Royal Mail Hotel

We stayed at the Royal Mail Hotel over the Easter holidays. The hotel is set in the beautiful Grampians, with amazing views of the mountains. We chose it because we were looking for something small, quiet, special, and exclusive. The highlight of our trip was definitely dining at Wickens, which I have reviewed separately — it was truly exceptional. The staff at both the restaurant and the hotel were super nice and welcoming, and we appreciated their friendliness throughout our stay. However, the first impression upon arrival at the hotel was a bit disappointing. The property felt somewhat tired — you can tell it might once have been a truly exquisite place, but now it looks worn and even neglected in parts. The room was bright and clean, but that’s where the positives ended. The artwork was a little odd — one wall had beautiful birds that made sense given the surroundings, but another featured rusty cars, which felt strangely out of place. Despite the hotel being surrounded by gorgeous natural vegetation, there wasn’t even a simple flower in the room to create a welcoming feel. The air conditioning unit was extremely loud, so much so that we chose not to use it. The balcony view was lovely (we had booked a mountain view room), but the balcony windows were dirty — it wasn’t clear when they had last been cleaned. Breakfast in the room was nice, good coffee and nice tea selection, point for that :) The amenities, too, were disappointing on closer look. The pool setting could have been beautiful, but there were hoses lying around everywhere. It’s understandable they are needed, but they could have easily been tucked away to maintain a more polished atmosphere. The pool towels provided were old, faded, and not pleasant to use. Overall, the Royal Mail Hotel is a good hotel, but when you position yourself as a boutique property, there’s a responsibility to offer something outstanding and to go the extra mile — which simply wasn’t the case here. In today’s competitive hospitality landscape, where guests have endless options through outstanding Airbnbs and genuine boutique hotels, it’s no longer enough to rely on old fame. Attention to detail and consistent upkeep are what truly make the difference.

The pulled pork sandwiches were very good, but everyone else got them not me. I got the 'crispy' wings with spicy sauce. The sauce was great but the wings were battered (? Maybe?) and whilst the batter was crispy, the wings were rubbery. Anyone expecting a buffalo wing type experience should avoid these. I also got a side of the local olives which were excellent and plenty enough to share!

We stayed in one of the studio rooms that we booked through the Royal Mail website. The room was like a basic motel with views onto other rooms. There was a damp, unpleasant smell and no water pressure at all. When we gave this feedback at reception we were told these were the entry level rooms. It was over $250 for the night and not worth it at all. Nice food at the PSP but was left disappointed by the overall experience.