How To Find Good Hunter Valley Accommodation
Visitors can thank Sydneysiders for making it difficult to get hold of good Hunter Valley accommodation. The problem is that Australia’s wine country is just two hours away from the unofficial capital of Australia. All year around, visitors come here for a weekend getaway or a day trip, or just for the winery and vineyard tours.
The region covers 12,000 sq km of NSW, with over 80 wineries dotting the lush green landscape. The restaurants do their best to add to the general level of intoxication, with exquisite cuisine and extensive wine selections. It’s all good, but it does create a bit of a problem for visitors with too many choices.
Putting together a good travel plan requires at least some knowledge of the region’s main towns and lodging options. Listed below are these choices, which should offer visitors a fair idea of what to look for and where to look for it. Cessnock is the main gateway into the region, with Pokolbin (between Cessnock & Branxton) at the centre of the wine country getting the most attention from tourists.
There are also many more choices, including Wollombi Valley, Lovedate, Kurri Kurri and Barrington Tops. The most popular Hunter Valley accommodation choices for these and other towns are the hotels & resorts. Secondary choices include apartment rentals, backpackers, B&B’s, guesthouses, and caravan parks & camping.
Pokolbin, as mentioned above, is the town that gets a lot of visitors. So the facilities for tourists here are more than adequate, with a variety of restaurants and cafes. Many of the top hotels and resorts can be found in town and in and around the surrounding vineyards. There are also country guesthouses a short drive outside Pokolbin.
Budget travellers have a choice of backpacker hostels in the Cessnock districts and in the Rothbury/Pokolbin region. Some of these backpackers are quite impressive, set in vineyards and providing travellers with a free breakfast and use of the kitchen, along with everything from pools to bbq’s and saunas. Additionally, budget travellers can also choose from a selection of motor inns and motels throughout the region.
On a more upscale note, visitors can choose to stay in a country guesthouse or B&B. These classy establishments provide spacious quarters with a fancy dining room, libraries filled with books and complete privacy for guests. Every town in the Hunter region has a few of these in the surrounding vineyards, but the best choices can be found around Pokolbin/Rothbury and Lovedale or Wollombi Valley.
For those who prefer to get up close and personal with the lush green beauty of the region, there are many caravan parks and campsites. One of these caravan parks can be found in Dungog, alongside the Williams River. There’s also a Big4 holiday park on Mount View Road in Cessnock.
As must be obvious by now, it’s simply not possible to select one town and type of Hunter Valley accommodation as the best among them all. The choice will depend on the visitor’s budget, number of people in the group, duration of stay and the type of activities planned for. But broadly speaking, stick to one of the locations/choices mentioned above and the trip and stay are both sure to be comfortable and enjoyable.
John Bryce-Thornton came to the region with a passion for article writing about wine and superb foods. He soon enough made the decision he had unearthed his place in life and set about establishing his own Hunter Valley accommodation which he now runs for those tourists to the district.