The Sebel Creswick Forest Resort

I have stayed here several times over the years and we always enjoy our stay. This time we were joined by by son and partner. We were in Villa 10 which is closest to the main road but the noise from vehicles passing wasnt too bad and didnt disturb my sleep. They are two bedroom apartments with each having an ensuite and a bath in the room. Great to lie in the bath and watch tv. The villa has two and a half bathrooms, a full kitchen and a washer and dryer so self contained and very suitable for long stays. On the same property the RACV Goldfields is located where there is a bar/restaurant as well as a fine dining restaurant a short walk away. Internet was a real problem last time for us and whilst the internet worked better it constantly dropped out and required logging back in. This resort is a great base to visit nearby towns such as Ballarat, Clunes, Trentham, and Daylesford. Creswick town is small andhas two pubs. Our favourite place for dinner is Odessa at Leaver Hotel which is a restored gold rush building turned into a wine bar and restaurant. They serve mainly Thai food and local wines and beer. On Saturday nights they have a band playing. Any groceries required can be purchased at the local IGA which has expanded in the last few years and has a great range of groceries available including ready meals. No doubt we will be back again.

We stayed at the Sebel Creswick Forest resort in early September 2021 and it has to have been one of the most relaxing resorts we've ever stayed in. The villa was well presented, although the cleaning could have been better. Facilities in the villa such as bathtubs in each bedroom were very appealing and relaxing. Will definitely be heading back there very soon.

We have stayed here for 2 nights in the winter school holidays for the last 3 years. We are very disappointed to find the price has gone up almost $300 for two nights accomodation since our stay last year. We have loved our stays and had made it a yearly tradition but will not be paying almost $700 for two nights stay when we only paid $400 12 months ago. I understand that Covid19 has been tough on businesses however this price rise is excessive and unaffortable for many families. This accomodation does not have the facilities or the quality furniture and amenities to warrant such an excessive price.

We have just returned from a week at the Sebel Creswick Forest Resort and could not be happier. It is really nicely situated 30 minutes walk out of town on the Ballarat Road right beside the Goldfields RACV Resort. Two bedrooms and two bathrooms made it perfect for us as we had a couple of friends stay three nights. Each bathroom has a big stand alone bath which got a lot of use, very nice . Great kitchen and lounge area with all the cooking utensils you need. Every thing in the kitchen worked fine . TVs in each bedroom and in the lounge, also a laundry, there was room for two cars in the driveway, there was also a car park at the end of the units. Both bedrooms had balconies and the living area had a nice outside verandah type area where it is nice to sit and watch the ducks on the pond a few yards away, the ducks and lovely little blue wrens were always looking for food . Booking in was very simple, we had a phone call from Sebel Melbourne the day before our arrival to let us know the unit key was in a locked key box near the front door, we were given the code and it worked perfectly, there was a second key inside on the kitchen bench for us . When we left we just left the key back in the box and locked it , can’t be any simpler than that , a good system. The unit was very clean, plenty of towels and bathroom amenities. It was a great place to use as a base and visit many other towns in the area. Being next door to the RACV CLUB was very nice, there is a great golf course there with lots of walking tracks which I used most mornings and evenings, there are hundreds of Kangaroos who obviously call the golf course home, they don’t worry anyone and are very used to being in close proximity to humans, a different experience. The only thing that was a bit annoying was that every time we went to use the wifi we had to go through all the checking in each time , apart from that it worked ok . The bedrooms and bathrooms are upstairs so keep that in mind if stairs are a problem.

I have stayed this property several times now, and its spacious in a good location and modern. I will start with the negatives: WIFI- Its useless and I can only get it to work if it all for a few minutes at a time. I ended up just using lots of my own personal data. Its really unacceptable that any accomodation provider does not provide reliable wifi. When I reported this I was told its a Telstra issue and not a property issue. Funny that as my phone is Telstra and I had no issues. Following my stay at Sebel I stayed at the RACV Creswick and the wifi was brilliant and fast. There is also a mobile tower on the property??? Really no excuse. PAY TV - In my last review a few years ago I mentioned a lack of pay tv not being acceptable and the response was that it was being reviewed. Still no pay tv. CLEANLINESS - The property is let down by some of the cleanliness. e.g. bathroom skylight was extremely dirty and there were lots of cobwebs. Now to move on to the positives. Its a spacious 2 bedroom apartment with 2.5 bathrooms (2 baths) with a laundry and a kitchen where one can self cater. Utensils are basic but quite workable. Its a great base for drives to explore Ballarat, Clunes, Trentham and Daylesford. Ballarat has some lovely restaurants like Meigas (Spanish) and Moon and Mountain (Asian Fusion) Some trendy bars/wine bars to visit in Ballarat are Aunty Jacks, Hop Temple and the lovely Mitchel and Harris Wine Bar. As its located on the same grounds as the RACV Resort you can walk up to the bar and the restaurant there. Lovely bar area with great views towards the forest and golf course. When we visited there was a $5 happy hour between 4 - 6pm. They also had various cuisine food trucks during our stay instead of bar food. Overall a good stay but improvements required to get a 5 star rating.