The Sebel Bowral Heritage Park 4 étoiles

Sebel Bowral Heritage Park On arrival, the Sebel Bowral Heritage Park looked promising. Our one-bedroom unit was spacious, stylishly presented, and initially gave off a premium, self-contained apartment vibe. But unfortunately, once we settled in, the cracks began to show — literally and figuratively. While the furnishings were comfy and the bed linens crisp, the unit needed a serious deep clean. Dust in corners, dated finishes, and a very odd spike strip between the tiled kitchen and carpeted lounge — which we stepped on every single time we crossed the room. It’s as uncomfortable as it sounds. There’s no minibar, no room service, and rooms are only serviced weekly — so don’t expect hotel-level convenience. The air conditioning unit rattled through the night with a loose vent, and the control panel text was too small to read even with glasses. The TVs are old and not smart-enabled, so if you’re hoping to stream Netflix or mirror your device, forget it. The Wi-Fi speed was passable and reception suggested using our phone and laptops to stream Netflix et al. There’s a shared fitness area and pool, but they felt more aimed at residents than guests. The “gym” is more decorative than useful — think one treadmill and a couple of dusty weights. On top of that, we were invited to a 90-minute “presentation” in exchange for a bottle of wine and a meal voucher — which turned out to be a thinly-veiled timeshare pitch. $40,000 for 5,000 points a year felt more like a PONZY scheme than a holiday deal. The grounds are pretty but poorly signed — we drove past the entrance more than once — and the whole estate has a slightly confused identity, part hotel, part retirement village. We really wanted to like it, but it left us disappointed as we expect a Sebel to be either a hotel or a resort and this was neither. Unless major upgrades and clearer guest policies are put in place, we won’t be returning.

Very clean and functional apartment in a convenient location. Unfortunately, my stay was ruined by the receptionist who: 1. Charged my card for the full amount of my reservation on the day of my arrival, despite my having paid it in full upon booking the stay some 6 weeks beforehand. 2. Repeatedly denied having double charged me, offering a series of ludicrous theories as to what had happened, before checking and accepting the error. 3. Called me after the only the second night of my three-night reservation to tell me that my belongings were obstructing the cleaner trying to clean the room for the next guest. 4. Failed to apologise for either error.

The property is predominantly privately owned apartments with the short stay block at the back. Reception not easily identified at the entrance but continue down the property’s road and it’s on the left. Staff welcoming and soon had us organised. Essential to ask for a ground floor room if mobility a criteria. Room spacious, well lit and quiet despite the busy road at the back. Kitchen well equipped and included a small drawer dishwasher. Heated pool is part of the residents’ facilities and needs a key available from reception. No robes in room to walk to and from pool but pool towels are provided. Adjacent to pool is a gym. A checking out request was to put all rubbish in the bins near the carpark. Whilst emptied that morning, bin cleaning would make the task easier.

We were a family of five in the area for a wedding and had two rooms. We were impressed by the room size and the clean kitchen and kitchen amenities. We did have some issues with the booking which we did through Accor. We were called by the property a few days before about an aspect of the booking and it turned out that they had only one room booked even though we had a confirmation email. They said that there had been a few issues with the booking system. It would have been pretty poor if we had arrived and been told that there was only one room -- fortunately that was all sorted. We are Accor Plus members and there was no mention of an upgrade -- if the place was full, that is no problem but again it didn't seem to be part of the booking that the place had? It may be that the property is still in the process of transfer from Wyndham to Accor? Anyway, if the communication between booking systems is sorted, we would be happy to return -- the rooms were comfortable and reception was friendly.

A quick overnight stay. I used points so it didn't cost. The location is a bit odd, tucked away amonbst some industrial areas. It was very comfortable for 3 with a roll out bed and had every thing we needed to make breakfast. It does have ridge, dishwasher, stove, microwave toaster etc. We were a latee arivall and keeys were left as per arrangement and access descriptions were perfect