A beautiful location overlooking the valley and close Lyndoch to village. This is an ideal place to relax. The lack of TV or noise to disturb was wonderful. Breakfast is full on, prepared by two wonderful hosts, and for larger groups dinner can be accommodated with what looked to be a decent menu (didn’t get to try). This is an ideal location for couples to explore the valley whilst returning to a warm sitting room to rest before heading out again fordinner. Highly recommended.
Hosts Jane and Julian were very friendly and helpful, making restaurant reservations for consecutive nights when we first booked and before we arrived. The propety is located on a hill with a lovey peaceful rural, vineyard view. Main bedroom was spacious, bed very comfortable and bathroom well appointed with bath and shower. A little more space in the bathroom to place toiletry bag, electric shaver etc would have been helpful but didn't make much difference, and certainly didn't spoil the experience. As we (including our two friends) spent our day out in the Barossa Valley visiting wineries, not having a TV in the room was not a big deal for us but might be if you were spending a long time there
If you want to get away for a break here and don't intend to visit the surrounding area, then take some books and sit in front of the fire in the main building, which had a huge sitting room and very comfortable couches. I had no problem with Telstra phone coverage so was able to access news feed, email etc without problems.
Breakfast was plentiful with a variety of hot and cold choices including haggis while we were there. I stayed with scrambled eggs on toast, greek yoghurt with home-made stewed fruits, jam on toast and tea. Very tasty, freshly cooked to order and better than most restaurants. Sharing breakfast at the same table as other people may bother some, but is part of the experience. If you don't want to talk to others, get there at 8.30 rather than later, or read the supplied morning paper and make it clear you don't want to talk, or both - easy.
One serious suggestion though...need a light at the base of the steps in the right hand side block. It was very dark there and the verandah light did not illuminate the bottom steps.Two of us nearly fell down as we walked down the steps to our car.... a cheap solar powered light would probably provide enough light to make it obvious where the steps are.
All in all, highly recommended
A warm welcome and a perfect night’s sleep followed by a delightfully slow Sunday morning breakfast – the full monty. Thanks to hosts Jane and Julian for their part in our special weekend in the Barossa. The room has some lovely touches and the house felt like home, and the views across the valley are idylic.
We also stayed the same time as Manzie and were genuinely surprised by her unfavourable review. We found our hosts Jane and Julian to be particularly welcoming and they couldn't have done more for us during our stay.
Our super deluxe room was subtly decorated in a modern country style and had all the comforts, including the finer things in life - fresh fragrant roses, choc fudge and complimentary port. We found the Twinings tea and ground filtered coffee tastes so much better here, especially when it's made with rainwater and fresh bottled milk (where the cream still floats on top!). The bed was warm and comfortable, 2 types of pillows are offered - firm or soft & fluffy, and the monogrammed pillow cases were also a nice touch. 2 luxury bath towels were provided, the shower had ample hot water, and the claw foot bath was charming.
It was a chilly long weekend, each day we came back, Julian had the warming log fire ready and waiting in the homestead's main lounge - it was almost as if he anticipated our arrival!
A hearty cooked breakfast was provided, the serves were very generous, and the produce locally sourced and cooked to order. At the buffet, I found freshly prepared stewed dried fruit (it had a yummy jammy type texture), and the locally made muesli & creamy yoghurt was top quality, all sumptuous!
We sat at the communal breakfast table, which created a friendly atmosphere and guests could share their Barossa experiences. Use of white tablecloths were also another nice touch, I often lament these are often missing at breakfast tables in other establishments.
The views from this accommodation is breathtaking, the sunset was a sight to behold, and you can't beat that fresh country air!
A most disappointing experience from start to finish. From the bitter and smug host to the sheer underwhelming 'room'. The most poorly thought out layout I have ever seen. The scroll on the bed stating that it was the owners dream to own a B&B gave it all away - no thought has been put into the guest experience. It's ridiculously over priced. The pricing must be more based on the owners debt than quality or inclusions.
The room is just that. No view - or ability to keep the flowery curtains open on the glass doors as people walk past. The decor is your Nans reject furniture - covered in doilies. One teaspoon. No cutlery or self catering facilities, no dinner options and no nearby facilities. Super Delux room? Not even a bath.
Breakfast - it's at a strict time of 830-10 - to suit the owners. After being ignored, we walked out. No room anyway. We cut our two night stay short (at our expense) and the owner didn't seem to care.
As you can understand, it's deeply disappointing to receive a review such as this. We have taken our time to investigate the substance of the review and this is our response.
ManzieS's partner chose and made the booking at Abbotsford and it became clear on the morning after their arrival from her body language that Abbotsford Country House was not what she wanted. We accept that Abbotsford Country House won't suit everyone but it was their choice. We did try to ascertain what the actual problem was but she refused to talk and her partner said nothing was wrong. Granted, the dining room was at the peak of activity when they arrived for breakfast but we did welcome them and asked if they could wait a minute whilst we got them seated and explained breakfast. That wasn't what ManzieS wanted to hear. They left and I followed them back to their suite. We invited them back over for breakfast but they did not show.
Later that afternoon, we received a call from ManzieS's partner saying they MAY not stay the additional night if they found other more suitable accommodation. But then again, they MAY stay the remaining night. We were hardly in a position to provide a refund on a suite they may still occupy nor did it leave us much of an opportunity to sell that room either.
Some other points that need noting.
Firstly, Barossa Pavillions, our neighbours, have confirmed that this couple have never stayed at the Pavillions.
Secondly, there are no flowery curtains in the suite they were staying in. The only flowers in their suite were the fresh roses from our massive rose garden.
Thirdly, the furniture in their suite comprised of a Huon Pine wardrobe, an English Oak dresser and a Huon Pine side table. Meticulously restored. The extremely expensive wardrobe was owned by a prominent Barossan family and the other pieces were sourced from our time in Scotland.
Fourthly, when the guests arrived late and mentioned they were going to pick up some cheeses, cured meats etc from our local deli, we offered to provide them with a tray with crockery and cutlery etc to dine in-suite. ManzieS's partner chose not to take up the offer.
Fifthly, we no longer do dinner in house except for large groups. Simply due to the many dining options the Barossa now has. Had ManzieS's partner contacted us earlier (or read our website), we would have happily arranged a reservation.
Regarding, breakfast. I guess after ten years and having welcomed over 16,000 couples to Abbotsford we would have worked out when our guests liked breakfast. And 8.30 to 10am is, for the overwhelming majority of our guests a happy compromise between a bit of a sleep in and not losing too much of the day when they could be out enjoying the region's world class food and wine.
Finally, AAA Tourism, who administer the Star Rating Scheme in Australia have again, for the 11th consecutive year, rated Abbotsford Country House as a 4.5 star property. There can’t be a more definitive statement regarding our standards of quality, cleanliness and facilities other than our TripAdvisor reviews.
As we have said, as deeply disappointing as this review is, and as much as we might try to ensure a truly enjoyable stay, we have to accept that Abbotsford Country House is simply not going to please everyone.
To call Abbotsford a B and B really doesn't do it justice. The rooms are in individual villas with a huge double bed, comfy sofa and full size bathroom. In the homestead itself guests have a huge drawing room to spend the evening in with loads of books, games and DVDs to chose from.
Breakfast was full English cooked to order.
The house is only 5 minutes drive from Lyndoch which has several good dining options and our hosts were very helpful with recommendations and booking for us.
Altogether terrific value .
