Royal Suite, 1 King Bed, Balcony | Living area
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Reviews of Craig's Royal Hotel

4 out of 5
Craig's Royal Hotel
10 Lydiard St South, Ballarat, VIC

Reviews

9.2

Wonderful

Rating 10 - Excellent. 320 out of 454 reviews" "
Rating 8 - Good. 93 out of 454 reviews" "
Rating 6 - Okay. 24 out of 454 reviews" "
Rating 4 - Poor. 10 out of 454 reviews" "
Rating 2 - Terrible. 7 out of 454 reviews" "

9.6/10

Cleanliness

9.4/10

Staff & service

9.0/10

Amenities

9.2/10

Property conditions & facilities

8.8/10

Eco-friendliness

Reviews

6/10 Okay

Ian

Business traveller, Travelled with partner
Liked: Amenities, property conditions & facilities
The hotel has a pleasant atmosphere and history. However, the room that we were allocated had a large cooling tower directly outside of the window. The noise from this prevented us from having a decent sleep. Unfortunate, given that we had a few hours drive ahead of us. We reported the problem to the desk on checking out, and was offered a cup of coffee. We declined.
Stayed 1 night in Apr 2024

6/10 Okay

Roman

Travelled with family
Liked: Amenities
Disliked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities
This Hotel has great potential but it is run down. The carpets are damaged on the staircase, the lift is charming but not cleaned properly...dust in corners etc... Although we booked early...months ahead we got a room without a view. I asked for a change in room but did not get one. Also the lamb wasn't cooked enough during dinner. Great potential but needs TLC.
Stayed 1 night in Mar 2024

10/10 Excellent

Neil

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
The place is just beautiful
Stayed 2 nights in Feb 2024

8/10 Good

Marion

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Stayed 1 night in Feb 2024

10/10 Excellent

Ross

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Always a joy to stay; and great breakfasts
Stayed 1 night in Feb 2024

8/10 Good

George

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, amenities
Plants all dying in courtyard from what appears to be lack of water. Very sad outlook from restaurant, mentioned to staff member who said it wasn’t his job but when we looked up from our meals buckets of water we’re being carried out ☹️☹️☹️
Stayed 1 night in Feb 2024

10/10 Excellent

Sandie

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Everything great
Stayed 3 nights in Feb 2024

10/10 Excellent

Satomi

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Beautiful old world charm and features that transport you back to a prior era.
Stayed 1 night in Feb 2024

6/10 Okay

William

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness
Period building, with historic furnishings. Stylish period decorations. Every room is different; ours was a queen with a high comfortable bed (be wary if you are not too tall!). The bathroom was en-suite, though with no door to separate it from the bedroom itself. Nice shower. There was a stocked minibar. There was a small tv- small, and of cheap quality- it seemed beneath what this 4 star hotel should have. Parking was a problem. When we arrived (at 3pm) I was told there was no space left in the hotel car and had to find somewhere in the street. I was concerned by this, as we were leaving some luggage in the car, and was not impressed that the hotel car park (which we could see from our bedroom) had spaces in it all night. Overall we would not choose to stay at Craig’s Royal again- it was not to our taste.
Stayed 1 night in Feb 2024

10/10 Excellent

Sean

Business traveller
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Nice aesthetic and friendly service
Stayed 1 night in Jan 2024

10/10 Excellent

John

Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 1 night in Jan 2024

6/10 Okay

Rohan

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness
Disliked: Property conditions & facilities
Booked the top room for the spa. Spa was not working. Aircon didnt blow out anything and in 30degree days made it unbearable. Air vents full of dust. Paid for parking which you need to call reception to open gate. Calls went unanswered so stuck outside and inside
Stayed 1 night in Jan 2024

4/10 Poor

Sienna

Travelled with partner
Liked: Staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Was visited by the ghost of Walter Craig. Very uneasy feeling throughout the building, could not sleep the entire night, building and staff were amazing but the place is haunted
Stayed 1 night in Jan 2024

10/10 Excellent

Ian

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Beautiful hotel, ver comfortable bed. Generous extras.
Stayed 1 night in Dec 2023

10/10 Excellent

Carolina

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Beautiful old hotel with great character and charm. Loved staying here and would highly recommend to others.
Stayed 2 nights in Dec 2023

10/10 Excellent

Stephen

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Like stepping back in time
Stayed 1 night in Dec 2023

10/10 Excellent

Karen

Stayed 1 night in Dec 2023

10/10 Excellent

Elly

Liked: Cleanliness
Stayed 1 night in Dec 2023

8/10 Good

Werner

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
good history
Stayed 1 night in Dec 2023

8/10 Good

Andie

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Great location! Walking distance to all the shops and restaurants/cafes. Room was lovely, super clean and very quiet. Restaurant serves great meals at very reasonable prices. Reception staff could be friendlier, more welcoming, and give more instructions as to where to find our room, the dining areas, dining times, just generally more personable. Customer service was lacking, but there were a few amazing team members. Definitely did not like the pokies. As much as we loved the hotel, I did not like the gambling area which was adjacent to the dining area. Not our type of thing, but may not bother others :)
Stayed 2 nights in Dec 2023

10/10 Excellent

Xu

The property is elegant, with historic attractions. Modern world brings the common pleasures to the old building. Enjoy every minute and cafe in the restaurant, with food from the town.
Stayed 1 night in Nov 2023

10/10 Excellent

Zach

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Friendly staff, well appointed room
Stayed 1 night in Nov 2023

4/10 Poor

John, Camberwell

Travelled with partner
Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
We stayed for 2 nights - Saturday and Sunday. We fell victim to the hotel's "We're Going Greener" policy. A policy which was not explained at Check In - and the "sign" explaining it at Reception and in the room was of a colour and font size that made it almost impossible to read. Apparently we were required to ask to have our room serviced daily - something I have never heard of anywhere outside a serviced apartment - and to do so before 5 pm the evening before. When we took this up with staff, they were unhelpful, rude and eventually, begrudgingly, provided us with some clean towels. What is more insulting is that it is highly likely that this "initiative" has almost nothing to do with some noble commitment to the environment - it is a thinly veiled, cynical move to save on operational expenses. Craigs was once an iconic Ballarat establishment. It is no longer. It's a Pokies venue with a really poorly serviced hotel attached to it.
Stayed 2 nights in Nov 2023

6/10 Okay

Deborah

Business traveller
Liked: Cleanliness
At check in the computer was down and so that delayed things. The lift wasn't working (someone hadn't shut the door, despite the reminders. Food was lovey, albeit a little slow. The bed was great. However, music started about 4am that woke me and kept me awake. I thought it was the kitchen or maybe the gaming. When I raised it at check out, they shrugged it off. Not happy.
Stayed 1 night in Nov 2023

8/10 Good

Maddy

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
The old elevator was really cool and it honestly felt more safe than some other ones once I got used to it. Staff were really kind and were helpful in minding our bags.
Stayed 1 night in Nov 2023

10/10 Excellent

Zoe

Liked: Cleanliness
Stayed 1 night in Nov 2023

10/10 Excellent

Hans

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Central to everything as we traveled by train for our stay.
Stayed 2 nights in Oct 2023

10/10 Excellent

Ben

Stayed 1 night in Oct 2023

10/10 Excellent

Dominik

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
A proper goldfields experience with beautiful heritage fittings, and very nice rooms. If you’re getting in late go through the gaming room entrance, it’s a bit tricky there should be a sign but otherwise very good service.
Stayed 1 night in Oct 2023

8/10 Good

Greg

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Loved the history and the ambiance of the hotel, very relaxing
Stayed 2 nights in Oct 2023

10/10 Excellent

Wendy, Lacombe County

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
The hotel transports you back in time. So unique and classy. Staff are friendly & stop to chat while you are in the dinning room. They look after you from the time you step in the doors. Was a great experience to stay in such a friendly place. Almost like being at home. Being from another country it sure was great! Love it!!
Stayed 1 night in Oct 2023

10/10 Excellent

Bruce

Travelled with partner
Liked: Amenities
Craigs Royal Hotel is a very historic property located in downtown Ballarat which is also very historic and full of heritage buildings. The ambience at Craigs Royal is terrific and the service is excellent.
Stayed 1 night in Oct 2023

10/10 Excellent

Rosemary

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Stayed 1 night in Oct 2023

8/10 Good

Lyn

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Stayed 1 night in Oct 2023

8/10 Good

Greg

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Lovely room, beautiful hotel. The bad things were, bed very hard and the dinner, mine was beautiful, my wife had the Lamb shoulder, and it was dry and almost inedible and, for $40 it was very disappointing.
Stayed 1 night in Sep 2023

10/10 Excellent

Wayne

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Outstanding Vintage Hotel
Stayed 1 night in Sep 2023

8/10 Good

Craig

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Excellent stay. Beautiful period building in central location.
Stayed 1 night in Sep 2023

8/10 Good

Kellie

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
This was really lovely place to stay. My only issue is the bed could have been a bit softer and when I arrived my room had been canceled. I got a King instead of to singles. However the all staffs service was really fantastic. Highly recommend. Thank you.
Stayed 2 nights in Sep 2023

6/10 Okay

Michael

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness
Craig's is a lovely historical property but a few modifications would improve it immensely. Staff were not always available; having to walk through the gaming room to get to and from our car was unpleasant; having to ring and ring and ring to get access to the garage was very inconvenient; the room lacked shelves and power points, particularly the bathroom, which needed a proper hand basin with shelves or drawers; the high window to the outdoor area had no glass, was stuffed with what looked like a curtain; beautiful to look at, perhaps visit, but not a great place to stay.
Stayed 2 nights in Sep 2023

8/10 Good

Craig

Business traveller
Liked: Cleanliness, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Craig’s Royal has a high reputation and doesn’t disappoint from the accomodation point of view. The down sides however are the car park access is through a passage way with steps and through the gaming room of poker machines. The passage way to the car park is used by patrons (of the poker machines ) as a smoking area. As a guest of the hotel it was intimidating. If you were a single woman with luggage, it could be very off putting. Having to walk through a gaming room to access the hotel brings the reputation down several notches. On departing (at 9 am Monday morning) there were patrons already in the gaming room and foul, aggressive language accompanied their gambling. What a lasting impression! Staff was thin at all times. One barista, with an injured arm, meant he had to make coffee with one hand, answer the reception phone as the receptionist had disappeared and attend to poker machine enquiries while 3 customers waited for coffee and one other waitress organized an empty dining room. The carpet on the grand staircase is worn.. again taking away from the luxury of this famous establishment. The room was the saving grace!
Stayed 1 night in Sep 2023

10/10 Excellent

Wendy

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
A beautiful old hotel - wonder what the walls of my bedroom could have told me? Furniture old style but fantastic mattress and linen- topped off with a fully functioning modern bathroom complete with bathrobe! Choice to be unkind to the environment left to hotel guest, otherwise it was assumed that towels and bed linen were ok for the stay. Housekeeping made a sweep of the corridor asking people if they required anything on both mornings. I felt marginally better for my stay not contributing as much as it might have done in times gone by- well done Craig’s for implementing this policy. Wish it was more widely adopted.
Stayed 2 nights in Sep 2023

10/10 Excellent

Vicki

Stayed 1 night in Aug 2023

8/10 Good

Dominic

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
A
Stayed 1 night in Sep 2023

8/10 Good

Selwyn

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Great atmosphere and very helpful staff.
Stayed 2 nights in Aug 2023

10/10 Excellent

Maria

Stayed 1 night in Aug 2023

10/10 Excellent

Belinda

Stayed 1 night in Aug 2023

8/10 Good

Ming

Travelled with group
Liked: Staff & service, amenities
The checkout time possible to extend for return customer. The towel has a hair and only a set of toiletries when there’s 2 guest!
Stayed 1 night in Aug 2023

10/10 Excellent

Wendy

Stayed 2 nights in Aug 2023

6/10 Okay

Noelle

Liked: Cleanliness
Disliked: Staff & service
Stayed 3 nights in Aug 2023

6/10 Okay

daniel

Stayed 1 night in Aug 2023