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STUNNING HUNTER VALLEY RESORT So close to Sydney yet truly a world away, the Hunter Valley is the birthplace of Australian wine with over 150 premium wine producers holding a very special place in the global wine industry. Oaks Cypress Lakes Resort is located in Central Pokolbin neighbored by the vineyards of Brokenwood, Tamburlaine, Pokolbin Estate, Audrey Wilkinson, Roche Estate (formerly known as Tempus Two) and Hunter Valley Gardens. The iconic 300 acre resort includes a golf & country club, two restaurants, two bars, three pools, two tennis courts and a wide variety of self-contained accommodation. The thoughtfully appointed one, two and three bedroom villas are set against a stunning backdrop of the rolling golf greens and spectacular Broken Back Mountain Range. Unique event venues, activities, team building, support services and arguably the best service delivery in the region highlight the resorts' position as New South Wales' meeting and event destination of choice.
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Oaks Cypress Lakes Resort is often lauded for its cozy atmosphere and picturesque setting near local vineyards in the heart of Hunter Valley. While the villas have been tastefully renovated, some guests feel the decor could use an update. The service receives mixed reviews, with some staff members noted for their helpfulness and others for slower response times.
Room experiences vary, with commendations for space and views but critiques on maintenance. Amenities like pools and tennis courts are popular, but some areas reportedly need better upkeep. Opinions on value and cleanliness also vary among guests.
Location
Picturesque
Atmosphere
Inviting
Rooms
Dated
Value
Mixed
Cleanliness
Mixed
Service
Inconsistent
Amenities
Satisfactory
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Embracing a picturesque location, my time at Oaks Cypress was filled with moments of wonder and delight, particularly during our enchanting dinner experience at Dinner Oak Vine. The culinary journey offered exquisite flavors and personalized attention, truly the highlight of our stay.
However, while the surroundings were enchanting, the accommodations left something to be desired. The pool area, while promising relaxation, was in need of some TLC, with debris and broken tiles marring the experience. Similarly, the jacuzzi, though inviting, could benefit from a bit of maintenance and cleaning.
Inside, the rooms lacked the fresh touch we had hoped for, with a coat of paint long overdue. The kitchen facilities, while functional, could use a bit of love and attention.
Despite these shortcomings, the warmth of the staff and the charm of the location made our stay memorable. With a few improvements, Oaks Cypress has the potential to truly shine as a haven of relaxation and indulgence.
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Review collected in partnership with Minor Hotels
Date of stay: February 2024
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We stayed in a 2-beroom villa and it was situated up the hill overlooking the bush. The rooms were clean, kitchen was properly fitted with the amenities, bathrooms were clean. However, daily room service was just providing towels and toiletries and not actually cleaning the rooms and making the beds. So if you are staying more than two nights, the place will surely needs cleaning. I prefer daily room service so it's not too messy. There was a disconnected phone in the lounge- which should be the equipment to use to dial reception, etc. instead, I had to use my mobile phone. Please remove this equipment if it is not connected. Wi-Fi is not working at all! So I suggest you remove that item from the list of services you offer in your brochure. One of the towel racks in the main bathroom is loose so that needs to be refitted. During this pandemic, please make sure that the remote controls are properly sanitised and light switches must be wiped with a decontaminant. I wiped all these just to make sure because the remote controls are the mostly held items in a hotel. The cover of throw pillows need to be washed. The view from the verandah is very pleasing with kangaroos feeding in the bush. The serene surroundings add to a nice ambiance. The breakfast buffet is a good addition because it makes life easy just to have that on site. The foyer at the reception is very spacious, the fireplace adds a good ambiance. Staff were friendly.
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Date of stay: July 2022
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Sleep Quality
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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We stayed in a two bedroom villa. Really nice cosy room. Our villa had a kitchen which we could have cooked if we felt like it. All the rooms are set in the “australian bush” so the views from the balcony are very peaceful with all the eucalyptus trees and birds flying around. We had some drinks on balcony and also had sone Magpies come and join us which was very nice. The buffet breakfast had a wide variety of food so was worth the extra cost. Some minor dislikes, the resort is huuuuuge, and because it is huge, you have to drive from your villa to the buffet, reception and pool. Due to the resort being a bit in from the highway, it is also hard to walk to anything nearby so you also have to drive to nearby restaurants and wineries. Apart from that, I would definitely stay here again.
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Date of stay: September 2023Trip type: Travelled with family
Room Tip:Best to have a car or car rental if staying here
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Ali Ghasidian, Other at Oaks Cypress Lakes Resort
Responded 14 Oct 2023
Dear Aaron, Thank you for sharing your feedback about your recent stay in one of our two-bedroom villas. We are delighted to hear that you had an enjoyable experience and that you found your room cozy and well-equipped. Your description of your cozy two-bedroom villa with a kitchen, nestled within the serene "Australian bush," perfectly captures the peaceful ambiance we aim to provide for our guests. We are delighted that you had the chance to relax on your balcony and appreciate the natural beauty. We are grateful for your kind words and are thrilled to know that you would consider staying with us again. We look forward to the opportunity to host you in the future. Thank you for choosing our resort for your recent visit, and we cannot wait to welcome you back. Warm regards, Ali Ghasidian Hotel Manager
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Had an amazing time soaking up the tranquility of the area. Enjoyed the 5min walk from my room to the main facilities and the staff were all super friendly and couldn't be more helpful. Absolutely loved the dining experience at Oaks & Vine - the food was sensational!
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Review collected in partnership with Minor Hotels
Date of stay: March 2023
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
I booked this place for a friend and I to have a girls night away thinking it would provide us with a bit of pampering and relaxation in a nice setting. Well all I can say is that what was sold to me on their website was not what we got. The setting is nice but as far as the accomodation is concerned it left a lot to be desired. As soon as we entered the 2 bed villa it became apparent that we had entered time share hell. The main living spaces were decorated in basic, but functional decor. There was an ancient gas heater in the living area that we did not dare try and turn on for fear it would blow up, and the presence of a large split system told us that the gas burner was purely for show. The kitchen was sparsely appointed with the very basic of needs, not even milk sachets were provided with the limited tea and coffee options, and in the cupboards we found dirty mugs! The Wifi was basically non existent as it barely connected, and when it did, it dropped back out almost immediately. Reception informed us that we needed a dongle which they could provide but were expecting us to drive back up to reception to pick up. A couple of phone calls later and they had agreed to send someone to our room with the item, and it was at that point that we were informed that the room would be charged $300 as bond for the dongle! Upstairs the bedrooms were even worse. My room contained a live cockroach, and a slat was missing from the wooden shutters on the windows which would have let the light in had my friend not thought to throw a towel across the shutter to block it out. There were no robes or slippers provided, something I would have thought a resort should provide. In the bathroom I found cobwebs above the window, and the shower floor grout was black. There were two very basic hairdryers provided, one of which did not work, the other worked only for a couple of minutes before I noticed a burning smell and it stopped working. As far as the ammenities were concerned the day spa was fully booked so we did not get a treatment there. Upon check in we were also informed that the main restaurant was not open due to the floors being done, something which was not communicated to me upon booking! This left only the tired looking breakfast/bistro room, think peeling leather chairs and dated 90s decor, which informed us at dinner time that part of the menu was not available. The food was average at best pub grub, and breakfast was a buffet of the basic staples, cereals in sachets, cut up fruit, less than fresh looking pastries, some hot food. The only highlight was getting to eat on the back terrace which over looked the lake, as well as a barista coffee that did not come as part of the breakfast package and had to be paid for separately. I'm not sure who this place is trying to cater for but unlike what it portrays on their website, it is not a resort in the real sense of the word, more like a time share situation. I definitely will not be booking there again!
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Date of stay: March 2024
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Location
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Trip type: Travelled with friends
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Jason Morrow, Other at Oaks Cypress Lakes Resort
Responded 29 Apr 2024
Hi Thank you for taking the time to review Cypress Lakes. We sincerely apologize that your stay with us got off to a bad start and we haven’t met your expectations in a number of areas. This is most definitely not exemplary of a stay at Oaks Cypress Lakes Resort. It is disappointing to read that we were not able to meet the high standard that we have set for ourselves to make our guest’s holiday a memorable one. Also, we are very sorry that on some occasions during your stay you experienced a service that was below our standards especially with the areas of issue in the villa and the F&B outlets. You may rest assured that we continuously introduce corrective and preventative measures through our extensive and on-going training programmes based on our guests’ feedback. We will use your feedback as a training tool and use the incidents you have highlighted to ensure we continuously improve our guest experiences. With the correct support I am confident that the shortfalls you experienced on this occasion will not be repeated in future. I do hope that you will join us for another stay and experience the service offering that you expected when choosing Oaks Cypress Lakes Resort. Kind regards, Cypress Lakes Management
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It’s old, it’s tired and it’s dirty and to make matters worse, no one cares. You’re met at reception with staff trying to talk you out of room service in exchange for a $10 bar tab. Stay 5 days and you quickly understand why, one day you get room service the next they don’t turn up, they deliver fresh towels one day and none the next, make the bed then don’t do it. After a week there I have no idea what room service is. The room is dirty, there was a hole in the wall about fist size that had been plastered up but not painted, the grout in the shower was all black, door handles replace with smaller one and the marks from the older still there and the cabinet the TV is in is all wrong and blocked the remote working.
In the main building area the pebble concrete is black with lichen that needed pressure cleaning years ago and if you look up when it’s raining the gutters have rusted holes through them from not being cleaned and water pours out into the main entrance.
The food, oh I wish Gordon Ramsay would drop by. When they don’t offer a half-n-half pizza you know it’s coming from a packet and what arrives is a gluggy mess under cooked dripping with oily supermarket cheese. The food is bland and just ‘pub’ food done badly so don’t plan any romantic dinners.
The staff, oh well let’s keep going, they are young, many seem backpacker types, French and they like their own company way more than the annoying customers they look after
Great golf course, just horrible surroundings.
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Date of stay: January 2024Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Has been one of our favourite getaways for the last 25+ years. It has always been one of the most relaxing places to come to just chill out, play golf and relax by the pool HOWEVER the last two visit have been noticeable different. The facilities, food and service were woeful both times. It so rundown and in need of renovating. The choice and standard of food at the downstairs bar was substandard and they have removed any decent wines from the wine list. Turned up to breakfast to find they hadn’t cleared up the outside eating area from the night before. Staff couldn’t have cared less. That is not how it was. The buffet breakfast lacked variety. No orange juice on offer. No Bircher muesli. No choice of yoghurts. Inside looked a mess. Room didn’t get serviced despite calls. When we rang she said it wasn’t usual for rooms not to be serviced till late afternoon. Never happened. Pool area and furniture unkempt. Sad remembering how good this resort was for so long. Needs a major revamp before we’d come back again. Management needs to improve or hand over to someone who can.
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Date of stay: November 2023
Value
Location
Service
Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We spent 4 nights in a one bedroom villa booked through RCI, and were very happy with our accommodation. It was a bit of a walk from reception to Chardonnay Terrace, but we had a car, so it didn't matter. Our villa was upstairs with a private entrance. There was a small well-equipped kitchenette off the lounge room with everything we needed to make coffee, snacks and clean up. Double doors opened to the bedroom with king bed, and to the side of the bed more double doors to the huge bathroom, equipped with walk-in shower, large bath and vanity. We had a long balcony the length of the bedroom and loungeroom, with views of trees and the golf course in the distance. There was a large barbeque which we didnt use. The furnishings looked modern, only the bathroom doors need fixing as they were a bit wonky and didn't meet in the middle. The staff were all lovely with high levels of customer service from cleaning to reception. When I couldn't get the internet to work, I was given a little thing to plug in and it was good after that. Cypress Lakes is in the prefect location for visiting the Hunter Valley, although we found a lot of wineries are only open Friday to Sunday. We drove into Cessnock a few times as only 11 km. One day we went to Maitland, a 40 minute drive, to see the art gallery and wander around. We couldn't get lunch in a winery, so we went to the Sabor Dessert Bar. Oh my, you should go there. I don't play golf, but it was such a lovely setting, I walked around to take photos after the golfers had left
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Date of stay: March 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Shaun O'Bryan, General Manager at Oaks Cypress Lakes Resort
Responded 20 June 2021
Dear Christine, Thank you for taking the time to review our property. We appreciate your detailed comments on the villa and the local area and lovely to hear that you enjoyed walking around the Golf Course with the local wildlife. We look forward to welcoming you back to Cypress Lakes Resort in the future. Warm regards, Josie Gibson Hotel Manager
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1) The front door has been smashed in an not repaired. We notified front office staff when our key wouldn't open they didn't care 2) Check in process was very average with the front office assistant trying to sign me up to the Oaks rewards program yet I am already a member. She also asked if I had stayed before and I said yes twice before. Simple research would have made this known. 3) They room keys didn't work twice, once in the pool area and the other our room. My husband said there were issues with the locking system the staff didn't care. 4) No washing machine in the rooms now only 6 in the whole resort. 5) The iron didn't work. 6) The taps were dripping - a simple 50c washer repair. 7) There was pink and black mould on the 'clear' door wipe on the shower door. Can be easily replaced. 8) The food and beverage staff in the kitchen were grumpy, unhappy and didn't want to be there no smile or good morning. 9) The buffet breakfast food was very average - the mushrooms were watery like they had been boiled and the bacon was steamed, I waited almost 15 minutes for pancakes and there was a 15 minute wait for the cafe style coffee from the bar. 10) The internet connection is poor we had to go to reception and ask for a wifi modem. 11) The main pool was not heated like it was last Jan when we stayed. The spa was green the water dirty and cold and the spa jets not working 12) We didn't have our rubbish removed daily and had no more body wash and other bathroom items.
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Review collected in partnership with Minor Hotels
Date of stay: January 2024
Value
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Location
Cleanliness
Service
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
1. A wine fridge downstairs...unplugged. When plugged in made the noise like the Millennium Falcon failing to make the jump to hyperspace in episode V.
2. Going to the bare crockery/glasses cupboard to discover one (1)/uno/ singulario wine glass.
Slight redeeming moment... The helpful girl from the front desk brought the wine glasses down. I inquired about the chances of a later checkout next morning. She said 11 a.m. Great response to a minor inconvenience.
My wife and I were staying after a massive work conference in Tamworth. It was a road trip, a little getaway for one night in a place that once had a great reputation.
Next lowlight... Room service... dead tired... Napoli pizza and chips The pizza - may have served the small folk of Hobbiton. And the advertised basil was no' present.
But the ultimate lowlight...
Whilst the breakfast was as basic as the decor, the tired interiors and lack of staff. It did its job. But when walking back to our room, we were confronted by our room front door being opened. I was hiding behind my wife's shoulder as we tentatively walked upstairs calling out 'Hello?'
We arrived at the top of the stairs (stares?) to be greeted by a nice chappie pest spraying our balcony. Amid the blank stares, shifty eyes, and awkward silence, a certain parity of 'WTF' was reached. After determining that the staff at Oaks Cypress Lakes Resort had themselves been overexposed to TermiteRid 5000 (TM) or that inmates had certainly been running the asylum, our new found playmate left the building to 'spray downstairs'—hopefully a euphemism.
We then proceeded to cross-check our inventory, making sure our precious underwear and other valuables hadn't been violated. But the final ignominy was yet to come.
Upon checking out, the hapless desk staff gulped like goldfish burning on a Cessnock sidewalk. Hoping the earth would open and swallow them whole, not knowing what to do or say, they proceeded to stare intently at their monitor like it was Cape Canaveral in 1986 with The Challenger disintegrating before their eyes.
Then from the other side of the pine counter...A voice squeeked - 'Can we can the dinner ...'
KEEP DRIVING!
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Date of stay: November 2024
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Yes, I would be able to help you. The Cypress Lakes Resort which has the largest inventory works with Bookingscom however Weekenda has about 24 Villa's also works with Bookingscom which don't have access to the tennis courts, pools & spa, golf etc.
Yes, they have, we had food and ice brought to our room. I'm sure you can have stuff delivered from outside the Resort as well. A lot of the Villa's on site are privately owned.
Cheers, Jeff
Probably too late now but not every villa / room is the same. Some have been recently renovated, some havnt and they are often privately owned and let out by the management company so nobody can confirm what you will get when you book.
There are more places to choose from in the Pokolbin area.
PRICE RANGE
AU$194 - AU$363 (Based on Average Rates for a Standard Room)
ALSO KNOWN AS
cypress lakes hotel pokolbin, cypress lakes pokolbin, cypress lake resort, cypress lakes resort
FORMERLY KNOWN AS
Cypress Lakes Resort
LOCATION
AustraliaNew South WalesGreater NewcastleCessnockPokolbin
NUMBER OF ROOMS
200
Prices are provided by our partners, and reflect total costs of the stay, including all taxes and fees known to our partners. Please see our partners for more details.
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