Raffertys Resort

Our family of 6 spent 3 nights in one of the resorts 3 bedroom free standing cottages in the April school holidays (2023). It was a spur of the moment trip that I booked the day before checking in. After I had booked I read some reviews on here, and was stressing for the next 24 hrs (most of the recent reviews were far from flattering). After opening the door (with fingers crossed) I was like 'phew!!' Our cottage exceeded my expectations (the hopeful expectations I had before review readings that is). We were in number 81... Firstly, I had no idea we'd have a garage, so that was a bonus. Ducted air con throughout the whole cottage (YAY..worked great!) Our cottage had hardwood flooring from the entry throughout the kitchen, dining and lounge. All bedrooms and stairs were carpeted (nice carpet that you could lay down on without feeling the need to have a sheet or blanket between it and your body, and that you could walk on without socks!). All bedrooms were a good size, with plenty of storage. Our 4 'kids' are aged 15 to 22, and could all hang out in one bedrrom together comfortably. We were all excited that 2 of the bedrooms had 2 singles in them so we could avoid the 'I'm not sharing the double bed' debate that we often have. The majority of 3 bedroom places we've had only have one bedroom with singles. All kitchen and laundry appliances were practically new. The lounge was huge, we all fit with room to spare. I won't pretend the whole place was brand new. The kitchen and bathrooms weren't new, but there was nothing wrong with them. Nothing was falling apart, they were clean. Showerheads had really good pressure. For $330 a night I'm not expecting granite benchtops and marble bathrooms. I've paid a lot more per night at places that I've felt the need to clean upon arriving at (no, I'm not the type to go rant at someone about that, I'd rather just do it, whine to my family as I do it and never go back again). All our beds were comfy, all the linen and towels felt and smelled fresh. On check-in I was given pool towels which I read somewhere you had to hire (they're free). There was an enclosed courtyard at the front and a huge verandah overlooking a big park area at the rear. On holidays my husband and I like to relax with a drink and occassional cigarette if we're in the mood. Smoking on our verandah was allowed with doors and windows shut. It's annoying when you can't do that at places. They want to hide you in a dark corner in no-mans land where you sneak in a cigarette like a criminal. We'd never walk around in public smoking, or smoke inside, or on a balcony where it's going straight to the person next door. But if I want one at night it's nice to not have to get my husband to escort me and my coffee to what is usually a grubby, smelly little concrete square with nowhere to sit. Or if there is a spot to sit, it's filthy and you can't chat without every smoker in the area hearing you. It's probably not PC these days, but smokers exist, and we are people too lol. The verandah was probably due for a hose down. But it looked like the exterior, the inside and the verandah roof were painted not long ago. Maybe verandah rails were next and they were waiting to be able to do it before scrubbing it down). Idk. The outdoor setting was clean and a verandah needing a wash would only bother me if I had young kids who would be crawling over it and licking bits of it. And honestly, I think if that was your situation and you told reception, they'd hose it for you. Or if you're the DIY type let you hose it down. It's a 10 minute job. Our upstairs bathrooms flyscreen had fallen onto the roof below it. I told them when checking out (because I wasn't worried about it for our stay, but if nobody tells them those things, they won't know).. Their handyman was out the door to fix it before I'd gotten back in the car to leave. The pools, tennis courts (there were racquets in our cottage, reception offered me balls on check-in, but I'd thrown some in from home) and shared BBQ areas were all really good. The place looked well looked after. We had no noise issues at all. The lake is amazing, I wish we'd had a boat. I'll end (yeah I know, it got long lol ) by saying it was great value for money, ample room in the cottage, if you're the daytrip type drive an hour any direction and there's plenty of other beautiful places to see with good eating out options. Swansea is an easy 10 min drive up the road for groceries, fuel etc. We could have easily stayed a lot longer. It's on my list of places I'd go to again. If you got to the end of this.. we'll done ;)

Toni the kind lady at reception was super helpful! Kids loved the heated swimming pool and all of the tennis courts. Exploring at caves, beach and nearby was great fun

The resort is really nice has 3 pool beautiful pools, reception contacted me to give me the password for late check in and everything went well, the last day I asked if I could pay late check out as it was my birthday and I wanted to go for a swim the receptionist was really kind and didn't charge me at all the late check out, the only issue that I had was that I requested two rooms with queen bed and one room with two single beds and they gave me two rooms with two single beds but it wasn't a big deal we just put the beds together and everything was ok. The house where we stayed is in good condition but some wardrobes smell like humid or something but again it wasn't a big deal. The price was a little bit higher because was public holiday but was still affordable I will definitely book again but I would recommend contact directly the resort if you need specific bedrooms set up.

Writing this at 3am as apparently this place is party central. I rang the after hours reception at 1am to complain about the 3 units across from the unit I have paid to stay in for a week after having surgery 3 days ago - partying very loudly Since 9.30pm. Nothing - 2 hours plus later and they are still going. Totally unimpressed.

Never ever again.

The property was a little tired carpet needs replacing Service at the restaurant was disorganised

We have been going to Raffertys for over 20 years. We love the resort, facilities and location which is fantastic however the rooms definitely need some work and attention. The lounges and dining room tables and chairs are atrocious and completely uncomfortable. The bathrooms are old and need work. Most flyscreens are broken so you can’t leave the door open as mosquitoes will come in. The pillows and bedding also needs updating. Overall the interior of the rooms urgently needs work. The facilities generally are beautiful. It is a real shame there is no Kids club in the school holidays anymore- no movie nights or even feeding the birds and pelicans either. Many of the buildings that used to house other restaurants and other activities have just been left to become destroyed and it’s such a same. I’m not sure we will return to Raffertys again. We love this place but it needs a fair bit of work unfortunately.

My Wife and I booked here for three nights in December 22, Unfortunately i did not read the reviews until after we arrived. On Arrival we checked in and received our keys, we opened up the door to the accommodation only to be meet with what i would say was a wet dog smell, we opened up the doors and windows to try and get some air through the place but it didn't seem to make much difference, the unit was so dated and hadn't had any sort of upgrades for a very long time, it is unfortunate because the location is great, the restaurant was adequate but basically pub food, it had a beautiful pool area and looked ideal if you had children. After we spent the first night we told reception about the unit and the Receptionist advised she would forward our concerns to management. i sent an email advising the same and got no response at all, i don't normally put bad reviews on but the lack of response has prompted me to do so. Definitely will not be staying here again. Phil & Julz.

1/5 is being generous!! The resort is in the most appalling state! Half the rooms are run down and filthy and the other half are renovated, yet the price is the same regardless. Seems this is a common opinion. Staff are rude and condescending!

We went with 4 families… we all booked 10 months in advance and paid for the same accommodation yet all of us had completely different places in terms of quality and service (ie. No WI-FI or Foxtel in some). Our loft was completely outdated, stunk of bleach, the outdoor furniture was disgusting meaning we couldn’t even use the balcony. My husband cut his foot in our bedroom on a piece of glass. The pool was closed for 2 full days! It was totally not suited for the young kids being able to play outside and go from house to house because they separated us completely. Overall we were extremely disappointed and would never go back.