Checking in: The Sebel Kirkton Park Hunter Valley | Pokolbin, AUSTRALIA
My name’s Jennie and I’m a hoarder. You might be sitting in front of your laptop wondering what the relevance is as this is a hotel review post. Well, you see, I have a habit of collecting hotel room cards, and when I say habit, I mean an utter obsession. It’s like a race against myself to see who can collect the most (yeah, weird). So, whenever possible, we always try to squeeze in an additional hotel at each destination (even though the other travel bunnie dislikes the idea of hotel hopping).
After our quick stay at The Convent, we packed up our bags and made our way over to The Sebel Kirkton Park after lunch. Despite its central location, The Sebel is actually quite well hidden, thanks to its 70 acres of rural surroundings. Check in was very quick, and at the reception, we were told that we were their ‘guests of the day’ and received a complimentary bottle of wine. After parking our car, we walked to our suite tucked around at the very end of the main building. When I opened the door, my heart sank, I couldn’t help but question if we were in the right room. We made a reservation for The Manor Suite, but in front of my eyes was a standard sized room with a sitting area. “Isn’t there supposed to be a separate living room?”, puzzled, I asked the other travel bunnie. So we called reception regarding our assigned room and were told that our room was a deluxe room and someone would get back to us. Ten minutes later, nothing. The other travel bunnie decided to take a walk to the reception and find out what was going on. The other travel bunnie was offered no explanation as to why we were given the inferior room, but one can only assume that there was a mix up as when we moved into The Manor Suite, there was a welcome note for someone else.
Now all that aside, let’s move on and with the review.
Looking at the hotel’s exterior, it looks quite old with its creamy yellow paint and burgundy trim, but once you step inside the hotel, you are overwhelmed with a sense of sophistication and I must admit, the foyer is beautifully decorated as it could easily be on the cover of any interior decorating magazine. The hotel had a makeover recently and all the rooms are designed by renowned interior designer Greg Natale. The Manor Suite is one of three suites available at the hotel and is located in the Manor House with views over the Brokenback Ranges. With a colour palette of cobalt blue, black and a touch of gold, the spacious suite is elegant and classic. We had ample room for Minibun George to roam around without running into tables or chairs which is always something that we treasure these days. The views from the balcony were incredible, especially at sunset. Unfortunately, on our last night of stay, there was a group of families who decided to have a party in the foyer outside of our room, even though I don’t mind some Justin Bieber tunes, hearing teenagers laughing and yelling with music thumping right outside of our room wasn’t a pleasant end. We tried to call the reception but no one answered. Speaking of which, we also found the service at the hotel to be very matter-of-fact.
The hotel is really family friendly. In addition to the sizeable indoor swimming pool, basketball and tennis courts, there’s a paddock not far from the main building, which at certain times, guests can collect chicken eggs or feed little piglets. At check-out, we were given a bunch of herbs and lavender picked from the hotel’s gardens, which I thought was a wonderful gesture.
Would I stay at The Manor Suite again? Probably not. Without sounding too harsh, I felt the service and quality of the stay didn’t match up with the price that we paid. If size isn’t a key factor in your agenda, I think the Deluxe Room at the hotel will just do the trick. ♥
Bunnies’ Travel Notes
Bunnies’ Room Number: S52 – The Manor Suite
Bath products: Appelles Apothecary & Lab
Perks that we loved: complimentary wifi & the paddock
Check-in/check-out times: 2pm - 11am
Time of stay: October 2016
What we paid: $1,058 AUD for two nights
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