We really enjoyed our two nights at the Prairie Hotel, having only been lunch visitors previously. We wouldn’t hesitate to go again or to recommend others do the same, but it’s no ‘budget motel’ so the comments that follow are proffered with that in mind as it wasn’t quite 11/10 for the price paid!
We thought the decor/design of the rooms and common areas was lovely and very well suited to the environment BUT we were pretty amazed by the ‘dear old’ bathrooms that are very much in need of renovation as they are stuck in the 1990s….the hairdryer mounted on the wall was almost stuck in the 70s! Definitely bring your own!!
With all the talk of the great new renovations that have occurred, we were somewhat surprised that it wasn’t anything to do with the rooms themselves, just really the front bar etc. The bathrooms don’t look ‘rustic’; they just look unsatisfactory for the higher end boutique outback retreat that Prairie is striving to be. Our room was very spacious and comfortable though and we had no qualms other than that bathroom aspect…except maybe that the key locks are impossible to jiggle!!
It’s a unique place to stay now that it isn’t open to other guests in the evening for meals unless you are accommodation guests, so when you sit on the verandah for sunset drinks you really feel it’s YOUR Prairie Hotel, which is so so nice. Also nice are the staff - in fact wonderfully enthusiastic and engaging and chatty too, if that’s what you seek.
Food wise, we felt mixed. The evening snacks in the bar before you move in for dinner are fantastic - exactly the fun, unique and imaginative morsels that slot in with the ‘feral food’ attraction of the place. Amazing emu pate, kangaroo tartare, camel (instead of duck) pancakes etc etc. All sooooo DE-LISH!!
But we questioned whether it was really good enough not to have any choice at all for your included entree, main and dessert. The servings were plentiful and quality enough, and we do understand the cost model rationale for serving a set menu to everyone, BUT even a choice between two main course options, or offering a cheese choice instead of sweets (e.g. quandong pudding and rum baba desserts were just too heavy for us) would have been appreciated when dining at a hotel that is pitching itself as a foodie destination. The beetroot entree one night was really beautiful though.
Oddly, we were brought warm plates so that we could share the dishes, but they came out so far ahead of the food that they’d gone cold by the time we ate, rendering the heating useless!
Breakfast was perfect. Just the right amount, and wonderful coffee! Do yourself a favour and take a walk along the railway line to see sunrise on the range before brekkie…..ahhh the Aussie bush! It’s a real treat to experience it as guests of the Prairie Hotel.