Peppers Cradle Mountain Lodge

2 adults and 2 kids staying in a 2 bedroom cabin for 3 nights. Easy, informative check in process out-lining the dining, walks and hotel features. Short drive around to cabin with designated parking. On site free laundry facilities. The lodge was kind enough to have a microwave brought to our room upon request. There is a fridge, sink, plates, bowels and cutlery in the mini kitchenette. Complimentary water bottles each day. Room was large and cozy. NB no TV or wifi. We didn't mind this as it was refreshing to have screen free days. Free guided short walk on our first night by Paul the Ranger. Excellent tour, very knowledgable and had a real passion for the area. Location was excellent - multiple walks within a 5 minute walk of the lodge, and a Cradle Mountain bust stop 7 mins walk away (for entrance into the park). Full buffet breakfast included. You have to book a time on arrival so its not very busy. Yes the bistro got busy at peak times with a long line for ordering and queues. We anticipated this by going early at 5:30pm and had very little issue. If you don't want queues just don't go at peak time!!!! Adam working in the bistro got us seated on the first night despite running around attending every table, super hard worker. Made a booking for the Highland fine-dining on our second night which was a nice break from the standard restaurant fare. Walking around the grounds you see so many animals: wombats, wallabys, pademelons and even a tiger snake. Overall the experience was nothing like the bad reviews and I would not hesitate for a second to stay here again. The only addition I would love to see is some form of complimentary evening drink in their lovely seating area by the fire.

We stayed three nights and could not fault the service and the food in the tavern and the Highland restaurant as they were respectively terrific at their price points / markets. The cabin was light, clean, spacious and had a great outlook and aspect. The location is unbeatable as we did multiple walks near the lodge and inside the National Park. I cannot believe how harsh other reviews have been on this place, I guess some people need a reality check as life is not always about just you and your bespoke needs. Of course nothing is perfect but the staff here are extremely dedicated and the location is more remote which surely has to be taken into account when posting a review. Great places in Australia and overseas are now generally pretty expensive full stop and I do not see this place as at all out of step with this.

Trip Advisor is a wonderful institution and I failed miserably in checking out this location before making a booking. I could have saved myself grief and money, but too late now. Read all the other reviews recently and you will see exactly what is going wrong. In a simple sentence - they have a captive audience and believe that they can charge sky high prices for basic merchandise/services. Examples: - the ‘No book’ restaurant was filled with screaming children and a long queue of 20+ people before you could order food. We were then told that all meat (beef, chicken) and most of the main items were off the menu. We were placed in a queue with other customers who had walked in off the street (not Peppers clients) and even though we had paid c A$600 per night, we were not given any priority - the main restaurant was booked solid and so customers turning up couldn’t even use the hotel’s main restaurant. We managed to sneak a cancellation and paid $80 for two courses of basic pre-formed/prepared meals. Tasteless and utterly overpriced. - the screens constantly played videos showing luxury and cocktails being made by smiling bartenders. The reality was that we were told that cocktails couldn’t be made because they were too busy. Luxury promised - basic delivered. All the spa treatments were booked up so that when we tried to book something upon check in, we were told ‘no go’ - the staff were trying to be helpful but clearly the senior management do not have a clue. The principle is clear ….you have a captive audience, charge them as much as you like and don’t worry if they leave unhappy. Forget about getting the basics right .. see my photo of the dead flies in the reception area that greeted us on our arrival and were still there when we left. The only redeeming feature was the location and this is the issue. Cradle Mountain is a marvellous destination. Just choose somewhere else to stay and read your Trip Advisor reviews first!

If you are choosing to stay here for a 5 star hotel experience, then you could be disappointed. As some of the other travellers have mentioned, the lodge is a little rundown and could do with an upgrade. But if you are choosing to stay here to be at one with nature, be close to a world heritage listed national park, have wombats and wallabies literally at your doorstep, then this is the place for you. We stayed purely to get up close and personal with wombats both at the lodge and in the national park after hours when private vehicles can enter (small cars only - no caravans or campervans/motor homes) and we were not disappointed. Between the wombats seen around the lodge it’s and the ones in the national park, we counted 27 on one afternoon alone. We were also privileged to see a mother with a Joey still in its pouch at Ronny Creek. We also do the walk from Ronny creek to Dove Lake and had two echidnas join us at various points of the walk. In terms of food, we only ate at the tavern and yes it’s busy specifically between 6 and 7.30 when meals took about an hour, but it’s also peak hiking season, so we expected it to be busy. If you came a little later, meals only took 20 minutes. They were good quality pub style food, probably the best chicken schnitzel I’ve eaten in a long time to be honest. We only made breakfast one morning out of our three night stay, but the provisions were plentiful, tasty and hot. Tips for management: possibly have more staff rostered on at check in time as we did wait a long time, as well as in the tavern at dinner time. Some renovations wouldn’t go astray as well. Tips for travellers: book well in advance, make sure you get a room with a balcony. Take some supplies with you, the small shop they do have is limited and somewhat expensive. If you really can’t live without the internet, then take your own portable wifi which we did. Make sure you access the national park after the buses have finished for the day to experience the wilderness without so many people and you will have the best chance at getting up close and personal with nature.

Over priced and very average. The rooms are bland and nothing special. The restaurant that you didn't need to book, on our first night, was like a war zone. Eight items were sold out and the queues were very long and the place was a mess. It was like a cheap pub on a bank holiday. The next night we tried to get predinner drinks and the queue at the bar/restaurant was 20 deep. The bar is open to residents and non residents alike. Paying $600 a night for the privilege of queuing for 25 minutes with Joe Public to get a drink was not my idea of a luxury lodge. Eating in there was like entering a fray. The next night we tried to get predinner drinks from the bar in the restaurant you need to book for. We had a booking for 7pm. They wanted us to go to the the other bar and queue rather than serve us a drink. There was no one in this restaurant so why could t they serve us a drink before we took the table at 7pm. I guess they have a captive audience with the location and exploit the fact to provide anything but a special experience. Very disappointed. It had the air of a back packers lodge.