hotel

It was a busy holiday Sunday, but the place seemed understaffed, and we left disappointed after paying a surcharge for food that wasn't good. My fish tacos arrived cold after an hour, and one piece of fish was missing until I pointed it out to the kitchen. My daughter's nuggets, chips and kids parmy came half an hour before my meal, and the nuggets were so bad I wouldn't feed them to my dog, let alone a child. The smoked meats, especially the beef, were dry, bark-like and overcooked.

We only wish we could have stayed longer. The rooms were clean, the staff friendly, and dinner in the dining room was outstanding. My two teenagers enjoyed the burgers enough to go back for seconds. The place has a real regional feel, and next time I'd love to be there for live music while floating in the pool.

It had a hostel sort of feel: I had my own private bedroom, but the bathrooms and shower area were shared and unisex. The rooms were small, and I would have liked somewhere to wash dishes, plus maybe a microwave in the common room.

We'd enjoyed coming here before, so riding out from Murwillumbah for dinner was a letdown. The jalapeno poppers were delicious, but both of my next choices were unavailable, even though it was only midweek. The cherry tomatoes in my salad were overripe and turning, and my husband's steak was a 2 out of 10. There were hardly any people there, yet we had to ask for a cloth to wipe down our indoor table. It's really gone downhill.