Emirates Wolgan Valley Resort and Spa Review

One the most luxurious place. No except has been spare. The real Aussie experiance.

Relaxing getaway, we were well looked after by all staff.

Horrible chef. Why would anyone waste their money staying in the middle of nowhere. Mangy kangaroos and half dead wombats. Don't see why their is any interest personally. Overpriced for what????

They provided the perfect combination of luxury, pampering, and privacy from the moment we arrived until our departure. Everything about the resort is perfectly designed and executed and the fact that it's carbon neutral is amazing.

Emirates One&Only Wolgan Valley

Outstanding service and facilities. Amazing staff.
The accommodation is fantastic. The rooms huge and beautifully appointed.
We split our time doing activities and relaxing. We rode horse, bikes and did a hike. Great ways to explore the amazing property.
The food is also outstanding with an abundance of choices.
And if you love kangaroos, this is definitely the place to visit
Could not recommend highly enough.

Been here for a lunch, it was awesome and I am looking forward to checking in tomorrow for 3 days .. my first experience was awesome and I am sure the second will be as good

Extraordinary hotel in the midst of the Wolgan Valley nestled seamlessly within a canyon. Surrounded by the natural landscape beauty as well as wildlife this truly is a one and only place near the top of my recommended places to see in ones lifetime. The hotel itself is understated rustic style elegance with a personal lap pool in each private residence. Pure luxury and impeccable service at every turn if you can manage the time and means you will not be disappointed

An amazing place. Fantastic staff, amazing service and wonderful food. So much to do. A place of indulgence.

Amazing setting in the centre of Blue Mountains. While first I thought it was amazingly expensive and therefore expectations were very high, almost all meals are included in the price, also mini bar and other details. So overall not a bad deal for an amazing place. Kids loved it and the have mountain bikes for all sizes and ages and can do a lot of biking trails or trekkigs on the property. Full of kangaroos and wombats around to keep the kids entertained and a nice children's room to calm them down after a busy day!

If you want a place to relax, and staff are fabulous then this is the place for you. I will be coming again as me and the misses had a wonderful stay and couldn't ask for more.

This is luxury at it's finest, located in the most peaceful place in Australia - Wolgan Valley. It's only 3 hours from Sydney, so is a perfect weekend getaway. Interior design, food and wine is quintessential Australian. Rooms and bathrooms are impeccable and the beds and pillows are like sleeping on a cloud. Enjoy horseback riding, visit the glow worm caves, play tennis, tour the grounds to see lots of kangaroos, or relax in the spa or by the pool. Something to do for everyone!

This really is paradise hidden away in a valley. Obviously not cheap, but the service & facilities are truly 5* - I just wish I could afford to visit more often. Recommend the horse rides, the best kept stables I ve ever seen.

The staff and amenities are both excellent. The location and the views were a bit disappointing especially at this price point. Having travelled around and experienced other hotels that are positioned in the luxury segment, this does fall below expectations. Also, I would have expected a lot more Aboriginal culture and experiences but was disappointed to not see or hear much of this at all. The food quality was very good from breakfast through to dinner.

Fantastic everything other than: lunch venue is a bit too kid friendly and rooms are a little dated. That said the setting is fantastic!

Resort is great.
Villas are incredible with lots of space and the pools are great. Beds are really comfortable.
Scenery is absolutely amazing. Valley is incredible. Lots of walks or 4wd tours you can do.
Food and drink are included. drinks were great, but food definitely could have been better. Didn t hit the mark for fine dining we expected.
Staff are absolutely top notch.
And visit the spa too if you can, it s worth it.

Firstly, I have to say this review is not a reflection on the resort, it is purely on the way my cancellation has been handled.
I was given a call to let me know that due to back burning in the area, they were not accepting any new arrivals. I completely accept and acknowledge that safety is a priority and the correct decision was made. However, the way it was handled by a "ultra luxury 5 star resort" was, and continues to be, pretty poor.
I was first given a call that they were not accepting guests 24 hours before check in. This posed an issue because we had already driven halfway from Melbourne. After several emails, text messages and phone calls asking for assistance to sort out alternative accommodation we were fobbed off and forced to scramble booking 3 nights elsewhere.
I have been trying for several days to contact them via email to discuss either a refund or dates to re-book, however, nobody has got back to me. Still waiting to hear.......

Amazing resort for a vacation. The place is secluded and so calm. The food is an experience. Everyone at the resort are very lovely.

An absolutely stunning property, beautiful rooms and amazing staff. We had an incredible week stay at Wolgan Valley for our honeymoon and wished we could've stayed for longer! Food was excellent, they easily catered to dietary requirements. Was lovely to chat to the same staff every day, hear interesting facts about the resort and get some great tips for activities around the property. The guides were all very qualified and made our experiences highly enjoyable. We saw heaps of wildlife and felt privileged to stay in such a beautiful location. Can't wait to go back!

Amazing place, service, food and wine. Accommodation. All first class

Pretty awesome place. A must to experience the property and awesome food.

Fantastic location in the valley

Very relaxed

Fantastic villas with heated pool

Must be in your bucket list hotels 100%

First one thinks that the journey would never end and then comes the paradise. Turn off the car at the front gate, drop off your suitcase and then relax and enjoy to the full! Such places deserve the name One and Only! Compliments to James Wyndham and his team.
Experienced the chef from Restaurant Bentley in Sydney here. Outstanding cuisine and chose the Weinbegeitung, which has proved to be the right one!
We were impressed, especially by the staff! Very friendly and not pushy!
So ... a recommendation across the board!

Great location for a relaxing holiday, away from the hustle and bustle. Excellent activities. Staff are extremely helpful. Can't find a better place to be in NSW. Unforgettable experience.

I had the pleasure of staying here with some friends and can t speak highly enough of the food, accomodation, staff and location. My stay definitely exceeded my high expectations and I look forward to returning with my family in the very near future.

Beautiful location, lovely staff, so much to do at this property.

We went for a short break just before Christmas, as we got a relative good deal, considering the standard rates.

It was an awesome experience, excellent service/staff, great villa and wonderful surroundings. Kangaroos everywhere, getting very close, you can almost catch them. Lots to explore, great for our little boy. Highly recommended!!!

Food and staff were extremely nice and I was given so many choices of how I should spend my day, It was hard to decide. However With the bikes, my bike got stolen on my first day and I asked for another one but over 3 days was not provided and I had to leave I was really upset as I was looking forward to biking

Stayed for two nights at the lovely resort. Service and the ambience is fantastic, lots of wildlife to keep me amused.
Meals and drinks were mostly inclusive - the inclusive wine list is very impressive.
Only downside was the food - fairly limited selection and was rather average. However, breakfast was amazing!
But we thoroughly enjoyed our stay here!

Sadly Google only goes up to 5 stars. A beautiful property in a stunning location serviced by one of the finest teams of hospitality professionals I have had the pleasure of meeting. Highly recommended.

Tranquility

Escape from the noise of city and come to a place for peace quiet and harmony with nature. It's located 3 hour drive from Sydney. This is my second visit with the family after 6 years, and the standard levels are great. The experience of the staff makes a big difference. The 3 people who need to be thanked for their professionalism and there service are the General Manager, and Simon and Loren. They were excellent and made the experience more enjoyable.

The horse riding is a must if you are there, and it's a nice trail. Plus the night experience for animal lookout is great. There is plenty to do. The kids were all out cycling around in the resort.

Thanks for one and only and surely will visit again

Save yourself and your money and stay somewhere else
I don't even know how to start here, except to say that by reading all of the reviews of people that say this is the best place ever, they are very obviously NOT luxury hotel travelers by any means. We have stayed in a lot of luxury hotels in a lot of different places and this doesn't qualify by any means, they are stealing your money with that title.

We were set up to stay here for 4 nights by our travel agent. Telling us that it is the best of the best. At first the location seems perfect and you are excited for all the adventures, but soon find out, it's all a charade. Starting with lunch on the afternoon of our arrival. The service was terrible, our waitress barely spoke English, forgot about us and we felt abandoned. Not a good way to start.

Getting to our room, although they are spacious and probably used to be really nice when this place was built, they feel like they need updating and our room was dirty to the point that I really didn't want to stay there, because I was worried about what we were sleeping on. The windows were so dirty that you were looking through a haze, our bathroom was dirty and the topper was when I opened a drawer under the coffee maker to look for coffee cups, there was a bunch of paper wrappers, a dirty cup inside the drawer with a used tea bag in the cup and a dirty spoon in the cup as well. Left it for them to clean the next day, didn't touch it. So the next day when we left the room before they cleaned, we left the drawer open for them so they couldn't miss it. We came back and knew our room had been cleaned, so we opened the drawer and the cup and trash was still in there. They closed the drawer and ignored it. Because of this, we didn't use the pool in our room the entire time we were there, because I figured it was unhygienic.

The food was ok at lunch if you could manage the poor service, but at dinner, it was a complete joke. Not only was the service comical at best, the food was embarrassingly bad. They try to pull off 5 star dining and it really is a joke. There is nothing, 5, 4 or even 3 stars about it. It takes you over 2 1/2 hours to eat just an entree and skip dessert. There is no variety and you are forced to eat the same thing for breakfast, lunch and dinner every single day. We were told that the wait staff were mostly back packers passing through (told this by staff) and it shows. Most barely speak coherent English and definitely have never been in a 5 star restaurant, let alone know how to serve in one. If they were just true to what they have to work with and threw some BBQ grills on the deck and did the country BBQ thing, they would be so much better off. The 5 star thing was painful and you almost felt sorry for the place and people for how out of touch and clueless they were.

The resort itself had a lot of kangaroos on it, and that was definitely the highlight, being able to see so many in their natural habitat. But, we are from Colorado and the mountains and there was nothing real about this place. The trails were manufactured roads and it was just all fake. It never felt like you were in the middle of the mountains as it should. It felt that you were in a fake set up that is pretending to be something that it is not.

4 nights there was way to long, we found ourselves wanting to leave on the first day and we were very bored during our stay here. We rode the mountain bikes and walked all of the trails and it is just the same scenery, and although pretty, it isn't anything that leaves you thinking that you could do this for 4 days. Wolgan Valley would be nice to visit for a day, but there is nothing here to warrant an overnight stay, even if your main goal is to relax. Take your money elsewhere and relax in clean style. It's hard to relax when you don't know if they have even washed your sheets or not.

We would not recommend staying here and it was definitely the low light of our time in Australia. The price point of this hotel is stupid for what you get.

They have the name right
One and Only
The Resort is Amazing, from the moment you come through the front gate, But the biggest credit must go to the staff because without them it would be just another resort they make you feel comfortable and go above and beyond to make the stay incredible and as far as the Price it is allot of money but you get what you pay for and I truly believe it was worth every dollar and we will be back.

We visit once or twice a year. Perfect winters escape.

A wonderfullyl quiet but ultra luxurious destination in the Blue Mountains to unwind and be spoilt. Beautiful sunset views, excellent food,choice of activities during the day ie horseriding, walking trials, cycling, tennis archery, massages, swimming all with beautiful surroundings to do it all in.
Highly recommended !

Every second was unforgettable.

Staff made us feel like we were home. Food was fit for royals. Wine list was more of a checklist we happily ticked off. Scenery worked hard to make my amateur photography seem like pro-level art.

Can't wait to go back.

There's a lot to like about this place: the stunning location, spacious villas, good food, excellent spa.

But: this resort is eye-wateringly expensive. What sets places that cost this sort of money apart is the quality of the service, and what I experienced at this resort was surprisingly lacking. The staff here are numerous and well meaning, but there is a serious lack of polish. From frequent minor niggles to a poorly handled maintenance issue that disrupted our sleep, I often felt like I was dealing with students at a hospitality college rather than with staff members at a fine resort.

Overall my experience at Wolgan Valley was just a bit disappointing. If you're planning to spend vast sums of money for that "perfect" holiday, there are better places to do it.

Emirates One & Only is a world class resort. Located near the Blue Mountains, One & Only is an all-inclusive resort nestled in a private section of Wolgan Valley, set amidst wild kangaroos, wallaroos, wallabies and wombats. Each private villa has it s own private heated pool, and come with mountain bikes so that you can trek around the property. The rooms are gorgeous, lots of wood, stone, and a self-lighting fireplace giving a rustic feel in the middle of luxury. The food has a wide variety of options, with both a breakfast buffet and a menu based selection. Menus serve up the best of local ingredients in modern Australian style. On the location itself you can experience walking tours or bike routes, and also can go in a 4x4 with staff to drive around the property and learn about the flora and fauna. We also tried a campfire under the stars, which included toasted marshmallows, mulled wine, hot chocolate, and a large telescope that the guide brought to show us various planets and constellations. We were able to see Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn, including seeing Saturn s rings, which was a first for me. While not an inexpensive vacation by any means, One & Only is an unforgettable location and worth adding to the list of places to visit before you die.

One of the best views you can get in NSW. Villas are absolutely gorgeous.

Had an amazing visit here, it is one of the more relaxing places I've been in a while. All of the staff were extremely friendly and helpful. The food in the restaurant was really good, I would come back here just for the restaurant alone.

Loved the service and the friendly staff. It was great to be able to explore the surrounding areas to see the wildlife. Facilities was very nice. Loved the pool in the cottage.

This place is really magical. A beautiful blend of luxury comforts, impeccable service, exquisite food and the rugged beauty of the Australian landscape and wildlife - if this place isn't on your bucket list to go, then it should be. Whether a nature lover, food lover, spa lover, there really are things to do for everyone.

Our family enjoyed a weekend here and did not want to leave. The villas have everything you could want (hello fireplace and indoor pool), and all meals were a treat. You have access to bikes as part of your stay, as well as complimentary or additional tours and activities, depending on your fancy. There are also hiking tracks aplenty, which we one day want to return for.

For families, there is a kids room, rangers program, excellent change facilities, options to dine in the villa and great kids menu. They also supply kids bikes and helmets.

The day spa is amazing. A relaxing experience with a view. We enjoyed the nocturnal tour, conservation tour and learning more about the location and valley. The place is overrun with Australian animals - you don't have to go find a wombat- you will just bump into them while walking around the property. Same with kangaroos, wallaroos, wallabies, fairy wrens, native parrots and the like. It really is a magical place.

The food was absolutely amazing. Also the views on the bike ride and from your villa were stunning. Staff were incredible and the service was excellent.

Friendly staff members and a big thank you to some staff members that made our stay extra special
Jordan
Madison
Rebecca
Emily

Really enjoyed our stay, didn't want to leave. Fabulous food. Stunning scenery. Wonderful staff. Do yourself a favour and go and enjoy, you won't regret it!!

Great vacation so far, just finished with campfire and star gazing.... Just amazing..

We just had two magnificent days there. The staff were super attentive and friendly, the food was sublime and the villa phenomenal. Our favorite thing would have been the environment of the valley itself. Cycling around in the early morning and watching the numerous kangaroos and wombats go about their morning was an unforgettable highlight.

I never went, but just looking at the pictures I fell in love, it's beautiful.

Stunning property that really can t be beaten as a real Australian experience. The property itself is second to none and the added bonus of the incredible scenery is just amazing

Awesome,

This place is truly amazing, we had an absolutely fabulous time. The food was very good and they have addressed concerns over a repetitive menu with offering an alternating daily list of menu items for lunch and dinner. We were traveling with our baby who is just under 2 year old - the kids menu was a bit bland however I guess not all toddlers are as experimental as ours - he was more interested in our food.

The staff really took an interest in him which was really lovely to see and they were super accommodating like giving him different activity books during dinner, cutting some veggies to feed our wombat and sending dessert to our room for no charge. The room was really nice, we loved the fireplace and plunge pool. We had a resident wombat outside of our villa for the whole stay which was super cute.

The Spa was one of the best I have been to with super luxurious treatment rooms and excellent therapists.
The only two negatives for me (nit picking here) the bed was not comfy- like it was ridiculously soft. I found out on the last day from other guests that they are able to do something to help rectify this. Note I didn't mention this to staff while I was there but I'm positive if I would have they would've gone above and beyond like with every other request. The second comment, the grounds staff could maybe clear the animal droppings a bit more frequently there was a LOT but maybe to be expected (I told you I'm nit picking!).
Lovely people, beautiful part of the world, I can't remember the last time I felt so relaxed.

Thank you for the beautiful experience, we will be back.

Amazing from the very first moment you arrive. Impeccable service and attention to details.
Best time you will ever have at a resort

Magical place. Fantastic to see Australian landscape and wildlife. Staff are wonderful. The rooms and restaurant are utterly decadent.

Meeting every expectation with discrete luxury and sumptuous service

One word: Luxury! Rooms are absolutely the highlight with a private pool, Bikes out front on the patio, spacious living room with dual face fireplace, luxurious bed that you just melt into, huge wall in robe with all the storage a girl could need, gorgeous bathroom with a generous bath and views onto your private terrace and a slice of heaven with kangaroos jumping past on dusk. Resort is gorgeous and really takes you into a little slice of heaven. Good quality of food and beverages but a tad on the small side. Superb service with access to anything you need.

Staff very inexperienced for the price you are paying

Exceptional experience, a piece of paradise. I've been here on October 2016 on my honey moon, best memories

Absolutely fantastic, great place to get away,great bungalow,great wild life around you horse riding, trekking, good good ,great wine selection, and much more...

Amazing place
Bit expensive but when you get there you will see what you paid for ..
And lots of kangaroo

YES, THE HYPE CAN BE JUSTIFIED.

Visited here on the 3rd day of the reopening of the resort on 3/7/20.

The best services, hardware, food offering amongst hotels in NSW. The experience to see wild animals and the surroundings is unique.. It even passed the wife's value for money test notwithstanding high prices. Tariffs included full board with selective wine and any extra curriculum charged for activities are reasonably priced.

Had the juiciest Scotch Fillet here. Cake is top notch and coffee served a bliss.

Empathy shown for couples with young family. Can't say the same for Spicers Resort in the vicinity which is adults only.

Villa infrastructure is great and does not show it is now 12 year old. Liked the strong Wifi, tall rainshower and real woodplace plus the plunge pool. Shower water pressure could be stronger.

With Villa well spaced apart, privacy and best slumber at night is guaranteed.

A place most recommended for visiting considering any thing more exotic overseas is not likely any time soon.

RT 5/7/20

It's great, but Saffire and other luxury resorts are of a higher standard and better value.

One and only never fails to impress however One&Only Wolgan Valley is truly unique in the most incredible location! The service is impeccable, the food is incredible and the environment thoughout the hotel is relaxed and tranquil. The Wolgan Valley is truly magical with breathtaking views, wildlife, relax atmosphere, making it ideal place to unwind and disconnect. The villas are simply impeccable and most importantly, the service is excellent with exceptional and genuinely kind staff. I absolutely loved watching the kangaroos and wombats from our pool! Thank you for truly magical experience, we will be back!
Monika

Great place to visit. All staff where very helpful.

My personal information has been shared with a third party. With any reason, it is unacceptable to be passed my information without notification. Unpleased experience with this business.

A 3 hour drive from Sydney, set on the edge of the Blue Mountains.
A wonderful hotel in the Wolgan Valley with stunning views of distant hills and mountains.
Our house for 6 of us was spacious and tastefully furnished to a high degree.
The staff were a delight, as was the food in the two different restaurants.
Plenty to do, horse riding, bike riding, with each house having their own cycles. Walking in the valley, with guided nature trails, sundowners, star gazing, so many different things to do without leaving the property. Very good for children of all ages, safe and secure.

Wanted to be part of this known and successful recreation asset of Emirates.
"one and only resort & spa in the middle of Valley's "

A resort of all cottages in the vast mountain.
I took a room of 2 bedrooms, but there was a spacious living room, and the fireplace was also burnt with a firewood and I was able to spend relaxing.
Dinner is a course, but you can choose from the course. It was very nice to have good breakfast, too.
The buggy moves between the front and the room. The grass is huge, but there are many kangaroo droppings, so be careful when walking (laughs)

Be ready to be pampered while you indulge in all things luxurious. Amazing resort located 2.5hrs from Sydney. Everything about this place is detailed and designed with class and flair. A must visit destination and ideal for families, couples and honeymooners. There are rooms to suit various budgets however this resort caters for the rich and famous. Service is exceptional and food delightful.

Absolutely incredible. The food, staff, service and location are all absolutely stunning. Yes it does seem expensive when you are booking it but it is worth every cent!

7 years ago Emirates retreat was great place to go , service was exceptional and outstanding. The way package was done worth going to something where you could kick back and relax in the outback without any overheads. Over 5 stars Honestly .

Now being partly owned by one and only service has changed . Next time you are around people in customer service or hospitality - just watch their interactions , are they just going through the motions or are they really there to ensure the customer service is with held to a standard which a customer can appreciate. It was disappointing going back knowing we had to pay for every service that use to be included . Being by birthday partner organised something special which was requested and paid for that was not delivered on time . Having dinner multiple times we had to call out of cutlery . Manager sitting 3 tables down from us heard us calling and didn t care we had the waiter attend to us . Also at that point over dinner we had a women ask us for activities which manager told us would be included and she turned around and said that s not a part of your package even after management had told us it would be provided to us . However being there you can tell service is lost and customers go undervalued. If you had not gone 7 years before you can compare services and truely tell 7 year ago none of what happened on the night of stay would have happened .
We have given the abundance of freedom and choice - so it s up to decide or else mediocrity will set in and it s easy to fall into the trap of comfortable.

We had a great time with the lady that took attention to detail with the spa treatment. She treated us with high customer service standard one that should be given when entering Emirates retreat. Any customer paying 3000 dollars a night expect only the highest standard of service especially Emirates Retreat. The experience was no longer the same a place where we shared good memories was a let down . However in saying that it s still an amazing place to go and visit to have your own time to wine and dine with your other half or family , just level of service has dropped down and we don t believe in mediocrity.

Isolated but still have good wifi and tv so you can mix business with pleasure if you wish. You need to have wifi calling for your mobile number to work as there is no cellular coverage at all. Obviously you can also use WhatsApp and Skype etc. whilst on wifi too. Great place to relax and unwind

Exceptional and exemplary in all aspects. Simply one of the best resorts with a truly unique bush experience , without sacrificing the attention to detail one might expect at comparable top tier resorts around the world. Special mention must be given to the dedicated conservation/guide crews such as Ben, Lachlan and Dana to name a few. Certainly a credit to the Emirates name.

Really disappointing. We have stayed previously however this visit was nothing like previous stays, we assumed there had been a change in management. Staff in the dining areas were friendly and attentive, food overall was fine however that's where the positives end. Reception staff were extremely rude and could not have been less helpful, staff at the property made several errors with our booking, during our stay and even at checkout (which took an hour and we were the only guests checking out at the time), then they managed to leave half of our luggage in the room on departure. Every time we asked for an error to be rectified the reception staff treated us as though they were doing us a huge favour. We really were quite surprised at the lack of professionalism on this visit however compared to issues experienced by other guests we spoke with during our stay we were probably fortunate. We are fairly low maintenance when travelling and require very little however even then it was all too difficult.

To all the staff at Wolgan Valley One & Only,

Firstly let me say thank you to you all. Never have I felt so welcomed and cared for like I did at your incredible establishment. From the moment of my arrival to the time of my departure everything was taken care of so effortlessly. There wasn't a moment that I had to request anything as you had thought of it all to ensure my comfort and enjoyment. I would highly recommend the camp fire and star gazing with Ben Allen, a very informative and enjoyable experience that won't be forgotten. The food is absolutely delicious with a menu to satisfy anybody's inclinations. Thank you once again for your heartfelt hospitality.

Country luxury with the most stunning grounds/homestead rooms and sublime service with a six star culinary experience. Truly spectacular.