Novotel Swan Valley Vines Resort

We checked in on tuesday the 13th (was this a bad omen ?) for two nights leaving on the 15/9/22. The Vines opened in 1987 it is looking tired and run down in places especially some of the external area's. We booked a King room originally but upgraded when we arrived to a Executive room the room itself was tidy enough and looked as if it may have been updated some time in the last 5 years or so. In the middle of the room was a coffee table which we had to clean, it was very dirty with bits of cleaning cloth stuck to it, and looked like it had been wiped down with an oily rag ! I asked the cleaning staff for a cloth and some cleaning fluid which they gave me (with no offer to come and clean it) The lady at the reception was very good but she did get one thing wrong im sorry to say, we asked which room was better for a view and she reccomended room 154 as an Executive room with a view, unfortunatlely the room had a view of a wall and a hedge with a small break in it with a Grass tree in it. I think she got confused with the room directly above it which had a balcony not a court yard was the room with the view.... we decided we would live with this. The room had a smart tv in both the bedroom and the living area, on the tv were options for Foxtel, stan etc., etc., we tried to connect but couldnt. There was no in room information sheet on how to connect to any of the services and the TV guide on the hotel did not give any information either. I enquired with reception and was told that the only way was to use your own personal subscription and passwords from home !!! Firstly who walks about with their Foxtel passwords and subscription info available in case they need it ? basically you can watch the local channels 7, 9 and 10 etc., etc., and nothing else unless you use your own subscription. All other facilities Muscats restaurant and the Muscats bar were closed and do not open for most of the week except for breakfast. The bar only opened on Friday and Saturday ! There was only one place to eat in the hotel which was the The Vines cafe & bar which a pseudonym for a public bar ! where a parmy meal or fish and chips were the norm. We were very disapointed in this place and the website portrays a different picture. We paid $420.00 dollars a night ! which i believe is a rate for when everything is functioning !, it certainly could not be the rate as it stands as a semi ghost town. I notice on Trip advisor that there are similar reviews to this one, and there appears to be a standard answer..... ÿour comments have been noted and passed on to management" .... the same sort of comments have been going on here on trip advisor since 2017 and it appears that nothing is ever corrected and looks like management lip service. Most companies will stretch out correcting issues if its going to cost them money ! i have personal experience with global companies in this area and in this instance Novotel (accor) should hang their heads in shame, it is a disgrace. My advice to you is "buyer beware"

Dinner at the Cafe and watched the footy Loved the freedom to do so

We lost food in the fridge, the buffet was extremely busy and food was average, we also spotted a mouse in the room. It was difficult to cart out stuff to our room as we were their for a wedding.

We stayed the weekend for a family wedding. Room was lovely. Staff very busy so sometimes came across a little brisk . The reception venue was perfect, however the food was very poor (I won’t tell the bride and groom that) . Breakfast in the restaurant on Saturday was great but the Sunday was absolute chaos. We arrived at 8.30 to be told by the girl on the desk “we are full. If you can’t find a table in the bar then you won’t be able to have breakfast “ . Wow! I explained it was actually part of our package we purchased and would endeavour to find a spot to sit. No cutlery, no salt and pepper, no napkins, no juice, none of anything really. Having said that one lovely waitress ordered and another delivered poached eggs to me in the bar and my coffee was made to perfection. Also had two lovely ladies behind the bar during the wedding canapés who made ordering cocktails in a long line a delight. Overall thanks for a lovely week 🙂

Family friendly resort with the relaxing atmosphere for adults to enjoy.