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4.5
#1 of 1 motel in Leigh Creek
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Value
Leigh Creek Outback Resort is an excellent choice for travellers visiting Leigh Creek, offering many helpful amenities designed to enhance your stay. Leigh Creek Outback Resort offers guests an array of room amenities including an array of motel rooms and self contained cabins with air conditioning. Free limited wifi is available in the front bar. The motel offers a a front desk from 9am -5pm (hours differ in summer which is the off-peak season), to make your visit even more pleasant. The property also has access to the town's Olympic Size swimming pool, large playground, gym, tennis, squash, and bar and restaurant dining. Guests arriving by vehicle have access to free parking. During your visit, be sure to check out the picturesque Aroona Dam, a great place for picnic, swim, and soon to be fishing after a recent release of young babies. Watch this space as we try our hardest to fight for tours of the recently closed coal mine. Local places to visit are Historic Farina Bakery in the cooler months, Iga Warta, Copley Bakery, Old Beltana, Lyndhurst, Marree Man, Arkaroola, Flinders Ranges and the list goes on! There is a local air strip for private flights, with pick up and drop offs from the Resort. Bus Tours can be arranged if there are enough interested numbers.
Star ratings are intended to indicate the general level of features, amenities, and services to expect. This property is classified according to Giata.
HOTEL STYLE
Family
Business
Location
25 Black Oak Dr, Leigh Creek, South Australia 5731 Australia
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On our family trip we came into a bit of difficulty and that’s where we felt like locals in a town that we’ve never been too before. The local service station gave us advice, the tavern looked after our family and gave us the best advice for the nearest vehicle recovery business (Cookes Outback Motors) who were absolutely supurb.
So if you ever visit this rugged part of Australia. Be sure to use these fantastic small outback businesses and support them along your journey. We feel blessed to have had the problems we had in such a friendly town.
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Date of stay: December 2023Trip type: Travelled with family
Room Tip:The town’s people will go over and beyond. Not far from Adelaide and on the doorstep of the...
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.
Fantastic place to stay. The room was simple but neat and tidy. Split system in room kept the room nice and warm when temperature was 4 degrees outside. Kettle, toaster, microwave, bowls, cutlery, mugs/cups, iron in room. We stayed in a queen motel room. One queen bed, one single bed. Foodland and shopping precincts are all in the little'village' area, so you can walk around for all you need. Nice playground, oval, pool, tennis court, batting cages. There is plenty of room for children to have fun. Great meals on site. Easy parking. Staff were great. Especially Bonnie and Ryan, these two staff members went above and beyond in customer service. Made us feel very welcome. Knew the area and had great suggestions on things to go, see, and do. Very quiet place to stay (other than our very loud neighbours who came in at 11.30pm every night, banging the door and stomping the mud off their boots, waking us all up) Could not fault pricing, food,and service. Rooms are a little outdated in their decor, but still very comfortable, and we were very happy in our room #2 Would definitely stay again when up that way.
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Date of stay: July 2023Trip type: Travelled with family
Room Tip:Book in advance is wanting to dine as the dining room gets quite busy.
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 Emma Ruffles, General Manager at Leigh Creek Outback Resort
Responded 31 Oct 2023
Thanks so much for all of the positive feedback! We are glad you were well looked after by Bonnie and Ryan, and enjoyed all the facilities the town has to offer. We are gradually getting around to each room to renovate and refurbish. We can't wait to see you again!
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Leigh Creek town is dying due to the mine closure, but the resort remains open thankfully, as it is an excellent stop for the weary traveller in the middle of nowhere. The rooms are very comfortable, the service is tops and very friendly. Recommended to support the locals.
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Date of stay: October 2019
Rooms
Service
Sleep Quality
Room Tip:All rooms are good for quiet, convenience, comfort.
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 Curious20257424764, Manager at Leigh Creek Outback Resort
Responded 3 May 2020
I am so so glad you enjoyed your stay. Thanks for your review. We are working hard to improve every experience and to keep the town alive. We are looking at ways to engage my tourists with other activities such as mining tours, Aroona Dam, Historic Beltana and Farina Bakery Tours. Keep an eye out on our Facebook page.
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The Leigh Creek Outback Resort is really a bit of a misnomer. In reality, the town of Leigh Creek which was built in the late 1970s is in steep decline due to the closure of the local coal mines. The establishment of the resort is an attempt to rebadge the town as a tourism destination, whilst at the same time using the existing residential infrastructure as accommodation. So it’s not really a resort as such, really more like a booking office/tavern with some hotel rooms and self-contained cabins in the surrounding streets. The cabins are quite comfortable, although they do have a very 1970’s vibe (think orange Laminex, patterned carpets and textured floor tiles). They have kitchenettes where you could prepare modest meals and there are adjacent laundries. The rooms aren’t particularly well soundproofed and light sleepers may be disturbed by the sounds from next door. Whilst satellite TVs are provided, it should be noted there is no WiFi currently available in the cabins. The town of Leigh Creek has a couple of shops including a small Foodland grocery store if you need to stock up with anything. Sadly, I wouldn’t say Leigh Creek is a true tourist destination, but the Outback Resort is perfectly adequate accommodation on the way through.
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Date of stay: March 2022
Value
Service
Sleep Quality
Room Tip:The cabins are probably more comfortable than the hotel rooms.
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 Emma Ruffles, General Manager at Leigh Creek Outback Resort
Responded 4 Apr 2022
Mark, we are sorry you did not find Leigh Creek a good tourist destination. Did you access our '20 things to do in a day from Leigh Creek?' Did you visit Aroona Dam and the picturesque picnic locations around the town? Currently the government owns all of the resort buildings so the managers have been unable to renovate extensively. This will be changing soon as the managers are purchasing the buildings and will gradually start renovating. With 100 rooms however, this will not be a quick process.
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Finding the reception to the motel accommodation is difficult because their is no signage. Once located we were given a map to find our room,however the map was not well presented and once again there were no signs to locate where the units are. The room itself was quite comfortable but the town itself is virtually empty with many empty houses. Reception also houses the tavern and restaurant but is only open for a few hours in the morning and the same in the afternoon.Breakfast in the restaurant was excellent with a range of continental and a very large cooked.
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Date of stay: September 2020
Rooms
Location
Service
Room Tip:Definitely would not travel during summer .Also be alert to the weather as rain makes the roads...
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 Emma Ruffles, Marketing at Leigh Creek Outback Resort
Responded 23 Nov 2020
Thanks for your positive response to the meals. We are working closely with the local government on better signage at the resort. Hopefully we can fix that soon!
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My rating is based on the following . Rooms need updating they have late 80s early 90s decor including not having a lounge to sit on . Lack of information provided by the resort. Times the shops are open, 4wd maps, information about what is around and things to do. Office opening times and where to leave the key when you leave. . No WIFI in the rooms. . Lack of plates and cooking equipment . Probably not a resort or I have stayed in the off season?
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Date of stay: June 2021Trip type: Travelled with family
Room Tip:Only Telstra works there is no WIFI optus works in some places. BYO own maps and information the...
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 Breyten Ward, Marketing at Leigh Creek Outback Resort
Responded 12 Dec 2021
Hi Bryan. Thanks for your response. The government currently own all of the resort buildings and the manager is in the process of buying the business. This is why no upgrades have been made to accommodations. Unfortunately the only wifi available in Leigh Creek is via satellite which is difficult to connect to the rooms, hence why it is only available in the front bar and dining rooms.
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Accommodation was fine, clean and tidy and beds were comfortable.
Went to the Tav for dinner with family and was absolutely disgusting. My cousin and I both ordered the salt and pepper calamari and was terrible. Out of the 2 orders 1 came out then the other came out once everyone else on the table had almost finished their meal.
We are ex-Leigh Creekers and was terribly disappointed. Get a new cook......
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Date of stay: September 2020Trip type: Travelled with family
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 Emma Ruffles, General Manager at Leigh Creek Outback Resort
Responded 6 Sept 2020
We are very sorry to hear you had such a poor experience. We hope you enjoyed your refunded meal and complimentary jams. Our main chef was not cooking that night and has been made aware of your extreme disappointment. Once again, we apologise as this is not a standard we find acceptable either.
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Not a resort by any means. Credit to Breyten and his few hardworking staff, but the “ transformation” promised a few years ago clearly hasn’t happened yet. The place is tired, untidy, feels abandoned, and needs a big injection of maintenance. The rooms are old and yellowed and we and our friends suffered from bed bug attacks. The Tavern / housekeeping / grounds staff (the same few people it seems) tried hard and were busy, but there needs to be quite a few more employed to lift the rundown feeling of the place. Perhaps it’s down to tough times during Covid, or the current shortage of backpackers, but at present it’s not very good.
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Date of stay: July 2023Trip 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.
Response from Emma Ruffles, General Manager at Leigh Creek Outback Resort
Responded 31 Oct 2023
Sorry you did not enjoy your stay. We inspected for bed bugs and were unable to find these, and have had no reports from any other customers. The transformation has only been promised since Breyten purchased the resort from the government, in August last year. Prior to that, the resort was government owned. It will take some time to renovate and refurbish 80 rooms.
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We stayed one night as a stopover on our journey so didn't really have time to explore the area. As others have noted, the town was built in the 1980s to accommodate around 5,000 people and is now home to about 140. It's a unique thing to walk around a mostly deserted town. We shared a pizza in the restaurant and it was very good. Staff were pleasant and efficient, especially the young bearded guy in the restaurant - sorry didn't get your name. The room was a bit dated but it was clean and quiet - one negative is that Wifi did not work in the room. It was available in the restaurant/ bar area. There is a petrol station with small grocery store on-site. Would we stay here again? There aren't a lot of other options nearby, but regardless of that, yes we would.
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Date of stay: April 2022
Cleanliness
Service
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.
Response from Emma Ruffles, General Manager at Leigh Creek Outback Resort
Responded 26 July 2022
I think you mean our bartender Joel. He is a great member of staff! Thanks for your honest review. Check out our list of great activities to do from Leigh Creek. We are hoping to gradually do up our resort. At the moment it is currently transferring ownership. Hope to see you again!
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What an absolute disgrace. It's 5deg outside and we have a heater from 1973.....in fact, the whole experience is like being sent back to the 70's. Which would be ok except for paying 2020 prices! At $140 per night it is $80 to high .....ridiculous! Do not do it!
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Date of stay: June 2020Trip 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.
Response from emmar448, General Manager at Leigh Creek Outback Resort
Responded 3 June 2020
Sorry to hear that your experience was poor. Our prices are $135 a night for a motel room. Did you speak to reception regarding the heating? We have a range of heating throughout the resort so this could have been fixed for you.
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Hi Lyn, it would be great to see you. Sorry but the room prices do not include breakfast. Arkaroola is less than 2 hours drive from here. Rain can certainly affect road conditions but it really depends on how much, how quickly it falls and how wet is the landscape already. At this stage I can tell you Winter has been very dry so it will take several falls of 25mm + to see the creeks run or a single massive event of 50mm+. Both seem fairly unlikely at this stage but we simply never know.
There are more places to choose from in the Leigh Creek area.
PRICE RANGE
AU$138 - AU$142 (Based on Average Rates for a Standard Room)
LOCATION
AustraliaSouth AustraliaLeigh Creek
NUMBER OF ROOMS
63
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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