The Sebel Yarrawonga Silverwoods

Stayed for Saturday and Sunday night recently. My partner and I stayed in a 1 bedroom lake view room. The room was nice, pretty clean. Nice balcony and nice sized room. Bed was very comfy, will take my own pillow next time. Ceiling fan in the bedroom was my favourite. Pool area was nice, although our bar tender must have been new, as a few of our drinks weren’t made properly (mojito made with dark rum for example) and took a while to come. We had breakfast both mornings in the establishment. The food was absolutely fantastic, could not fault it (I am a chef by trade and have worked in hospitality for 16yr). Only issue we had was our server (Meg) got a few of the orders wrong, and seemed to have quite the attitude about it. I could only assume that it was super understaffed, and it really did show. We had to get our own water for the table multiple times, we had 2 salt shakers on the table which were empty, so we grabbed 1 from another table which was also empty. We dealt with Laura and Nat a few times and they were absolutely fantastic. Even though things were going wrong with the orders, they were so great about it. For dinner we were served by Meg again and wasn’t a good attitude again. Maybe she was very tired/overworked. At $400/night for accommodation, we expected a whole lot more. If you haven’t got enough staff, don’t let the extra rooms be booked. Poor management. Even though we had poor customer service, it is a very nice establishment and we will be back (in the hopes that it improves next time). Also want to add that Sebu (Fijian man near the entry) was so great!! So lovely and only too willing to help you out.

What a beautiful place to stay. Room was lovely, staff were nice and the pool was unbelievable. If only we could have stayed longer. Well worth the money. Only negative was the distance you had to park from the rooms. Having to drag your luggage a fair way in the heat was not ideal.

Great hotel from an accomodation point of view. Very nice facilities and beautiful spot. Just go somewhere else for dinner. Terrible service, pretty ordinary food, steak was dry, pizza under cooked, wait time was long and it was not busy. You could get better at a lot of pubs.

The Sebel was very expensive and Sydney and Melbourne equal or cheaper - we expected superior service. The restaurant was a horrible experience. We arrived from overseas, checked in and went to have dinner. There were maybe three couples in the entire restaurant, and we were asked if we had reservations. Six waiter/watresses were waiting around and it took 1/2 hour to order. No specials, no how are you, and only a sassy remark when we asked what dish did she mean by "mains" - that was not a familiar word for foreigners. Then an hour later came our food. No water, nobody even once asked if everything was alright, or did we need anything else. Terrible, terrible experience. No one else came into the dining hall that night despite their demand for a reservation. When we went for breakfast we had the exact same experience, so we never went back again. The waiting staff need some very, very serious training in being polite, courteous, friendly, helpful and serving people that pay top dollar for a place to stay and eat. It was the most expensive and the most disappointing experience of our entire 6 week stay in Australia. I would fire the entire wait staff and get people that are passionate about their job, friendly, helpful and willing to serve. The local cafe provides better service than the Sebel.

Absolutely loved staying at the Sebel. Our first stay here, but we have been very regular travelers to Yarrawonga/Mulwala for decades. Completely relaxing, excellent amenities. Rooms we modern and clean (little dusty). Daily housekeeping were fantastic, as were the restaurant staff. Kids enjoyed the infinity pool overlooking the lake. Our family stayed in interconnecting lake view studio rooms, comfy beds, spacious bathrooms. TVs had chrome cast so we could watch whatever we could at home. Fabulous grass area to sit and relax or for kids to play out the front try not of the rooms. Little far out to walk to town but there is no other accommodation like this in the area in terms of quality. We don’t play golf, but resort is right on the Black Bull Golf course. Kids could utilize the tennis court and basketball ring with equipment from reception which was great. Pool bar seemed a little understaffed at different times as drinks took a while (like everywhere). Pool towels ran out one day which wasnt ideal. Also pool staff need to be much stricter at allowing people to secure sun lounges / couches, etc. and disappearing for huge parts of the days. This was a big issue that seemingly went ignored by staff which made for many frustrated guests. A well published, enforced policy on this would be very helpful. Ate at the restaurant daily for breakfast and a couple of dinners and all meals were of an excellent standard. Great coffee at breakfast too. The only slight disappointment with breakfast was that if you wanted to be seated outside, you could only order from a limited menu, which meant we had to sit inside every morning. I feel like offering this flexibility to in-house guests should be considered. The lack of boat parking, considering the location and that boating is what drives many to the area, seemed an oversight. We were lucky to have alternate arrangements, but I could see this as inconvenient for others. All in all an excellent stay and an asset to the area. Have re-booked and look forward to returning.